Vermont farmers and gardeners are looking both ways, glancing at the sky, and knocking on wood. "It has been a perfect weather year so far," they are saying. Not to rainy, not too hot -- it has been an ideal growing season.
My tomatoes were certainly thriving in the perfect Summer of '14 conditions; just two weeks ago I had hundreds of fruits of all sizes and colors hanging on the vines. I should qualify my this year's garden by disclosing that I bought all my plants at the Burlington Farmers' Market this year (none from seed) -- and every variety I purchased was specifically "Blight Resistant." Followers of this blog know I have a history of blight issues.
Well, the masked marauder moves quickly. Today, my tomato plants are dead. The fruits are rotting on the ground. The blight spores are probably -- as we speak -- seeping into the soil, ready to lie in wait for next year's victims. I hate this silent killer!
I harvested tons of tomatoes before they were ready as soon as I saw my plants beginning to wither, and they are trying to color on my window sills. But a tomato that has been touched by the blight doesn't last as long as a healthy one.
But I am not done fighting. I intend to bag up all the dead plants and rotten fruit and bring them to the dump. Then -- mark my words -- I will not plant tomatoes in my garden next year. That's right: tomatoes in baskets and pots up here by the house where I can keep a close watch. You nasty blight: I will not go down without a fight! (Queue theme from Rocky I.) There WILL be a rematch... and we will come back bigger, stronger, and more determined than ever! Take that!
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