The Tongs of Death. Binding in the fields. Anthracnose Rot.
Life is so often unfair. I retired down in the warm
country so that I could have a real garden instead of a four month growing season. The problem is that bugs like warm climates too, and they have really presented brand new challenges to me.
I have taken most of my plants out of the ground and put them in pots, because the soil is so virulent with funguses and wiggly bugs that destroy plants. But that was not the best solution. I was looking forward to some really succulent tomatoes this year, then they developed discolored circles with a black dot in the center. Tomato anthracnose the garden tomes said. Never heard of it ‘til now.
So … down to the Feed Store, and get some fungicide. There were an assortement of organic remedies, but they all required common household items and a plastic bucket. For eight bucks, I got a quart of tomato rot medicine in a spray bottle. No mix, no mess.
And I built a new set of the “Tongs of Death!” … a pair of salad tongs with the ends tightly wound with old cotton sweat socks. I use them mostly on field bindweed, but I have a persistent chinaberry tree growing up in the middle of a crape myrtle that is going to get the tongs applied to them. Heh heh heh …
You dip the socks into vegetation killer, the stronger, the better. Then clamp the tongs onto those little succulent green leaves, count to ten and move on. You don’t need to do more than five leaves per plant.
See … I told you the further away from morning I get when I blog, the more sinister and macabre I become.
Rusty's Armory 