Ron and I took the day off and headed to the Irondequoit Library for The Western NY Garlic School 2017, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension, Monroe County.   We stopped at Mother’s Cupboard in Syracuse for breakfast.  Highly recommend that you stop there for a fabulous breakfast.

Then we stopped at Paratore Signs.  We met with Paige who Ron has known since his graphic designer days.  I nagged him into have T shirts made for Tiny  House Farm.  She wanted us to double check the color she ordered.  It was exactly right and she promised the shirts will be ready in a few days.

Let me tell you, I am just about ready to move to Irondequoit just so I can use their library.  It is wonderful.  Great recycling containers, stacks and stacks of books, snazzy catalog stations all over the place, and a maker’s lab.  With a 3 D printer, sewing and embroidery machines that residents can use to make their own creations.

The class started promptly at 1030 and we dove right into talk about eriophyid mites and the damage they can do to our garlic.  They cause brown streaks and spots on the cloves, and don’t show up until after you have harvested it.

The next topic was fusarium of garlic which also causes brown spots.  But also pink or purple discoloration.  This you can spot by the yellowing or browning of the leaves.  Once they are being stored, they start to rot.

White rot is one of the nastiest.  When that hits, the bulbs actually rot, turning black and white.  Yeck.  Once you have it in your field, it will be at least 20 years before you can plant garlic again.

Just when we thought we had heard the worst, they hit us with the allium leaf miner.  A fly that has been in Europe for years but has now, sadly been found in PA.  Just 2 years ago but it has already spread to Orange Co in our state.   Not much is known about these flies and even less about how to stop them.

I won’t gross you out by posting any photos or going into any more detail, but if you really have to see it,  you can google it for yourself.

Wonder how surface to air missiles will work on this stuff?