July 20, 2010 by Debra.

As posted yesterday, Late Blight has been confirmed in Maine and Massachusetts. This is a disease that threatens both home and commercial growers, and our local food supply — please monitor your tomato and potato plants, and report any sign of Late Blight to the Cooperative Extension. In New Hampshire, contact the UNH Cooperative Extension. The UNH Cooperative Extension is also offering free lab diagnosis of suspected Late Blight samples.

The latest update from Eric Sideman of MOFGA:

The latest update on late blight is not good news.  It has been found by scouts on a few more farms in the Waldoboro region. These have not been confirmed yet in the lab, but the field observations were on tomatoes and potatoes on commercial farms. This means that growers in that area should be very vigilant scouting…

To read more, including his recommendations for organic growers >

And from the Pest Management Office, Maine Cooperative Extension, which is also accepting samples of suspected Late Blight:

Late Blight:  Grower and Farm Stand Alert

Potato late blight, the disease that caused the significant crop losses for tomatoes and potatoes in Maine last year has just been confirmed at a sight in Waldoboro, and several other suspected sites are now being investigated. Typical symptoms will be a water-soaked grease spot on foliage with a fine white mycelium on the underside of the leaflet. A stalk infection will usually look dark brown, almost black.

 

The spores released by infected plants have the ability to travel 40 plus miles under the right conditions and infect potato and tomato plants. We are encouraging all commercial growers and home gardeners to be carefully inspecting their plants for disease. If late blight is found we are asking that the diseased plants be destroyed. They can be buried or simply bagged so that the spores can not escape and that the plant will die.  Late blight is an obligate parasite and needs living tissue in order to survive. Applications of protective fungicides should be applied to tomato and potato crops if they have not been receiving regular applications up to this point.

 

The Pest Management Office in Orono will look at any samples that you may suspect have been infected. When sending samples, they should be placed in a plastic bag with a piece of moist paper towel to keep the sample fresh.

 

For pictures of this disease visit the following websites:

www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_tomato.htm

www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_potato.htm

 

The Pest Management Office has copies of a home gardener alert, a late blight ID sheet for roadside stand producers and a poster for late blight identification that you can use to make your help and your customers more aware of this potentially devastating disease.

 

Late Blight Hotline: For the most recent information, call the IPM Hotline at 207-760-9IPM (207-760-9476).

 

Pest Management Office

491 College Avenue

Orono, ME  04473

1-800-287-0279

PMO @ umext.maine.edu

Posted in author: Debra, grow your own | Print | No Comments »

July 20, 2010 by Debra.

Pasture-raised chicken from New Roots Farm will be available for the first time at the Exeter Farmers’ Market this Thursday:

New Roots will have fresh chicken from our Certified Organic pastures at the Exeter Market on Thursday. These are not commercial cornish cross birds, but instead, are genetic stock derived from American and European heritage breeds. Freedom Rangers were developed in the early 1960’s to meet the highest standards of the French Label Rouge Free Range program. Currently, the Freedom Ranger genetic stock is used by most non-factory farm production models all across Europe and also by small pastured poultry producers in search of a traditionally raised farm chicken — just like the “oldies,” healthy and with a succulent flavor and texture.

Since our Freedom Ranger Broilers are a slower growing breed, they are naturally better suited to being raised on pasture and have none of the health issues associated with industrial birds and their ultra-rapid growth rate. 

We are thrilled to add high-quality chicken to our vegetable, pastured pork and grass fed lamb offerings and should now have chicken throughout the market season in Exeter.

For more information, please contact New Roots Farm directly. The Exeter Farmers’ Market is located at Swasey Parkway, and is open weekly on Thursdays, 2:25 to 6 p.m., through October 28th.

Posted in author: Debra, sources of local food | Print | 1 Comment »

July 20, 2010 by Sara Zoe.

 Turning Point Community Garden is a new project getting rolling in Durham, NH

From their about description, “Turning Point Community Garden is a project, headed by a UNH master’s student, to create a community area that sustainably and holistically provides food, energy, other commodities, and a pleasant space freely to the public and especially those in need. It serves as a hub for the exchange of ideas, the teaching of sustainable farming and living practices and skills, and the socialization of the community. It is located on Wednesday Hill Road, in Durham, New Hampshire, on land freely and kindly lent by the owners of Turning Point Farm.”

They are seeking any extra started vegetables or late-season seeds for the garden. Email Ellen at edm23@cisunix.unh.edu for more information. 

You can find more information about Turning Point Community Garden on Facebook

Posted in grow your own | Print | No Comments »