Blossom End Rot

Blossom End Rot - A Common Disease in Southern Idaho Tomatoes.

Few things are more discouraging than babying your tomatoes all season only to find that the new fruit

has developed brown, leathery bottoms. To be a tomato grower in Southern Idaho is to know this

discouragement at some point. The good news is that this physiological disease, called Blossom End Rot,

is not contagious and is preventable.

Prevention,

If you are still planning your garden and have not yet planted your tomatoes, preventing Blossom End Rot starts with ensuring that your soil has good drainage and contains enough available calcium. It is recommended that you get a soil test to understand the nutrient content of your soil before you plant anything or attempt to make any adjustments. For more information on conducting a soils test. If a soil test determines that your garden is low in calcium, you can add pulverized limestone to the top 8-12 inches of your garden soil and mix it in thoroughly before planting.

Once your tomatoes are planted in well-draining soil, your next preventative measure will be to focus on consistent watering throughout the growing season. Soil should be consistently moist to the depth of 2 feet below the surface-- not too wet nor too dry. This can be tricky in Southern Idaho where summer often starts out cool but quickly becomes very hot and dry. This requires deep soaking rather than shorter, shallow watering cycles. Applying mulch can help hold moisture in the soil as well.

If I Already Have Blossom End Rot, Can My Plants Recover?

The above pointers are great if you’re reading this in the early spring before your garden is planted, however, if you found this article after discovering that the disease has already affected your tomatoes, not to fear! The following tips will help salvage your tomatoes mid-season after discovering Blossom End Rot:

1. Pick and discard the tomatoes that have Blossom End Rot. This will stop the plant from sending any more energy to the damaged fruit.

2. Address you're watering immediately to ensure the plants get consistently moist soil to the depth of 2 feet.

3. Avoid deep cultivation around tomato plants as root damage leads to insufficient water uptake and subsequent risk of Blossom End Rot.

4. Tomatoes require a lot of nutrients as they grow, so to keep them healthy and growing, be sure to fertilize your tomatoes with a balanced fertilizer.

5. Foliar calcium can be sprayed on leaves to help increase tissue calcium in plants affected with

Blossom End Rot.

Blossom End Rot is certainly not a fun thing to discover in your tomatoes, but it is also not the end of the world. Like all gardening adventures, you can learn to manage and hopefully prevent this disease so you can enjoy many tomatoes from your garden.

Does your tree look like this?

Damage is often patchy.

Have you ever noticed a tree with a branch that turns brown midway through the season while the rest look fine? Or a vegetable plant with stems turning yellow and brown?

What is it?  

Verticillium Wilt (Vw) V. dahliae  and Verticillium albo-atrum  is a soil borne disease that spreads through the roots to a plant’s vascular system. It can stump a gardener with early drought-like symptoms. It is a fatal disease of many important agricultural and horticultural crops. It is particularly present wherever potatoes and mint were farmed. And it can even kill a tree.

What does Verticillium Wilt look like? 

Vw symptoms can include wilt, chlorosis, reddish to purplish discoloration of leaves or stems and brown-stained or stunted leaves and vary widely between species.See video.

Vw on Maple

If you think your plant is infected, first find out whether that species is a host. Plants Resistant Or Susceptible To Verticillium Wilt, developed by the University of California, is a good resource. 
Proper diagnosis requires laboratory testing to rule out other organisms. Homeowners can submit a sample of soil to find out the level of Vw in the soil. The cost is $50.00 for plant material sample and $105.00 for the soil testing at the University of Idaho Plant Disease Diagnostics Lab in Parma, Idaho. Be sure to contact the lab first for specific instructions at (208) 722-6701.

What Types of Plants are susceptible?

Vw affects over 300 species. Trees most commonly and severely affected are maple and ash. The list also includes red-bud, lilac, catalpa, and smoke-bush.

Vw on dahlia

Vw on blackberry

Annuals, including dahlia and sunflower can be infected, as well as garden plants like cantaloupe, tomato, and asparagus. Once affected, roots may not develop normally again.

Dr. James Woodhall, Assistant Professor and Plant Pathologist with the U of I Parma Research Center says Vw is patchy – particularly in maples, but also as it appears throughout your property. Not every inch of ground will have it.

