Preventing Tomato Late Blight Next Year

One of my heirloom tomatoes, just shy of ripening,
infected with late blight; August 2009

This past summer I began my first real garden — "real" meaning in the ground and not in containers. I started most of my vegetables from seed, and my garden did quite well for a first try. I had basil, parsley, sage, jalapeños, peas, summer squash, zucchini, buttercrisp lettuce, mesclun greens, and tomatoes. Well . . . I almost had tomatoes.

My first in-ground garden; July 2009

In early August my tomatoes caught late blight. All 15 heirloom plants, which were over 4 feet tall and which I had been tending to since March when I started them from seed, were infected. I was bordering on tears the day I pulled out every tomato plant from the soil. I crammed and stuffed those well-cared-for, well-loved plants into garbage bags to contain the fungus and reduce the spread of the spores. I will try again next season. I am determined to grow my tomatoes and eat them, too!

Tomatoes and other vegetable seedlings growing under
fluorescent lights in my basement; April 2009

Greenhouse Management & Production put a post on their site to instruct gardeners on how to prevent blight next growing season. This is what they had to say:

To help prevent late blight next growing season, Beth Gugino, assistant professor of plant pathology at Penn St. Univ., recommends making sure that all late blight-infected tomato and/or potato plant tissue from this past season is dead and home gardeners refrain from composting diseased plant material.

“Late blight cannot withstand the freezing winter temperatures of the Northeast, but may be able to live in the center of a warm compost pile,” said Gugino. “As long as the plant tissue is alive, the pathogen can survive.”

Late blight is a fungus (Phytophthora infestans) that primarily affects tomatoes, potatoes and certain solanaceous weeds such as bittersweet nightshade.

“An unseasonably cool spring followed by an equally unseasonably cool and wet summer facilitated late blight growth for both home gardeners and commercial farmers throughout the growing season, which is very rare,” Gugino said.

There is no need to remove dead tomato plant tissue this late in the season or treat the soil over the winter, since freezing temperatures will kill both the plant tissue and late blight. However, late blight can survive in infected potato tubers over winter and can be a potential source of the disease the following year. If they are infected, Gugino recommends they be dug up and disposed of. She said volunteer potato plants that begin to grow next season should be quickly destroyed.

The pathogen can't survive in or on tomato seeds, or on tomato cages and stakes between the seasons. Gugino said many bacterial diseases can survive in the seed and on the cages so it is still important to purchase high quality seed and to disinfect cages and stakes to help control these diseases.

Currently there are no tomato varieties resistant to late blight, however growers and home gardeners have observed that some may be less susceptible than others. Breeding work is under way and some resistant varieties are in the final stages of development and are expected to be available as soon as 2010.

Greenhouse Management & Production : News Preventing tomato late blight next year

Best of luck to all gardeners; may you have bright, juicy, delicious tomatoes in 2010!

— Kristy MacWilliams, Marketing Manager

Sue Weaver: Feeling Sheepish

Baby Maxx with his twin sister, Hope

I’ve admired sheep all my life but from afar, through interacting with friends’ flocks and dreaming of the day I’d buy my first sheep. That happened 6 years ago with the purchase of an aged, bred ewe named Baasha and a weanling ram. Today we share our farm with 23 tiny sheep, Baasha’s descendants every one.

Late autumn is an exciting time of year on our little farm, as we pair up sheep for next spring’s lambs. This year we’re breeding only three of our best ewes. Their boyfriend is Wolf Moon Fin Bheara, a.k.a. Maxx, a unique double-registered Miniature and Classic Cheviot born on our little farm in 2008; unique because he’s the first paint (spotted) Cheviot registered with both registries, though we’re crossing our fingers that he’ll sire more of the same.

Maxx's handsome profile

It’s also exciting to be one of the first three breeders of Classic Cheviots and a cofounder of the American Classic Cheviot Sheep Association. Most of our group’s foundation sheep are also registered with the American Miniature Cheviot Sheep Breeders Association, a fine organization to be sure, though not as interested in producing old-time Cheviot type and high-quality handspinners’ fleece — those are the aims of our group.

Our little sheep are not true miniatures. They are original British-type Border Cheviots as that breed existed before it was selectively bred for longer legs and larger cuts of meat. Records dating to 1372 refer to a “small, but very hardy” race of sheep grazing the bleak Cheviot Hills between Scotland and England. These sheep, ancestors of all five modern breeds of Cheviot sheep, lived on the windswept hills summer and winter, seeking their own food to survive.

