Start over with Juliet, Plum Regal, maybe Legend

Yes, you can eat a tomato that has been infected with late blight, although by now you shouldn’t have any left. However, chances are that you still have a potato or two hiding in the ground, and chances are that those spuds were infected by the blight last fall. For the health of your garden, get all those infected potatoes out of the ground and do not compost them, because they can infect your 2010 garden. You can eat them, though, and you shouldn’t suffer any ill effects.

There won’t be any edible local tomatoes around until months and months from now. But lately it seems like the only thing anyone wants to talk about is tomatoes, their seeds and the possibilities of blight.

Ambitious and experienced gardeners are getting ready this week to start the tomato seeds that will soon turn into seedlings that can go into the ground around Memorial Day. Those who had blight last summer are worried about whether the ground remains contaminated. The University of Connecticut Home & Garden Education Center sent out a press release last week saying not to worry, the blight does not “overwinter.â€

“P. infestans can, however, survive the winter in infected potato tubers left in the soil after harvest,†the release warned. “If you had infected potato plants, thoroughly clean remaining tubers from the soil. Crop rotation to nonsusceptible hosts in that area is recommended. Destroy any volunteer potato plants that develop.â€

The site also offered names of “a few tomato varieties that are consistently resistant to late blight: Stupice, Juliet, Matt’s Wild Cherry, Mountain Magic, Plum Regal, and Legend.â€

 Expert gardener Margaret Roach warns that you also need to bleach and sanitize any garden tools and tomato stakes that touched infected plants last summer (look for Roach’s blog, A Way To Garden, and listen to her every Thursday at about 8:15 on WHDD-robinhoodradio.com, 98.1-FM and 1020-AM).

But don’t let all this talk about blight discourage you from planting several varieties in your yard. Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow (especially if you get a sturdy seedling from a reputable nursery or farm) and of course they are a fantastically healthy food, full of vitamin C, cancer-fighting lycopene (when cooked) and fiber. They help fight heart disease several different ways. And they make any salad or sandwich livelier and lovelier to eat.

Lawrence Davis-Hollander is a life coach with a practice in Ashley Falls that is dedicated to wellness and dynamic change. But he is also famous in these parts for helping farmers and cooks understand the advantages and importance of heirloom tomatoes. His book, “The Tomato Festival Cookbook,†includes advice on growing tomatoes as well as recipes for cooking them. Since most people don’t have fresh tomatoes yet (although some local farms such as Freund’s in East Canaan and McEnroe’s in Millerton might soon have some greenhouse tomatoes), this is a recipe that calls for tomato juice.

Tomato dumplings

Adapted from The Tomato Festival Cookbook

Serves 4 to 8

1 1/2 cups sifted flour;  1 tablespoon baking powder;   1 teaspoon salt;  1 egg;

1 tablespoon melted butter;  3/4 cup tomato juice

In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients quickly ino the well in the dry ingredients and quickly stir with a fork.

Divide the batter into eight balls and drop them into a pan of simmering soup or stew. Don’t let the balls touch each other; they will swell as they cook. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes.

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