I saw a similar article today too. Mentioned several states. I've been seeing numerous threads about a disease affecting peoples gardens and not knowing what it is. The word about the blight needs to be spread so that home gardeners can watch for it.

Pickwick, no organic orchardists in my area. We are sort of in the cusp for being able to grow mangoes. No mango orchardists of any type here. I've asked a couple of friends/neighbors and they do the copper sulfate thing. I did contact my extension agent today. I did it with low expectations since in the past I have not found them to be particularly organically oriented. However, I happened on one who was very helpful and willing to consider how I wanted to do things. First of all, he agreed with Farkee, that my tree may still be too young to sustain fruit, even if it temporarily sets fruit. He also said last year was a particularly bad year for fruit drop since it was such a wet spring (very unusual for us). Then he pointed out that this year it has been dry so far, which is good for setting mangoes. He told me not to spray anything until it starts raining, and if I didn't want to spray copper sulfate, to try either a Tablespoon of baking soda in a gallon of water or a little sulfur in water, used as a spray. Apparently the theory is that in either acid or basic ph's, the ability of the pathogen to grow is limited. That sounded reasonable to me. Farkee, my mango leaves and flowers are not getting wet, I don't think, but my veggies are not far away. When I water them with the hose, the mango probably gets moisture too. I realize this is not optimal, but it did not occur to me when we planted it. However, it is in a raised area, so the drainage is excellent. Maybe that will make up for it. Thank-you all again for all your helpful suggestions. I'm feeling more certain about my options. I will look for the liquid seaweed, but also consider the baking soda solution when the rains come. In the meantime, I will say my prayers for at least a few Nam Doc Mais this year!

Nate, Soil is very important, but so is planting at the right time, so strive to plant your seeds or transplants at the proper time for your part of the state. Planting a couple of weeks too early sometimes creates issues with cold soil and seeds rotting before they sprout or sprouting so slowly that they never get growing well before the heat arrivse. With warm season plants like tomatoes and peppers, timing is everything. If you plant too early, they can freeze or be permanently stunted from long exposure to cold but non-freezing temperatures or, if planted too late, the weather can get so hot it prevents them from pollinating/setting fruit properly. The sad thing is that our weather sometimes is so erratic that even when you plant at the time recommended for your specific geographic location, you still can have issues. Many of us have had a lot of weather-related issues in 2011 and 2012 because the weather got too hot too early. In most cases that meant some cool-season crops burnt up in the heat before they could produce a harvestable crop, and some warm-season crops suffered pollination/fertilization issues because it got too hot too early in their life. I've linked the OSU Garden Spring Planting Guide for you below. Be advised that there is a range of dates for each vegetable, and the earlier date in the range is for far southeastern OK, the latest date is for far northwestern OK, and everyone in between chooses planting dates more in the middle of that range. Now, nothing will guarantee the weather will cooperate with you, but planting at the right time will help a lot. Lettuce and spinach need to be planted really early while it is still cold so that they can reach a harvestable size before the heat makes them bolt. You can grow them from seeds sown directly in the soil, or from transplants if you prefer. Onions, if we are talking about the kind that form bulbs, are best grown from small plants with a diameter roughly the same size as a No. 2 pencil or a little smaller, purchased in little bundles in January through March. Be sure you choose types that are short-day or intermediate-day length and not long-day types. Once you've got more experience gardening, you can raise your own from seeds, but need to plant them early so they can mature before the daylength hits the right point to induce bulbing. If you plant them too late, they'll be too small and you'll get small bulbs instead of big ones. If you are wanting to grow green onions used as scallions in cooking, you can use the same type of transplants as above, but plant them close and harvest them young, or you can plant something like Evergreen Bunching Onion from seed. Peppers and tomatoes are best planted from transplants that are 6 to 8 weeks old. With peppers, it is okay if the transplants are a little older as long as they stems are still growing well and are supple and have not turned too woody before you transplant them. You plant tomatoes as close to your average last frost date as you can without actually subjecting them to freezing temperatures, but peppers should not go into the ground until a couple of weeks after your average last frost date. Peppers need warmer soil and warmer temperatures and if transplanted into the ground while soil temps and/or air temps are too cold, they'll often remain stunted and nonproductive for much or even all of the growing system. If you'll read the threads here regularly beginning in January you'll see the experienced gardeners saying things like "I planted my onions today, and I am in central OK" or maybe saying that they've started seeds indoor under lights in late January for transplants to go into the ground 4 or 6 or 8 weeks down the line. That should help you see the timing that different gardeners use in different parts of the state. However, do not get excessively hung up on planting dates. Those dates are used because they are the "average" time that the soil and air temps are right for a specific vegetable, herb or flower to be planted. However, plants and seeds do not respond to calendar dates---they respond to soil temperatures and air temperatures and each type of veggie, herb or flower has specific temperatures it needs. That's why you'll see some of us "adjust" our planting dates from the recommended dates depending on what our own local soil and air temps look like at a given time. If you've never had a soil test, that's important too in order to determine if your soil pH is in the correct range and if your soil has good nutrition levels. You can do everything correctly, but if you soil has low levels of nutrients or a very high or very low pH, you're not going to have success until you correct whatever is amiss in the soil. For anyone who took up gardening in 2011 or 2012 and is disappointed in the results, I'd say that those are the two hardest years I've ever seen for us as gardeners, and most years it is not so difficult to garden and get good results. Hope this helps, Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: OSU Garden Planning Guide

Personally, I love veggies and have served them to my kids all of their lives. When my son was 6, he informed me seriously, "Mom, I'm a carnivore!". Still, he would eat his broccoli, so I didn't complain. He's never been a 'dipper'. My daughter loves ranch and Caesar dressing and will dip cauliflower or carrots as a snack. They've grown up with veggies unsneaked and served straight up--or with minimal dressing up. They through and out of picky stages, and now as teens they're fairly adventurous eaters. They love my roasted vegetable samosas, and will almost always try just about anything served to them. Meat on the side, of course--the hubs likes his meat so I've reached a balance. I have never nagged them much about sugar or sweets, and I took a lot of heat for that from certain family members who are a lot more strict than I was. While both went through stages where they'd overdo it, as teenagers they are more conservative and do self-limit. Both are label readers and have become conscious of serving sizes, calories, fat and carbs. They are both of healthy weights, though my son was chubby in his early years and I worried a little. I now breathe a huge sigh of relief. :-) I have a sister in law that was very strict about what her children must eat during each meal, and extremely limiting of sugary items and anything 'fattening'. While her children are all thin as rails and healthy in their teens, when mom isn't around they do not self limit sugar or fat consumption at all. I've seen two of them demolish an entire bag of Oreos in less than 15 minutes. (the big pack!) Still, every child responds to parental controls in their own way--what works for one may not work for another. I try not to criticize, but I do feel that not making a huge deal out of food is more conducive to developing a healthy attitude towards it. Just my $.02 and sorry for the ramble... Cj