A Border Cheviot ram circa 1860

In 1791 Sir John Sinclair, president of the British Board of Agriculture, said of Cheviot wool: "The highlands of Scotland if covered with the coarse wool breeds of sheep the wool might be worth 300,000 pounds of sterling, whereas, if the same ground were covered by the Cheviot, the true mountain breed, would be worth at least 900,000 pounds sterling.” The main use of Cheviot fleece was for weaving Cheviot tweed fabric, long touted as the best of Britain’s tweeds. Sadly, the Highland clearances occurred when landowners ousted crofters and their stock to make way for flocks of Cheviot sheep.

The first Cheviots came to America in the 1840s, when Thomas Laidler, a shepherd on the Cheviot Hills, sent each of his four children living in New Lisbon, New York, three Cheviot sheep. By the early days of the twentieth century, Cheviots were a favorite breed in North America, Australia, and New Zealand and throughout the British Isles.

Cheviot lambs are adorable beyond words.

Like their ancestors, Miniature and Classic Cheviots are broad, short-legged, sturdy sheep that are longer than they are tall (Miniature Cheviots may be up to 23 inches tall, measured at their newly shorn shoulders; Classics up to 27 inches tall may be registered, though the standard calls for sheep in the 18-inch to 24-inch height range). Adults weigh in the neighborhood of 100 pounds. Whites, blacks, and dilute black colors occur, and dark sheep frequently have white-splashed faces. They have perky, horselike ears; huge, dark eyes; and handsomely convex facial profiles. Their faces and legs are covered with hair instead of wool, and their soft, spongy, low-grease fleeces don’t pick up a lot of debris. Staple length (the length of fleece grown between annual shearings) runs from 3 to 5 inches and tests 25 to 32 microns in diameter.

Best, they are hardy, easy-care sheep brimming with joie de vivre. Like other mountain breeds, they are not close-flocking; this and their active natures make them a favorite wool breed for herding-dog training.

Wolf Moon Wren will lamb in April.

Now begins the long, exciting wait until the first lambs are due to arrive — on April Fool’s Day, no less. Their mom will be my oldest producing ewe, Rebaa (Coats’ Farm Rosy Lolita), who retires with the birth of this year’s lambs. For the past three lambing seasons, wise old Rebaa, who consistently gives birth to twins or triplets, has selected a lamb from her brood for me to bottle-raise. She nurses her lambs for an hour or so until making her selection, then starts nudging the chosen lamb away. If I don’t take the hint, she gets rougher until I do. Does she reject this lamb? I don’t think so. I think she wants me to share her joy at raising lambs. And I do. I can hardly wait till lambing time this coming year!

Sue Weaver sold her first freelance article in 1969. Since then her work has appeared in major horse periodicals, including The Western Horseman, Horse Illustrated, Chronicle of the Horse, Flying Changes, Horseman’s Market, Arabian Horse Times, The Appaloosa News, The Quarter Horse Journal, Horse’N Around, and The Brayer. She has written, among other books, Storey’s Guide to Raising Miniature Livestock, The Donkey Companion, and Get Your Goat! to be published in 2010. Sue is based in the southern Ozark Mountains in Arkansas.

Shaker Chicken Stew with Scallion Dumplings

Three years ago, when Storey first published Dishing Up Maine, I used two recipes from the book to cook a birthday dinner for my then boyfriend (he has since moved up to fiancé status). I chose Mussels Steamed with Leeks and Mustard Cream, page 200, for the appetizer and Shaker Chicken Stew with Scallion Dumplings, page 158, for the main course. Since then, the Shaker Chicken Stew has become one of our favorite fall/winter dinners.

Last night I prepared it and made a double batch to share with our families. We gave some to Ryan's father last night, and I dropped some off to my grandmother and mother on my way to work this morning. I, of course, kept some so Ryan and I could have a second meal, too!

Here is the recipe:

Shaker Chicken Stew with Scallion Dumplings

Chicken Stew
5 cups chicken broth
3½ pounds bone-in chicken thighs, excess fat removed (see Note below)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 large bay leaf, broken in half
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2½ cups baby carrots (about ¾ pound)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Scallion Dumplings
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced scallions or chives
3 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 5 pieces
½ cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons whole, low-fat, or skim milk

1. To make the Chicken Stew, bring the broth to a boil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the chicken, onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the chicken is about three-quarters cooked, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the carrots, and continue to cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.

