baked tomatoes and potatoes. adapted from this recipe (i used kale instead of squash).

wrap up: {baked} {kale} {potatoes} {recipe} {tomatoes}

caroline’s taking a little break today, so i’m here to share some useful gardening q&a with you!  we often get questions from readers, and caroline’s answers are just to good to keep from you!

{abby lanes}

Question: Recently I have noticed that my tomato plants – all 8 of them – are not producing anything. I got a little concerned because they are 3 feet high – they look great and happy – but no fruit! Boo!! So, i asked my gardening girlfriend what she thought I should do and she suggested that my soil may be lacking calcium. Hmmm… since I’m new to this gardening gig I think to myself: “where do you get calcium? Do I give them a little milk?” (kidding) So, i called another friend that gardens and he said to try some osmocote (sp?). I have used osmocote in the past on porch plants and they love it- but is it OK for food?? I don’t want to put any chemically stuff on something I’m going to eat. Do you have any tips? Suggestions??

Also, I have an old brick coop in the back – that needs major cleaning up – its sturdy with a tin roof (made probably circa 1930) but the open windows will need some chicken wire – and the door opening has no door (rats!). I’m pretty sure there are black widows in there and there is no way this gal is going in there to tidy it up with those monsters in there. Any tips on how to get them out? – Kristen

Answer: Hi Kristen! Non-flowering tomato plants are usually a sign of too much nitrogen in the soil. Have your soil tested at your local cooperative extension center and let them know you are experiencing non flowering tomato plants. Calcium depletion in the soil usually shows up as tomato blossom end rot – so a calcium deficiency would not be my first guess. I’m thinking they will probably have you add potash or potassium to the soil, but don’t go guessing! You can also try stressing the plants a bit – lessen up on the water for a few days. I would not use osmocote on food products – that stuff is pretty toxic to ingest. Don’t feed them anything until you get that soil test done. At this time of year it should not take long at all to get results.

Black widows! How timely as well – I found some black widow carcasses in my garage this past week and I’m on high alert now….but I’m not going to do much more than diatomaceous earth, a flashlight and a long broom to clean up the cobwebs. You can spray the chicken coop with water or use a hose end sprayer with some liquid soap mixed in to flood/kill the spiders before you actually go too far inside to clean up. Neem is also pretty effective…but you knew I would say that, I’m sure! Good luck, go in the covered up…no flip flops for you, wear a hat and long gloves. Be careful and be brave!!! -Caroline

{allison trentelman}

Question: I need help! I planted windowboxes, organic, with zinnias, sweetpeas, nasturium and cilantro. And they have bugs! Ugly little buggers, some look like beetles, others fly… but I need to get rid of them pronto. I was thinking maybe a salt water mix, or baking soda? But I really don’t want to try without advice. If you can help I would SO appreciate it! :) – Anna

Answer: Hi Anna. Thanks for your question. I would advise you to never ever use regular salt in your garden. Salt is actually really toxic for your soil and not a good idea to spray on plants. Epsom salts are a different story, but they are not effective as bug control. I would recommend knocking the beetles into a bowl of soapy water and then spraying with Neem. Here is a link to a safer, organic Neem product I have found very effective.  Beetles are tenacious and you do need to spray every few days to control them.” – Caroline

{chives}

Question: I have something eating the leaves and new buds of one of my pansies and one of my dianthus in my small flower garden…guessing they are slugs since I can’t see them during the day (better go out one night to see if I can spot ‘em!)…anyway, read to put epsom salt around the plants…did it today…think it’ll work? any other tips? (update): Went to the local landscaper today b/c the epsom salts did NOT work AND I caught one of the little buggers this morning…at the other end of the garden! anyway, she is ordering me “sluggo” – said it is safe for kiddos and pets! hope it does the trick…- Jes

Answer: Jes answered her own question! Sluggo is great for slugs and safe around kids. – Caroline

{pink princesses in the garden}

do you have any gardening questions? leave your questions here, or visit the ladybug landscaping facebook page to ask caroline directly!

wrap up: {answers} {black widows} {gardening} {organic gardening} {questions} {slugs} {tomatoes}

Tomatoes are a magical fruit – it seems that almost everyone who has a vegetable garden, or wants a vegetable garden, dreams of luscious, sun warmed tomatoes picked fresh from the vine.  I love when my tomatoes start to ripen and the avalanche of fruit hits the kitchen – I have yet to find my fill of tomatoes!

sun ripe tomatoes by mailelani

As much as they can be relatively easy to grow, tomatoes come with a list of potential diseases. First and foremost – we need to talk about late tomato blight.  Late tomato blight will kill your plants – causing them to collapse almost overnight.   And sadly, late blight  has started to appear in parts the United States, and it’s arrival has sparked an cascade of emails, Facebook posting and warnings.

All blight photos below from Cornell University, Long Island…visit their page for more information and photos

Last summer was a terrible season for tomatoes here in the Northeast.  We had a huge tomato blight outbreak, fueled by diseased tomato plants being sold at chain stores.  Each of those infected plants was host to millions of spores of the Phytophthora infestans pathogen.  These spores spread and spread and before we knew it tomatoes were a rare commodity. Farmers lost entire harvests and thousands of dollars, home gardeners were deprived of their bounty and we were once again reminded of our inability to manage all that nature throws our way.

I cannot emphasize enough how nefarious this disease is. Late blight requires immediate community response – if you see affected plants in your garden immediately pull them and the plants right next to them (even if they appear to be healthy) double bag them and either incinerate or send them to the landfill. DO NOT COMPOST!  Let your neighbors and local county extension service know – everyone needs to be on board with this.  The Irish potato famine was caused by this pathogen and its control is on the top of the list for those of us who love tomatoes.

If blight has been spotted in your area monitor your plants everyday, several times of day. It appears quickly and must be dealt with quickly.

Late blight overwinters in infected potatoes left in the ground and is hosted in the wild tomato seedlings that pop up from last year’s seeds.  Search your garden beds for these uninvited plants and treat them as you would poison ivy amongst your basil – no tolerance.  Pull them out and burn or trash them.  Again – do not compost them.

Prevention and  control is the only remedy for tomato blight.  There is no real treatment for it – organic or otherwise.  Do yourself and your community a favor and destroy infected plants.  There are fungicides that can be used as a preventative, but in my experience compost tea applications are a much healthier and safer choice.  But this is a preventative – if you see the blight on your plants no amount of compost tea will save them….burn them or throw them away.

More resources on late blight…please read these and familiarize yourself with the symptoms of and ways to prevent this terrible disease:

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Fact Sheet

Cornell University – Long Island

Rodale Institute

CTNOFA

Cornel University

Caroline Finnegan owns Ladybug Landscaping, a full service organic landscaping company. based in CT. She is a NOFA accredited landcare professional and when not designing gardens can be found rearranging her furniture or out at a flea market finding new goodies. She almost always has dirt under her nails.

wrap up: {control} {disease} {late blight} {organic gardening} {prevention} {tomatoes}