blight fight

debra,
i'm not sure where you define 'upstate' new york, but to give some perspective, i live in dutchess county, ny about 1 hour north of nyc. we had what is called the late blight (the same thing that caused the irish potato famine way back in 1850). the thing about blight is that it's caused by a pathogen that produces many spores that travel in the wind & can drop down anywhere & infect where it lands. these pathogens do revive themselves from 1 year to another, so it's important to kill them outright, otherwise they will winter over & cause the same damage next planting/growing season. i have read that a process called solarization can cook these pathogens & kill them. basically, you put thin clear plastic tightly over the moist garden soil & let the heat of the sun bake the spores to death. google solarization & you can read more about it.
good luck & happy growing,
dennis r
zone 5, ny


A signed copy of my book, "Easy Plant Propagation" is a great gift idea!