2. Remove the chicken to a plate, and when cool enough to handle, strip off the skin, remove the meat from the bones, and cut into 2-inch chunks. Return the chicken meat to the broth, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. To make the Scallion Dumplings, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the scallions. Work the shortening into the flour mixture, using your fingertips or a fork, until most of the pieces are about the size of small peas. Add ½ cup of the milk, and stir with a fork until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. If the mixture seems dry, add some or all of the remaining milk.

4. Return the stew to a simmer. Dip a tablespoon into the simmering liquid, scoop out a rounded spoonful of dumpling dough, and drop it into the simmering stew. Repeat with the remaining dough, forming 12 to 14 dumplings. Cover the pot, and simmer over low heat until the dumplings look shiny on top and are firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Serve into shallow soup bowls.

Note: If time is short, use about 1¾ pounds skinless, boneless thighs and cook for about half the time.

— Kristy MacWilliams, Marketing Manager

Berkshire Grown Holiday Farmer's Markets

GREAT BARRINGTON + WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (November 13, 2009) – Berkshire Grown will present more than 50 regional farmers and food producers to the Berkshires at the first annual Holiday Farmers’ Markets, scheduled for Williamstown and Great Barrington on November 21, the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Holiday Farmers’ Markets will take place at the Williams College Field House on Latham Street in Williamstown (10 am – 2 pm) and the old firehouse on Castle Street in Great Barrington (9 am – 1pm.) The two events will create a community marketplace to extend the selling season of farmers as well as invite community members to join in celebration of the wide array of farms and food producers available in the region.

Many components for the Thanksgiving holiday meal will be offered including produce, cheese, eggs, meat, poultry and baked goods. Entertainment will feature live music at both venues and the events are free and open to the public.

The Williamstown market will feature Appletree Hill Organic Farm, Baby Cakes, Berkshire Organics, Berle Farm, The Berry Patch, Chocolate Springs, Cricket Creek Farm, Elf Parlor, Gala Restaurant in partnership with Green River Farm, Hidden Pasture Farm, Jaeschke’s Orchard, The Market of Pittsfield, Mezze Catering, Mighty Food Farm, Naga Bakehouse, Peace Valley Farm, Sidehill Farm, Sleeping Dog Farm, Sol Flower Farm, Sweet Brook Farm, Wild Oats Community Market and several independent bakers and florists. Williams College Dining Services will be offering samples of their pumpkin, apple-cinnamon and maple gelato. Berkshire Grown, Berkshire Natural Resource Council and The Sustainable Food and Agriculture Program at Zilkha Center will be present, and the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation will present instruction for churning butter as a children’s activity.

The Great Barrington market vendors include 3-Corner Field Farm, allium restaurant + bar in partnership with Farm Girl Farm, Amy Cotler, Asia Luna, Berkshire Grown, Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Berkshire Orchids, Berkshire Organics, Blue Moon Shrooms, Cardinelle Jackson, Cedar Farm Flowers, Consider Bardwell Farm, Cricket Creek Farm, Dutch Desserts, Farm Country Soup, Farm at Miller’s Crossing, Farm House Bakers, Garlic Headz, Klara’s Gourmet Cookies, Indian Line Farm, Leahey Farm, Lorna Herbals, Maiden Flower Farm, Markristo Farm, Maynard Farms, Moon in the Pond Farm, Peace Valley Farm, Pittsfield Rye, R&G Cheese, River Valley Farm, Stagecoach Tavern and Taft Farm.

In support of Berkshire Grown, this event is sponsored by Williams College (The Sustainable Food and Agriculture Program in conjunction with Dining Services), Mezze Restaurant Group and Slow Food of Western Massachusetts. Visit www.berkshiregrown.org for additional details.

Heather Smith Thomas – Notes from Sky Range Ranch: My 4-H Experiences

Ginger and me (on the left) and my friend Marilyn on Trinket, ready for costume class

When I was in seventh grade, in 1957, a ranching couple in our community started the first 4-H horse club in Idaho, and I was part of their first group of horse-crazy kids. Jerry and Velma Ravndal were longtime horse breeders and fervently dedicated to the ideals of good horsemanship. They had no children of their own but wanted to help young people learn more about horses. When they “retired” from cattle ranching and moved closer to town to concentrate on breeding good Arabian horses, they started a club that became the 5-H Wranglers—the fifth H stood for horses.

