Herb news

#1 For  this cold windy day, I found a website with tons of info and pics about herbs

 http://www.horizonherbs.com/pilot.asp

#2 Deb Soule from Avena Botanicals will be offering some workshops 

The speakers are donating their time, and all proceeds go directly to the Russell Libby Memorial Fund. Classes are by donation only, with suggested donations of $5 to $500 and are held at Avena in Rockport.

February 16, 10 to 11:30 a.m. - Herbs for Easing Stress and Building Resiliency, with herbalist Deb Soule

March 16, 10 to 11:30 a.m. - Seeds, Soil, and Spirit, with CR Lawn from FEDCO Seeds

April 13, 10 to 11:30 a.m. - Herbs and Meditation for Calming the Mind and Easing Despair and Grief, with herbalists Deb Soule and Kahadish Waadabi

April 27, 10 to noon - Cancer Prevention and Treatment with Herbs and Whole Foods, with nurse practitioner and herbalist Kristina King

#3 At the last meeting of the Maine herb Society we shared garden problems and beautiful garden photos.

One topic was early blight. here is an official post about it from Cornell.

EARLY BLIGHT, caused by the fungus Alternaria solani, is one of the most common and damaging diseases of 

tomatoes in the northeastern states in home gardens. It is primarily a leaf spot and foliage blight, but also may cause a 

black spotting around the stem end and shoulders of ripe fruits in late autumn.

Symptoms: The first symptom of early blight is 

the appearance of small dark brown spots on the 

lowest, oldest leaves. These range in size from a 

pinpoint to 1/2 inch in diameter. When weather 

conditions are right (75 to 85 F) with high

humidity, these spots enlarge with a concentricring pattern as a result of daily growth and spore 

production by the organism. This target-board 

symptom aids in diagnosis of early blight (Figure 

1.). There is usually a narrow yellow zone around 

the spots, which fades into the normal green. The 

spots enlarge, become irregular, and make the 

leaflets turn yellow and die. Symptoms generally 

begin to show in midseason after many fruits have 

set, but become severe later when a heavy fruit 

load, high soil temperatures, or dry weather 

stresses the plant. After the lower leaves are 

damaged or even lost, the symptoms move up the 

plant and repeat the process until sometimes all 

leaves on the lower part of the plant are lost. Spots 

may appear on the main stem to cause partial girdling and further 

damage to the plant parts above such areas (Figure 2.). Excessive 

defoliation exposes late fruit to sunscald and encourages the 

"freckles" fruit symptom caused by a related fungus, Alternaria 

tenuis. Ripe fruits may be invaded by the early blight fungus near 

the point of attachment to the stem and may exhibit concentric 

patterns like those on the lower leaves.

Causal Agent: Alternaria solani can live for at least a year in 

diseased vines and also in nightshade. When environmental 

conditions are right and a tomato plant is nearby, spores arise and 

infect leaves as described above. The numerous spores in the new 

leaf spots then splash in rain or irrigation water to other tomato 

plants under stress, until several disease cycles have been completed 

and the weather has turned cool. Inadequate fertility and organic 

matter, minor element deficiency, and lack of soil moisture 

predispose tomatoes to infection and set the stage for an epidemic 

where plants have not been protected by fungicides. The fungus can 

be carried on and under the seed coat.