It seems hard to believe, but the first meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be on Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00 p.m. at SIGN on North Street. There is still plenty of gardening time to enjoy, but it’s not too early to start thinking about how to winter our plants; so this meeting will be just what we need! We are in for a treat with our special guest speakers, Frank Woloschuk and Glen Tymiak, who will be telling us about “How to store dahlias, glads, calla/canna lilies, geraniums and more” for the winter. You don’t have to be a member to attend, feel free to come and hear these wonderful gardeners share some valuable pointers with us! But if you were thinking about joining the group, why not start off with this first meeting of the new season! New members are always welcome!
Since the last time we had tea, there have been some changes on our garden. I wonder if yours is the same? The onions are truly done, and have been harvested already. It seems early but that’s the way it is this year.
Other things have turned the corner and are starting to look tired and bedraggled. It is as if fall has happened overnight! The plants that changed most dramatically were the tomatoes, going from fresh to fatigued in just days. When I started o examine them more carefully, they seemed to show all the signs of blight.
Time for some homework! Did you know that there is a “late blight”? I found this information on the Vesey’s site: “If you do have late blight there are a few things that you can do to reduce the amount of blight you have. Unfortunately once you see symptoms on your plants there is little you can do that year. If you catch it very early you can start by picking off the leaves to keep it from getting worse but this only slows it. A preventative strategy is required.
Blight is a disease spread mostly by wind borne spores. Some can overwinter in infected plant debris in your garden, so cleaning up in the fall and rotation is a good idea, but will not prevent it totally as they can blow in from several miles away. The spores need the leaves to be wet for several hours so that they can germinate and infect the plant. Anything that you can do to prevent the leaves from being wet will help, for instance: - Plant in an area where the plants will get good air circulation, - Water in the morning so the leaves have a chance to dry off during the day - Prune the plants to keep them from becoming too bushy - Grow them in a sheltered location (like against the house) where they get less dew and rain on them - Keep the plants up off the ground… This is of particular importance in July and August when blight pressure is at its worst and the plants are actively growing, producing lots of tender shoots and leaves for the spores to infect.”
With our own plants, the leaves were dried up and crispy and all that remained were the skeletal stems and clumps of tomatoes. We quickly disposed of the plants and leaves in the garbage.
I also read that potatoes can be infected with blight, but it may still be a few weeks till it will show up. (I have heard some people say that their potatoes are black inside. Could it be the same thing, I wonder? I’ll try to find out!)
Gardeners, enjoy your daily garden tour! And another idea: drive or walk down a street that you don’t usually travel. There are many beautiful yards to behold! It’s wonderful to see them! Have a great week!