At that time I was riding and training Ginger, the filly who came with our ranch, and I used her for my first 5-H project. We did a lot of classroom work that first winter, learning about the origin and development of horses and breeds, color and markings, conformation and parts of the horse, unsoundnesses, safety around horses, proper use and care of tack (and how to take apart our saddles and clean them), proper terminology, keeping horses healthy, feeding them, and so on. Later that spring, when we started bringing our horses to the meetings, we learned how to groom them, take care of their feet, tie proper knots, mount properly, and ride correctly—learning how to communicate effectively with our horses. We also taught them to longe, tie, lead properly, and show at halter.

My little brother Rocky used Ginger for 4-H.

At the end of the year, we put on a horse show, which included a costume class in which we showed our horses in pairs. My friend Marilyn and I rode our mares, Ginger and Trinket, bareback with jaw ropes, wearing “Indian” costumes we made out of burlap (to simulate animal hides), decorated with feathers, magpie claws, rattlesnake rattles, and painted seashells.

The second year my little brother Rocky joined the club and took Ginger for his project and I used Nell (a young Thoroughbred mare I’ll tell you more about next time). I also bred our ranch mare Scrappy to Ravndal’s Arab stallion El Khamis for my first mare-and-foal project. El Khamis was a wonderful little horse that Jerry rode to help other ranchers work cattle. Jerry could rope calves by the heels for branding or doctoring, and the stallion would hold the rope tight, all by himself, while Jerry was dealing with the calf on the ground. El Khamis was at ease doing all sorts of things, whether working around cattle, packing a deer during hunting season, participating in a noisy parade, or carrying a child on his back. He was a very smart, athletic, and versatile animal, and many local ranchers bred their mares to him. There are still a lot of part-Arab ranch horses around our county, descendants of that wonderful stallion.

Scrappy and foal; my mare-and-foal project

Training Khamette as a three-year-old

The next year my first foal, Khamette, was born—a nice bay filly. I worked with her from the time she was a month old. She and Scrappy lived on a mountain pasture with our other horses until school was out for the summer and I had time to train the foal. I taught her to lead, tie, pick up her feet, and so forth and took her to the fair that fall. Not having a horse trailer, I rode Scrappy and led the filly along the edge of the highway, the entire 14 miles to town. Khamette always was nice to lead, and in her later years each of my kids learned to ride on her as we rode range for long hours, with me leading her from my own horse.

Shoeing Khamette, as part of my 4-H horseshoeing project

Riding Khamette sidesaddle at the Ravndals' place

I used Khamette, then a two-year-old under saddle, for my 4-H yearling project. As I waited for her to grow up, one of my other 4-H projects was training Alla Tabu, a young Arabian gelding owned by the Ravndals. This was good background and a learning experience in riding a green horse, to help prepare me for training Khamette.

The Ravndals were a wonderful influence on my life and on the lives of many other 4-H kids. Velma was a stickler for proper horse care and horsemanship. As a young person in Nampa, Idaho, during the 1920s, she and a friend learned advanced horsemanship from a young cavalry officer, whom her friend later married. Then in the 1950s and ’60s, Velma taught us 4-H kids proper military seat and good horsemanship from the cavalry manual Horsemanship and Horsemastership, published in 1935. Some of us borrowed English saddles, taught our horses to jump, learned proper jumping form, and also studied dressage. A couple of us learned to ride sidesaddle as well.

Another project I accomplished during my high school years was horseshoeing. Jerry Ravndal was a farrier as well as an excellent horse trainer, and when I started shoeing our family ranch horses, he took me under his wing and gave me some good instruction.

Khamette and me on the cover of Farm Journal

During those years I started writing a few articles for horse magazines and farm publications, along with the stories I was selling to children’s magazines. In 1960 I sold one of my first major articles to Farm Journal, telling about our 5-H horse club. It was published in May 1961 and featured me and Khamette on the cover.

My years in the 5-H Wranglers helped further my education and dedication as a horse person and cemented my desire to spend the rest of my life with horses. I made a commitment to learn all I could about how best to care for and handle them (always putting the welfare of the horse first) and then to share my knowledge and experience with others by writing about them. Thus were the beginnings of my lifelong love affair with horses and sharing this passion with others.

To be continued. . . .

Heather Smith Thomas raises horses and cattle on her family ranch in Salmon, Idaho. She writes for numerous horse magazines and is the author of several books on horses and cattle farming, including Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses, Storey's Guide to Training Horses, Stable Smarts, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Your Calf, Getting Started with Beef and Dairy Cattle, Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle, Essential Guide to Calving, and The Cattle Health Handbook. You can read all of her Notes from Sky Range Ranch posts here.

