We have plenty!
Last night we were ruthless in cleaning out all branches that had any signs whatsoever of blight. We ended up pulling 2 more Amish Paste and 2 Red Zebra plants. I did the "pointing" and hubby did the trimming and pulling so I could remain "uninfected". I then sprayed them liberally to the point of runoff starting with the Brandywine bed which still looks fantastic, although we found a couple of branches that looked ill at the very bottom. Hopefully we caught those early enough. We ended the spraying with the Amish Paste bed, which was the worst by a long shot.
I also found what may be blight spreading to the bed of pepperoncini. Luckily my pepper beds are all over the garden, not just in one place. This one got sprayed too.
Lesson learned: go for the big bottle of concentrate right off the bat. I first bought the ready to use bottle for $11.99 and ran out before even treating half the bed. I went back, bought the $25 bottle of concentrate and a mini tank sprayer and after treating all the beds the way they are supposed to be done, to the point of saturation and runoff, I still have over 3/4 of a bottle left!
The good news is, we planted some new tomatoes in place of the old (there was nowhere else to put them and they were only $1 apiece), and will spray them preventatively. This will also serve to let me know if it will work to plant tomatoes next year if I spray ahead of time. Rotation is not a viable option in a backyard environment, as this stuff spreads all over anyways, as shown by this year's stuff. They were planted in 4 different locations and still showed symptoms.
More good news below, the Hillbilly heirlooms planted in-ground are still looking good.
The Brandywine bed looks really good, amazing since it's literally 2 feet away from the affected Red Zebra bed.
So now what to do with all the green tomatoes that got pulled? Lots of good ideas out there for salsas, chutneys and sauces, but I'm intrigued by these too!
Pickled Green Tomatoes
Green Tomato Pizza!
Tomorrow will be my day to create something, but I have a feeling it will be this...
Good old fashioned Green Tomato Pie, just like the one Caroline Ingalls baked for Charles one year when the crops were failing but they had an abundance of green tomatoes. Y'all know I'm a sucker for anything Ma Ingalls, the woman is my superheroine!
Tonight I'm hosting a Garden Round-Robin here. Our garden group tries to get together for a social event in a different members' garden once a month for ideas, snooping around other peoples' gardens and good food, drinks and conversation. It's 96 degrees here now and I expect it will be much the same at 5 when the party starts, but the humidity is only 50% which makes it tolerable. Usually humidity here is way higher, with the dewpoint near 70. I wouldn't want to work in it, LOL... but a party should be okay!
I hope to have an update and a green tomato recipe for you soon!
Oh, I hope all this hard work pays off and you've got it under control. I was thinking maybe some green tomato chutney... mmmm.. of course, I love my spicy stuff.
ReplyDeleteHave a great time with your garden party. It's a garden work day here- cloudy and mid 70's- perfect for tackling the weedy mess that is supposed to be a garden. I managed to find the broccoli and cabbage this morning!! Now to have boys gather grass clippings and mulch the heck out of the tomatoes.
Judy
Erin, I hope all your hard work pays off and you finally have the blight situation under control. I've made green tomato salsa before (delicious) but never a green tomato pie. You'll have to share the recipe, I bet it'll be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHave fun at your garden party tonight!
I did make green tomato dill pickles last year, and I have to say they were good, but I liked the ones I did not process more. They stayed nice and crunchy. The ones I water bathed became soft, not really what you want in a pickle. I guess it is all in what you like. Never heard of a green tomato pie.
ReplyDeleteI was just noticing the big black planter in the one photo...I like it! I wouldn't mind having a few of them, myself....
ReplyDeleteI almost feel like buying a jug of Roundup and spraying my tomatoes, so you won't be alone. I said almost.
ReplyDeleteI notice you don't use mulch under your plants. It's always been my understanding that it's the soil splattering up on the plant that causes early blight. I lost a lot of my in-ground plants a couple of years ago, but haven't had a problem since I began mulching (knock on wood). Last year I used grass clippings, this year I'm using straw and some of Cookie's orchard grass hay. I even mulched my bucket tomatoes.
Well, you and your Under Gardener (!) are giving it the old college try! Keeping our fingers crossed all your work will help.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, what is your Under Gardener wearing on his head and shoulders? Looks suspiciously like a tablecloth.
Your pickled green tomatoes are beautious!
As I have been sitting here reading along, I just kept on thinking if you can't lick it, what are the rest of us going to do?! Keep up the hard work and we can all celebrate your Win! Somethings just gotta give!
ReplyDeleteOoh, and I vote for the pie!!! Make sure there is a recipe post with that one! We may all need it!
MY HUSBAND BEING FROM THE SOUTH ONLY EATS FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. I CAN NEVER FIND ENOUGH YEAR. HOPE ALL YOUR HARD WORK PANS OUT. ENJOY YOUR PAR-TY
ReplyDeleteHope your party was great! Can't wait to hear about the pie. :) Praying for success with the tomatoes. If anyone can pull them through, I'm sure it's you.
ReplyDeleteHope this does the trick for you. I'm kinda with AG on wondering if mulch would help a bit with the problem?? Well, anyways, hope all your hard work pays off. And the heat, my gosh, the heat. I would positively WILT!
ReplyDeleteYou "sound" more cheerful, and I'm glad! I hope the copper works its magicfor you, too. I'm a sucker for the good ol' fashioned fried green tomato. Delish!
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you! Hopefully this is under control now and you will have a successful tomato season!
ReplyDeleteWe've been having rain again daily with lots of heat and humidity - I'm a little scared to go check on my spraying efforts today, but I AM going to get to those green tomatoes and post on that this evening!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you spray it with? PS, I love the way you stake your tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteWow, I have really been slacking on keeping up with comments, you can tell summer is here!
ReplyDeleteMama Pea, the thing on his head can double as a tablecloth in a pinch LOL... that's one of his pieces of Middle Eastern "couture" for when he is ashore over in Kuwait or Dubai or any of the other random "head garb" type places :) Soaked in cold water it comes in just as handy here!
No need to apologize for not being able to keep up in Blogdom. I'm having the same problem!
ReplyDeleteNow that I look at your hubby's headgear a little more closely, I should have guessed it was a hot weather trick he picked up in the Middle East. Plus, if anyone says, "Ya wanna go on a picnic?" he's all set! ;o}