Denise Membreno

Denise writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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One of the most enjoyable things about this time of year is homegrown tomatoes. I have had the luxury of enjoying garden tomatoes all my life, and for most of it, I have not had to lift a finger to do so.

When my dad was alive, he kept us in homegrown tomatoes all year. July and August lunches consisted of lettuce and tomato sandwiches or BLTs. The kitchen countertops were covered with tomatoes, as was the top of the freezer in the washroom (laundry room).

By mid-August, my mom sweating in the sweltering kitchen while canning vegetables, was cursing my dad's excellent gardening skills. She would always end by saying, "This will be worth it in the winter when we're still eating our green beans and tomatoes." And it was, at least from my point of view.

I have a garden this year. I have frozen some green beans, but my countertops are missing tomatoes. I never have experienced my dad's success at growing tomatoes. After speaking with neighbors and friends, I have found I am not the only one having trouble.

Gardens, be they flower or vegetable, represent hope and faith. Here is how it starts: In early spring you turn the soil preparing for the planting in the months to come. Next you sow the seeds, hoping to reap a bountiful harvest. You have faith that seedlings will emerge and that you will be able to help them become fruit-bearing mature plants. When these expectations do not come to pass, you are (I am) disappointed, discouraged, depressed.

I try to make myself feel better by saying the cucumbers and green beans are doing well, but I want tomatoes. So I called the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office and reached the Master Gardener Hot Line. Here is what I found out:

My neighbor's tomato vines died, the leaves turned yellow and they produced very little fruit and what they did produce was small.

"It was either vertizillium (verticillium) or fusarium wilt," explained Master Gardener Carol O'Neill. "Those are very toxic and will kill the plant. It's in the soil or can be blown in by the wind or insects can bring it in."

Vertizillium and fusarium are fungi that infect tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant at any age. Usually the wilt organisms enter the plant through young roots and then grow into and up the water-conducting vessels of the roots and stem. O'Neill said the only recourse is to destroy the plant. There are hybrid varieties that are resistant to these diseases. Heirloom plants are more susceptible to the fungi.

These fungi may stay in the soil for years. The solution: Destroy infested plants. Rotate your plants each year. Weed your garden because some weeds actually host vertizillium and fusarium. Keep your plants healthy by using the appropriate fertilizer.

In my garden, the vines look pretty good, but when the tomatoes appear, the bottom half of the fruit rots away. "That is blossom end rot," said O'Neill. "That happens because of the changes in the moisture. Usually it just affects the first tomatoes."

Blossom rot is dependent upon a number of environmental conditions, especially those that affect the supply of water and calcium in the developing fruits.

"I like to put some Epsom salt in the hole when I plant my tomatoes, and that's one of the things that helps alleviate your blossom end rot," O'Neill said. "Always rotate your crops, because they draw different nutrients from the soil and different ones put nutrients back into the soil. So it is good to make a rotation when planting."

She also suggested when watering your plants, water deep and not too often.

"Just giving them a tiny little drink doesn't really do them good. They like to be watered deep, in the morning usually and down at the soil, not on the leaves because that's how they get a lot of diseases, from watering from above. The leaves need a chance to dry during the day."

Now that I have gotten a little education, I hope next year my countertops will be overflowing with tomatoes. I also want to grow so tired of lettuce and tomato sandwiches that I will be cursing my own excellent gardening skills as I stew pot after pot of tomatoes in my own sweltering kitchen.

I can dream can't I?