Buy Now, Sew Later

The cool weather of late autumn is almost a relief. The whirlwind of outdoor summer activity is over, and now I can shut myself up in the house for a whole day of crafting without feeling guilty about not taking advantage of the sunshine. It's been time for me to catch up on wedding gifts, baby gifts, and home decorating projects I've had on the back burner for months. One such project has been curtains for our bedroom. We've lived in this home for almost three years without any window coverings at all, which is the way I like it, given that trees provide a natural privacy screen on three sides of the house. The sun- and moonbeams have a way of stabbing us in the eyes, though, when we're trying to sleep, so we really needed curtains to filter the light.


I knew I wanted a simple lightweight muslin for the body of the curtain, with just an edging of patterned fabric. Probably six months ago I spent a day studying all of my favorite online fabric stores (more on that later) and decided on Alexander Henry's Granville-Briquetage for the patterned trim. Unfortunately, fabrics seem to cycle through stores almost as quickly as fashion, and by the time I was ready to buy and start sewing, the collection was no longer available through regular fabric retailers. With some perseverance I was able to purchase enough through Etsy. Note to self: Buy now, sew later.

I chose white muslin with a patchwork at the hem
of two different colorways from the Alexander Henry
Granville-Briquetage collection. Muslin is cheap,
so I was able to make six large panels for very little money.
Also, I love color and pattern, but I didn't want
the curtains to overwhelm the room.

Here are a few of my favorite online fabric stores. What are yours?
craftyplanet.com
purlsoho.com
reprodepot.com
superbuzzy.com

Alethea Morrison, Creative Director
Photos by Mars Vilaubi

Amy Cotler: Butternut Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Pumpkin pie has become a generic holiday dessert, with a blah crust that offers nothing to its slightly gelatinous canned filling. So here’s an alternative, a family favorite that’s a welcome twist on the classic. Fresh roasted butternut squash is spun into a puddinglike filling with local cream and eggs, then housed in a crunchy gingersnap crust. Makes one pie.

Pie Crust
About 10 ounces of gingersnaps
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
1 2-1/2 or 3 lb butternut squash (2 cups purée or 1 pound)
2 extra-large eggs, beaten until frothy
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
20 grates nutmeg or 1/8 teaspoon

Optional Topping
Pecan halves or toasted butternut seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Pierce the squash a few times with a knife. Roast it whole on a baking sheet for about 1 hour or until very soft. Split in half lengthwise. Remove the fibrous center, seeds, and skin. Discard all, or save the seeds for another use (clean and toast in a dry pan over medium heat until crisp, then season).

3. Purée the squash flesh in the food processor. Measure out 2 cups or 1 pound and set aside. Keep the oven on. (Use the remainder of the purée as a vegetable side dish, seasoned.)

4. While the squash is roasting, chop gingersnaps in the food processor until they are fine crumbs. Pulse twice with sugar and melted butter.

5. Pour the crumbs into a pie plate that is 9 inches wide by 1-1/2 inches tall. Use your hands to coat pie plate evenly with the crumbs. Press firmly, especially the sides and top. Place on a baking sheet. Cover the edges well with foil to prevent burning.

4. Whisk or pulse the remaining filling ingredients in the food processor just to combine. Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 40 minutes or until just set. If you like, garnish with the nuts in a circle. Let sit or chill before cutting to serve.

A longtime advocate of local eating, Amy Cotler is the author of The Locavore Way and founding director of Berkshire Grown, a food initiative that received international recognition as a model for local food advocacy. She now consults, teaches, and lectures on food and farm-to-table issues. She worked as the Web food forum host for The New York Times, and her food articles have been published in numerous periodicals, including Fine Cooking, Kitchen Garden, Cook’s, Family Fun, Self, Gastronomique, and Orion. Her five cookbooks include The Secret Garden Cookbook, My Little House Cookbook, and Fresh From the Farm: The Massachusetts Farm to School Cookbook, which is available free online. Amy has developed close to 1,000 recipes, including many for the revision of The Joy of Cooking. She’s taught at the Institute for Culinary Education and the Culinary Institute of America, where she also researched and wrote teaching text for their professional cookbook. She lives in Western Massachusetts. Reach her at www.freshcotler.com.

This post was originally published on her blog, Amy Cotler, The Locavore Way.

One-Yard Wonders on Twin Cities Live!

Authors Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins show off a few of the 101 projects that can be whipped up with only one yard of fabric and their new book, One-Yard Wonders.