More Signs of Life... First Sign of Death...

As June steadily rolled on things were growing like you've never known, well, never known if it's your first time round... It was time to dig another little bed and put out the strawberries... a little late, i know, but we've been a little late with everything this year.


Raddish!! No wonder all the books say you should grow it... the first harvest and a hint at what the rest of the growing season may deliver.


But with one bit of encouragement comes one mighty volley in the teeth... Mosaic Virus... I'd spotted some yellowing on the new leaves that were coming through on the tomatoes, tomatoes, incidentally, that were loving it in the greenhouse and looking really healthy. I went home to check out the literature.


A search on the net comfirmed our worst fears and heralded in our first veg related tears... The most virulent plant virus (according to the sources),it stays in the soil for 50 years (luckily we were using grow bags and pots); burn everything, disinfect the green house and pick your chin up off the floor...

'How did they get it?', i hear you ask... Well, if you look back to the first picture on 'The First Real Signs of Life' you'll see the main culprit: Tobacco. We had no idea that the habbit that's ruining us was the habbit that ruined 30 tomato plants and wasted a whole lot of effort. After reading on the internet that the tabacco that you smoke usually has mosaic virus present we put 2 and 2 together and concluded that when we'd stopped for a break on the allotment, sparking up in the process, our idea to save time by pinching out the side shoots whilst having a fag was transmitting the virus plant to plant all the time... because we were breaking the 'skin' we were doing the job of an aphid, speeding up the spead of infection. We both felt pretty ashamed and dirty, to be totally honest...

Perhaps if the packets had warnings like: 'Tobacco Seriously Damages Your Plants', then we might have stopped smoking...