Sunday, July 17, 2011

Disappointment


It's not the only reason I haven't posted in quite a while, but the Fusarium/Verticillium wilt that has decimated our tomatoes this year has definitely played a part in my reluctance to show 'garden progress' at this point in the summer.
We think it's a combination of the wet spring, heirlooms that were more susceptible to the diseases and ground that went untouched for 20 years (the destruction is primarily in our shared garden). Whatever the cause, it has been a frustrating experience, but hopefully we are learning something in the process. I will post more pics in the next couple of days, if only to help others who are dealing with similar issues...
...I feel your pain.




6 comments:

MAYBELLINE said...

Well now that stinks.

Maureen said...

Yes....it really does :(

Mary said...

I am so sorry for your tomatoes, but I am SO glad you posted the pictures!! I had no clue what was wrong with a couple of our tomato plants and this might explain it. We've had a couple people tell us that it was caused by over watering and several others just said that tomatoes struggle here in the desert in the summertime. However, having seen your pictures, now I am wondering. Our roma and ace tomato plants both look exactly like yours look. :(

Luckily, our cherries, campari, grape and sunburst tomatoes are all fine. Do you know if this is contagious to the others? Or treatable? Should we rip out the ones that are infected, in order to save the others? ACK. First year gardeners here and it's allllll a learning game. Good luck with yours. How are your other plants doing?

w00ts up said...

Sorry about your tomatoes! It's always so discouraging when something you grow takes a turn for the worst. I am combating squash bugs at the moment as they try to kill the pumpkin patch and our dog keeps eating our cornstalks. But fall will soon be here and there will be more things to plant and plan for. Are you guys doing a winter garden?

Maureen said...

Yes Mo...sometimes the only thing that keeps me going is HOPE for the next seasons garden;) We'll be starting seeds for broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and onions sometime in Sept.

Have you tried Diatomacious earth for the squash bugs? It works well on the babies, and makes the job of hand-picking the adults a bit easier. We have some if you want to try it. Remind me when you come by for carrots!

Mary said...

At this point, I'm just laughing at the fumbles of our first year gardening. I just found a plethora of squash bugs on the zucchini and pattypans this morning. Thank goodness I am almost tired of the squash at this point. We've been harvesting them for a couple of months now. I'd attempt to treat them, but with over 30 plants, there is just no way I'm capable of treating that many plants.

We're talking about ripping out the squash this week, in the hopes of sparing the pumpkins. The learning curve is HUGE, but we're still having fun with it.