How do I save a tree or shrub with Verticillium wilt?  

Trees and shrubs infected with this systemic disease cannot be cured. They may die quickly in one season or slowly over several years. However, you can extend the life of your plants by making sure that you water and fertilize properly. 

In woody host plants, pruning of symptomatic limbs to remove all discolored sapwood, followed by burning, has prolonged the life expectancy of some trees.

If you remove a plant or tree because of this, be sure to plant a high value tree in some other field. This fungal genus may remain alive in the soil for many years in a resting state.

Can I Prevent Verticillium damage in the future?

The best way to avoid Vw is to plant deciduous trees and shrubs that are immune or resistant. You may have seen some or all of the letters VFNT next to the names of hybrid plant varieties in catalogs and on seed packets. The name will have a V following the variety name if it is resistant to Vw. Always test the soil before planting, especially with high value trees. Purchase disease tolerant trees and plants.

Brian Hudelson, UW-Madison Plant Pathology advises not to use mulches that may have been produced from infected trees or have unknown composition. Finally, immediately collect and discard leaves that have fallen from symptomatic trees.  Both mulch and leaves are potential sources of Verticillium.

Protecting Bee Habitat

Is Your Morning Coffee in Danger of Extinction? Our morning coffee, tea, chocolate, fruits, vegetables, asparagus, broccoli, apples and alfalfa need pollinators to survive. One in three bites of the food we eat requires pollination. We can help save the bees by careful management of their habitat.

Plant a bee garden with different flowers including some flat and tubular flowers. Plant so that you have flowers early spring to fall. Plant flowering trees. Make a bee bath by using a small dish with rocks, twigs and water.

Consider carefully your pesticide and herbicide use (especially neonicotinoids which are particularly deadly to bees). Leave a sunny spot of bare soil for native bees. Build a bee hotel. Let a portion of your lawn go back to its roots, clover and dandelions are favorites for bees. Consider replacing grass with  flowers. Limit fall cleanup by leaving leaves and not cutting back herbaceous perennials.
Working together we can improve bee habitat in the Treasure Valley.
Learn more about other pollinators during Pollinator Week is June 22nd to 28th.

It's an Aphid Invasion!

Are you noticing an aphid invasion in your garden?

Aphids cause deformed and curled new leaves, buds, and flowers.  They can also carry viral diseases and some species cause galls. 

These soft-bodied, small round insects like to suck plant juices around the growing tips and tender tissues of plants.  

All aphids secrete honeydew, and this is sometimes the first symptom noticed. The honeydew attracts ants who feed on it.  You can find more information about these pesky, and destructive, garden pests at the University of Kentucky’s fact page.

To manage aphid populations and their nuisance of destruction, soapy water (use specially formulated insecticidal soaps) sponged or sprayed onto leaves works well. Natural solutions can be predators like lady beetles and flower fly larvae. For additional information on biological, cultural, and chemical control options, check out the University of California or Colorado State University fact sheets on aphids.

Voles, friend or nuisance?

Voles are small rodents that measure 4-8 inches long and range in color from brown to gray.  In Alaska we had northern red-backed voles which are also found in Canada, Scandinavia, and northern Russia. They are sometimes referred to as Meadow Mice and their Latin name is Microtus pennsylvanicus.  “Microtus” translates to “small ear”.  They are pudgy with blunt faces, small eyes and ears, short legs and a short tail.  Vole numbers fluctuate from year to year and their populations can increase rapidly.  They can breed anytime of the year, but they typically breed in the Spring.  They are extremely prolific.  Female voles mature in 35 to 40 days, have 5 to 10 litters a year with 3 to 6 young per litter.

If you have turf, fruit trees, a home garden, grow crops commercially, and generally care about your landscape, you should be alert for the presence of voles.  They are herbivorous and feed on grasses, bulbs, tubers, tree bark, and tree roots.  They are active year-round, day and night.  A sure sign of voles “occupying an area” is their runways that connect numerous shallow borrows.  They don’t like to be seen and make their nest underground in dense vegetation and grasses and under snow in the winter.

