Viruses enter through wounds - such as feeding insects, pruned stems, etc. Some can also travel via infected seeds. If your tomato/cucumber has cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), this is spread by aphids and by contaminated tools, etc. Clean your tools regularly with a 10-percent bleach solution (cleaning your wire cages, poles, trellis, and other equipment might be helpful as well before next growing season, but you don’t need to do the fence or house) and use row covers to discourage insects from transmitting the disease to healthy plants. Wash hands often with soap and water. Destroy all infected plants (do not compost) and also remove weeds—many can harbor viruses, or attract insects that transmit them. Control aphids; silver-reflective mulches can help repel them. Choose cucumber resistant to CMV. Splash up from infected soil should be curbed by your straw bale method.
For other viruses, the same advice stands: disinfect your tools, or soak rowcovers in the 10 percent bleach solution. Choose resistant varieties, if available. Remove weeds. Remove any diseased plant promptly. Wash hands thoroughly before handling different plants. To avoid tobacco mosaic virus, do not use tobacco products near the garden. Rotate crops each year.
You should be able to still grow a garden each year if you keep up with these precautions. Most viruses are transmitted actively by a vector, mainly feeding insects, so if you control those, or prevent their damage, then you may be fine.
Viruses enter through wounds - such as feeding insects, pruned stems, etc. Some can also travel via infected seeds. If your tomato/cucumber has cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), this is spread by aphids and by contaminated tools, etc. Clean your tools regularly with a 10-percent bleach solution (cleaning your wire cages, poles, trellis, and other equipment might be helpful as well before next growing season, but you don’t need to do the fence or house) and use row covers to discourage insects from transmitting the disease to healthy plants. Wash hands often with soap and water. Destroy all infected plants (do not compost) and also remove weeds—many can harbor viruses, or attract insects that transmit them. Control aphids; silver-reflective mulches can help repel them. Choose cucumber resistant to CMV. Splash up from infected soil should be curbed by your straw bale method.
For other viruses, the same advice stands: disinfect your tools, or soak rowcovers in the 10 percent bleach solution. Choose resistant varieties, if available. Remove weeds. Remove any diseased plant promptly. Wash hands thoroughly before handling different plants. To avoid tobacco mosaic virus, do not use tobacco products near the garden. Rotate crops each year.
You should be able to still grow a garden each year if you keep up with these precautions. Most viruses are transmitted actively by a vector, mainly feeding insects, so if you control those, or prevent their damage, then you may be fine.