D&V Organics CSA
Week 10
This week we'll begin picking more of our pepper crop. Over the years we've tried different types of peppers on the farm, some with better success than others. We are still searching for new and interesting peppers to grow that meet our culinary desires, however the historical assortment of crops grown on this farm has helped to establish a challenging plant disease that afflicts peppers. New Jersey remains one of the top pepper producers in the United States, however, peppers are a host to a plant pathogen known as phytophthora, a soil borne fungus that attacks the plants. With other vegetable crops serving as a host to phytophthora, our farm has been in continuous production of crops that host the pathogen. Under the right conditions (heavy and or frequent rain) and with a host present, phythophthora can reproduce and continue to establish itself over the years. The most logical method of overcoming this pathogen might be to rotate crop families so that crops hosting phytophthora are not planted in areas where it's present. That solution may work, but phytophthora is so persistent that it can lay dormant for as long as seven years, remaining viable without a host present for reproduction. The persistence of phytophthora makes it nearly impossible to overcome. Some years are easier for us in pepper production, and some varieties perform better than others, so we are always looking for new types to grow that push through.
Enjoy,
Derek and Crew
