Farmall Cub

I was always told to remove the irish potato vines and tomato vines from the garden, and not plow them under. Is this an "old wives tale" or is there something to it? I don't compost so I just haul them to the edge of the woods and dump them and let nature take its course.

Billy

Billy, I don't think this is just an old wives tale. I have a friend with the Auburn University Horticultural Division and that's his recommendation as well. He tells me it is best to burn diseased tomato plants to keep from having the fungus or whatever problem the tomatoes had, transferred back to the soil, and I suppose it would be the same with irish potatoes as well. Pete

Thanks Pete. I guess I might be doing something right for a change. We put up a good bit out of our garden, but not like we should have. Too dry. My wife has been putting up hot sauce (picante) for the last week. The tomatos are coming on gangbusters right now. Got enough to feed Coxe's army. Not complaining though.

Billy

You should be thankful, as I know you are. We are barely getting enough tomatoes to eat off of 24 plants, some have already died from the heat and drought. Less than 1/4 inch of rain in the last 2 months. Even the corn is dying and leaves are turning brown. This year will be another total failure for the garden for us and this after getting the Cubs last year to make gardening easy. Doesn't matter if I have 20 Cubs, without rain, nothing. Maybe next year. Pete

Yep. There's always next year. Can't be too much worse than this year, weather wise.

Billy

Pete sounds like you all are having about as much rain as we are here. Yesterday and last night we were supposed to get a good rain. I looked at the weather map about 5 PM and it looked like we were in line to get a good rain. We went to bed about eleven PM and I told my wife it might seperate and go around us. I woke up about two AM this morning, looked at the weather map and guess what the front had seperated and went around us. Guess the good Lord thanks we don't need any yet anyway we will get it when we need it I guess.

Jim

Jim, that is exactly what happens here with the storm clouds. We are on the tail end of the Blue Ridge moutains and quiet a bit higher than surrounding areas. I watch the storms approach and think we are going to get some rain out of this one, then it splits and part goes South, the other goes North. A lot of GA got beneficial rains over the weekend and we still got less than 3/8th of an inch. Forecasters say no more chance of rain until Friday, and then only 20%. I would wager the unlucky folks out in the Midwest would have loved to have shared a lot of their rain with us. Pete

We got hit again the other night and had another 2.5 inches from the last one!--probably have had around 6 inches total here in the last 10 days or so!---On both sides of us they had even more than we did!--We got mostly high winds from several of our storms!--I would have gladly shared our rains with you if I could have steered it toward your direction!! thanks; sonny