It is best to mitigate vole population by use of a number of “management methods”.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to make your area less inviting.  You can do this by removing weeds, heavy mulch and dense vegetative cover.  This removes food sources, cover from predators, and makes it more challenging for them to connect trails.  This is generally referred to as “habitat modification”.  

You can also try fencing areas and adding approximately 12” of small mesh size (1/4” or smaller) to the bottom of the fencing  However, you would also need to bury the fence below the ground for 6-10” as voles tunnel.  

Protect young trees from girdling (removing the bark near the base) by using cylinders of metal, plastic, or hardware cloth and surrounding the trunk.  However, you also need to allow for tree growth and, again, remember to bury the cylinder below ground.  

If the voles have not “totally taken over the area” trapping can be effective.  A simple mouse trap baited with peanut butter has been successful.  Do not handle a caught vole w/o gloves as they do carry infectious pathogens and/or parasites.  Also, be sure to keep small children and pets out of the areas where you have traps set.

Finally, if you have a large area to eradicate and trapping will not be effective, there are two toxicants, zinc phosphide and anti-coagulants that are considered lethal control.  Please note, these are not recommended for residential areas.

Additionally, zinc phosphide is toxic to ground-feeding birds. Read labels carefully and contact your County Extension Office for further assistance!

Bottom line, voles are generally pest.  However, ask a predator such as a coyote, fox, snake, owl or hawk and they would say they are beneficial! 

Succulent Gardens - Indoors and Out!

What is it about succulents?  They are easy to grow indoors and outdoors, drought resistant, and there are so many varieties!

Plan your garden before you go shopping.  There are many online resources, videos, and book resources to help you get started. Essential Succulents: The Beginner's Guide by Ken Self is a great read!

Design options are unlimited.  Think about color, size and scale, shape, texture, and context.  There are wreaths, containers, and even wall gardens.  Look for plants with good color and shape, no dead leaves, and free of insects.  Zone 6 succulents include, among others, Hardy Ice Plant, Pig’s Ear, Cape Blanco Stonecrop, and Houseleek.  Others can be planted or arranged in pots in your design and then moved indoors in the colder months.  When moving them indoors, avoid extreme changes in temperature.

Now DIY planting can begin.  Be gentle because the roots are fragile, and don’t

plant them too deep.   Use soil that drains well.  Outdoors you may need to add succulent soil, pumice, vermiculite or sand to your existing soil.  Keep watering to a minimum, once per week or less, to avoid root rot. Here's a few more tips and a reference sheet:

• Over-watered plants start to droop and indentations are left in the leaves when touched. 
• Succulents like the sun, but some can get sunburned so plan for those plants too. 
• Maintenance includes cleaning up the dead leaves, watching for bugs, and pulling weeds. 
• Fertilization can be done on a monthly basis during the growing period.  Follow the label instructions. 
• Propagation is done with a stem cutting and best done in the spring after the dormant period. 

Enjoy growing the many 

varieties of succulents both

indoors and outdoors.

The creativity and fun are endless!

Edible Flowers and Herbs

Drying Herbs

Edible flowers and herbs are as old as time.They have been used for enhancing flavor and for garnishing foods as long as ancient cultures have been cooking.

Ten Rules of Edible Flowers  Sherry Rindels, Department of Horticulture, Iowa State University writes about the the do's and don'ts  of culinary usage for edible flowers.

A few words of caution: Know your plants before you eat: Edible Flowers - 7.237 - Extension 

It is important that the proper identification of edible flowers and herbs be used. Not all flowers are edible. Some flowers and herbs are poisonous and should not be eaten. Many plants have similar common names which may cause added confusion when choosing flowers and herbs for cooking.  Always use the scientific name when choosing a flower or herb.

 

Herb Garden

 Herbs for Idaho Gardens » Idaho Landscapes and Gardens

Common herbs: basil, dill, cilantro, chives, thyme, sage
Uncommon herbs: savory, comfrey, borage 

Edible Flowers » Idaho Landscapes and Gardens  

Nasturtium

Whether you are an extraordinary cook, or a novice, enhancing your everyday cooking with edible flowers and herbs can add new flavors and enjoyment to your meals. 

Bon Appetit!