Results tagged “gardening”

New England gardeners should be on the look-out for late blight, the mold infestation that caused the Irish potato famine, according to the Boston Herald. The disease is rarely widespread in the Northeast, but authorities say that this year's rainy weather has given the mold a boost. The disease affects tomato plants and potato plants in equal measure. Tomato plants have already been pulled from big-box retailers up and down the East Coast, but gardeners should inspect their tomato crop for signs of blight. Blighted plants are contagious. [Herald]

Residents of Union Square in Somerville are rightly freaking out over reported correlations between contaminated soil and high cancer rates. It turns out that recent soil testing has shown that Union Square's soil contains "arsenic, lead and other metal contamination." Officials "are not sure if it comes from the Miller’s River that once ran through or from the Kiley Barrel factory site, where paints were once blasted off recycled barrels." Whatever the cause, eating vegetables planted anywhere near Union Square is not a good idea. All hope is not lost for burgeoning Union Square gardeners, however. Container gardening and raised bed gardening both allow you to garden without planting in contaminated soil. For a fee, Somerville's Green City Growers will even set you up with a raised bed plot, or you can stop by the Boston Green Fest in August for a tutorial. [Somerville Journal]