Monday, June 28, 2010

Newsletter has gone out...


Just a heads up that the newsletter should be in your email inbox now. Highlights include:

The next two weekends (Cherry Festival), there is NO downtown TC Saturday farmers’ market. We’ll be at an alternate location (TBA) for CSA pickup Saturday morning. Normally the market picks up and moves to the barns at the old state hospital, but it sounds like that may not happen this year. Check email this coming week for an update!


Organic CHERRIES will be available by special order. Our friends at Omena Organics (where those luscious peaches came from last year) are offering organic sweet and tart cherries for $3/lb. Sign up on the bulletin board (Tuesday) or clipboard (Saturday) for delivery the following week.


and


Since Late Blight (Phytopthera infestans) wiped out Michigan’s tomato crop last year, we’re a little protective of them this year. In fact, we’re even prepared to spray an organic copper fungicide IF we get word that Late Blight is in the state. The only (organic) way to protect against it is preventatively spraying copper fungicide- once the blight has infected a plant, there’s no salvaging it. So we’d like to know how YOU feel about this- copper fungicide is still fungicide, even if organic. It kills fungus, including beneficial soil fungus, in the process of protecting crops, as well as posing some health threats to people who handle it regularly (over many years, not over a single season). The best breakdown I could find (in a quick web search) about health, safety, and efficacy of copper fungicide was from Oregon State University. This paints, in my mind, a rather grim picture, but keep in mind most conventionally grown tomatoes are doused with heavier-hitting, more persistent chemicals. I certainly don’t intend to spray without confirmation that blight is in the neighborhood, but I also want you all to have loads of delicious, beautiful, healthy tomatoes, AND be informed about what it takes to get them to you. What are YOUR thoughts about tomatoes and copper? Next step: finish mulching.


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