Columns

Column as I see ’em ...

Let’s start this week with a peek into the editor’s mailbag.

A short but remarkably acerbic letter arrived last week from someone who either has very slow mail service or needs an incredible amount of time to come up with what I’m sure he/she thought were pithy insults designed to make me feel bad.

To speak in the vernacular of my 16-year-old, it was an “epic fail.”

I believe this is the rainiest summer we’ve had in a while. I do appreciate Mother Nature doing my watering, but it sure slows me down on farm work.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that the place will not ever look kept until I retire. My off-the-farm work just keeps me away too many hours for it to look groomed.

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has caused more problems than usual this year, particularly in high tunnel tomato. This disease can affect tomato, pepper, potato, eggplant, lettuce, beans and cucumber along with more than 170 other plant species. TSWV may occur in the field, greenhouse, or high tunnel. Prevention, early identification, and management will help reduce plant and yield losses.

Here are the symptoms to look for, preventative tactics, and brief suggestions on how to reduce incidence in crops once disease is confirmed.

You can prevent hay bale or barn fires if you bale hay at appropriate moistures and monitor the temperature of recently baled hay.

Generally, hay will go through a heating phase within one to two weeks after baling. During this time, you should monitor the hay to make sure it doesn’t reach temperatures that can damage the hay or lead to spontaneous combustion.