Today I pulled up my potato plants after seeing a tiny spot of blight on one plant. I'm sad of course but I'll be even more sad to lose my tomato plants. At least the potatoes yielded a harvest of sorts-- small but tasty. The tomatoes, if and when they succumb will take the harvest with them. I can't imagine a year without BLTs. And I'll certainly miss seeing tomatoes lining the window sills in my kitchen just waiting for inspiration.
Of course I feel worse for the commercial farmers in my region who rely on the tomato harvest as a significant portion of their income.
The irony is that at least part of this problem is the result of the number of new people planting gardens. Not knowing any better they purchased contaminated plants from retailers. Now, unless we can get the word out fast I'm afraid that problem will be compounded by improper disposal of the infected plants. These same folks will just toss the infected plants into their compost bins or onto the brush heap at the edge of their property and the spores will simply wait until next year and the cycle will begin again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?_r=1