In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

It never ceases to amaze me that in such a small country people could have
such different conditions and failures. Our Courgettes have been superb this
year, not able to pick them all before them became too big. The Butternuts
have also done well after a very slow start and the fruit are huge this
year, the problem is, will they get a chance to ripen before the first
frost.

It's not the size of the country, actually - the same is often true
between two gardens a mile away. Microclimate, soil and microflora
and microfauna are all nearly as variable over that distance as they
are over large chunks of the country. That is why we have so many
wild plants that grow in every county, but are local everywhere!

But I agree that it is amazing. I find it particularly so when it
happens over a distance of a mile with no apparent reason - I may
syspect microflora, but that isn't much more of an explanation than
saying gremlins ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick wrote

Bob Hobden wrote:

It never ceases to amaze me that in such a small country people could have
such different conditions and failures. Our Courgettes have been superb
this
year, not able to pick them all before them became too big. The Butternuts
have also done well after a very slow start and the fruit are huge this
year, the problem is, will they get a chance to ripen before the first
frost.

It's not the size of the country, actually - the same is often true
between two gardens a mile away. Microclimate, soil and microflora
and microfauna are all nearly as variable over that distance as they
are over large chunks of the country. That is why we have so many
wild plants that grow in every county, but are local everywhere!

But I agree that it is amazing. I find it particularly so when it
happens over a distance of a mile with no apparent reason - I may
syspect microflora, but that isn't much more of an explanation than
saying gremlins ....



A good example of that is a neighbour at home who still has a superb row of
tomatoes out in his garden covered in fruit and no sign of blight (or
Bordeaux Mixture). Yet on our allotments a mile or so away I am the only one
with any tomato plants still alive (just) everyone else lost theirs months
ago.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

A good example of that is a neighbour at home who still has a superb row of
tomatoes out in his garden covered in fruit and no sign of blight (or
Bordeaux Mixture). Yet on our allotments a mile or so away I am the only one
with any tomato plants still alive (just) everyone else lost theirs months
ago.

I have exactly the same problem. My problems with spraing and
eelworm are explicable, but I have not the slightest idea why my
garden is a blight trap.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

wrote in :

In article ,
Bob Hobden wrote:

A good example of that is a neighbour at home who still has a superb
row of tomatoes out in his garden covered in fruit and no sign of
blight (or Bordeaux Mixture). Yet on our allotments a mile or so away
I am the only one with any tomato plants still alive (just) everyone
else lost theirs months ago.

I have exactly the same problem. My problems with spraing and
eelworm are explicable, but I have not the slightest idea why my
garden is a blight trap.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


I wonder if a gardener can pick up and carry/transmit spores, disease or
parasites and such on their clothing or even on the bodyhair, and carry
them to the garden. Sort of cross contamination. The reason why I wonder
about this is because my vegetable garden is the only one I know of for
a mile or two, and I keep on getting different pests and diseases year
after year. This year it is the gooseberries, which have been here in
this garden for 40 years(so I am told) without any problems.
Then comes mildew 3 years ago and this year sawfly. I havn't been able
to grow any veg this year, but next year I know that there will be some
insect or infestation to burst my balloon.

Baz

"Baz" wrote in message
...

I wonder if a gardener can pick up and carry/transmit spores, disease or
parasites and such on their clothing or even on the bodyhair, and carry
them to the garden. Sort of cross contamination. The reason why I wonder
about this is because my vegetable garden is the only one I know of for
a mile or two, and I keep on getting different pests and diseases year
after year. This year it is the gooseberries, which have been here in
this garden for 40 years(so I am told) without any problems.
Then comes mildew 3 years ago and this year sawfly. I havn't been able
to grow any veg this year, but next year I know that there will be some
insect or infestation to burst my balloon.

How disheartening after all that hard work

--
--

http://www.shop.helpforheroes.org.uk/

In article ,
Baz wrote:

I wonder if a gardener can pick up and carry/transmit spores, disease or
parasites and such on their clothing or even on the bodyhair, and carry
them to the garden. Sort of cross contamination. The reason why I wonder
about this is because my vegetable garden is the only one I know of for
a mile or two, and I keep on getting different pests and diseases year
after year. This year it is the gooseberries, which have been here in
this garden for 40 years(so I am told) without any problems.
Then comes mildew 3 years ago and this year sawfly. I havn't been able
to grow any veg this year, but next year I know that there will be some
insect or infestation to burst my balloon.

They can, but that's not the usual reason. Blight overwinters on
a wide variety of garden plants and weeds, and is wind-borne.
The same applies to most pests.

However, the root cause of variation with blight, mildew, rust
etc. is the weather. They thrive under specific circumstances
and, without those, you don't see them. That doesn't stop them
being ubiquitous, which they are.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Bob Hobden wrote:
A good example of that is a neighbour at home who still has a superb row of
tomatoes out in his garden covered in fruit and no sign of blight (or
Bordeaux Mixture). Yet on our allotments a mile or so away I am the only one
with any tomato plants still alive (just) everyone else lost theirs months
ago.

Ah, but that could be difference of variety. Some are a /lot/ more susceptible
to blight than others. And despite what whoeveritwas on tv said, some of the
varieties seem a lot better at 'holding it off' out of the fruit whilst the
stem and leaves lower down have been infected!

wrote:
It's not the size of the country, actually - the same is often true
between two gardens a mile away.

Or two allotments next to each other!

My neighbour who used to have a plot near ours (before they were ours) said
her husband could never grow beans, but had no problem with carrots and onions.
We have never (till this year!) had a problem with beans, but have always had
whiterot with the onions (which may have come in after she left, I guess) and
slugs and carrot fly with the carrots - to the point where there is barely any
carrot in the carrot!