On Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:17:49 -0500, The Cook
wrote:

On Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:57:24 -0500, wrote:

songbird writes:

wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" writes:

wrote:
I have a decent sized (25'x30') vegetable garden. I have
been using the same plot of land for 17 years. Gradually
I have started to have more and more diseases cropping up.


What diseases? When? Of what?

I realized I left out my location --- I am near
Boston. In a pretty urban area, with no working
farms anywhere nearby.

I really do not know exactly what diseases they are.
Most seem to be fungal in nature.

turn the soil under deeply, by double digging
and burying the topsoil under at least a foot
of the deeper soil.

as you write about mostly fungal diseases,
leave more room between plants and seriously
change your watering habits to minimize splash
from the soil to the plants. mulch with
something to keep the soil from splashing the
plants during rains. only pick when the plants
are dry (never when the dew is on). always
change your gloves and wash them when picking.

I use a deep cover of salt marsh hay in the beds,
cedar mulch on the paths. I rarely water the plants
and only do so either by hand at the roots, or with
a sprinkler early in the day, so the full sun will
quickly dry them.



The tomatoes start getting sick in July, with lower
leaves drying up, upper leaves, and tomatoes, getting
spots. The tomatoes on the counter seem to have the
pox after a while. Loads of small black/brown spots on
the surface. It does not really affect the taste.
This year I got about a quarter of a decent
year's yield.

hmm, we lost some leaves due to fungal problems
but didn't have much change in results (in fact it
was a great year for our tomato crop). we grew
beefsteak.


A couple of years ago it was early Late
Blight, but that does not survive our winters. Also that
year the rot often started inside the tomato, not on the
outside.

blossom end rot?

No, I have seen that. This is different.


I grow mostly heirlooms, several brandywine
variants, a couple of plums types (one for cooking, one
for fresh salsa) and two hybrid cherry types. I have
tried a few blight resistant types, but they just did
not taste very good, and did not seem to do much better
against disease.


The last two years my cucs just did not grow. This
year one of the hills did, the other did not.



This year my basil leaves started turning a yellowish
green and tasted very bitter. I ripped out the whole
crop after just one batch of pesto.

Onions, peas, beans, carrots all have done reasonably well.

I have had varying amounts of an internal rot disease
in my garlic (German Extra Hardy stiffneck). Last year
it cost me half my crop, and the garlic I stored did not
last past January --- it usually lasts until April or May.
This year I got most of the crop, time will tell how long
it lasts.

internal rot observed when first harvested or
internal rot after being in storage for a while?


Both.

if the bulbs are rotting in the ground then
i would raise the beds to give better drainage.


I am sorry I cannot be more specific. I guess I want a
reasonable generic fix. If such exists. Something that will
improve the odds of minimizing common diseases.

burying topsoil deep. that will change the spore
count of the common fungal diseases. then practice
more careful watering and leave more space for airflow
(especially for tomatoes as those seem to be the ones
you are having the most trouble with).


I probably do plant them too close. I carefully train them
up poles, but after they get 7' tall I cannot help them leaning
over and touching each other.

if you dig it and turn it this fall and then leave it
undisturbed then the sun UV will take out a lot of
the spores. mulching will isolate them and keep them
from splashing the plants, but i would not mulch until
after the soil is well warmed and the plants are in and
growing (as it cools the soil).


I have decided to give the land a rest for a year. What
should I do?

THe soil is still very fertile. I grow tomatoes, peppers,
basil, peas, beans, cucs, zucs, carrots, lettuce...

I rotate, but I am not sure the garden is really big enough
for that to be a big effect, and it is only a four year rotation.

Should I grow stuff that is completely different? Solarize? Just
turn the soil every few weeks to get it exposed to the sun and
elements?

Thanks in advance,

Depends on the problem(s)

Definitely plural, but sadly, non-specific.

yes, you are right that rotating in such a
small garden is likely to not gain much for
disease control (but you still need to do it
for nutrient balancing as different crops use
different nutrients).

Yes, I always plant a 2nd crop of beans after the garlic
and onion harvest. That really fixes up the depleted soil.

My garden is where the 1879 horse barn was build. It was
torn down in the 1920s, and for 70 odd years the owners piled
their fall leaves there (for some reason there was a basement
to the barn). I have really fertile soil. It is just too
bloody diseased.

Thanks for the advice!


My usual answer is http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

Find your local extension agent. He will be able to tell you what is
happening to your crops and how to fix them. First step is to get a
soil test made. Then either bring in some affected plants or find
pictures that match. Just like with people you have to have a correct
diagnosis to get the proper cure.

I just found the new link to the tomato problem pages.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/p...problemsolver/

You can probably get a good idea here what is wrong with your plants
and fruit.
--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a
To find your extension office
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html