Blight

Well, I thought we had avoided the tomato blight on the fruit we brought indoors, but I was wrong. This week we threw out over 20 gallons of tomatoes, meaning that we won't have enough tomatoes to make the second batch of salsa we usually make. This is the first time in 7 years that we'll be short, and we usually have enough to also can tomato sauce and taco sauce.

Mike and I have been very careful to throw out all diseased plans and fruit, and we've even bleached the tomato cages. Next year I will rotate the tomatoes out of that area so that there is no easy way for the new tomatoes to get infected. I sure hope that will be enough. Only the tomatoes from the back got blight, likely from our neighbors' gardens. Our side beds and front beds were just fine, however the green tomatoes from those beds got infected when we moved all the tomatoes downstairs to ripen. I am worried that blight will flourish in their yards net year and move into mine again.

On the upside, our potatoes have been okay and we brought the rest of the harvest into the basement today. I also picked our edame beans and the girls dug a few more carrots for the week.  It was quite sunny for a lot of the day today, and we all enjoyed some sun while working in the yard. Now only my side bed has anything that is vulnerable to frost.

So far, the spinach and cilantro has not sprouted in the greenhouse, however it has been unseasonably cold and wet. I am hoping that the next few days will be sunny and some sprouting will happen. It will be nice to have something new and fresh. We are still eating basil from the greenhouse and the girls often munch a basil leaf or some fresh strawberries.