Disinfecting soil in the garden

Harwinton, CT

I had a large tomato crop (well, large for a home garden) of about 60 tomato plants that were ruined by the late blight. Will the spores live over the winter in the soil and affect next year's crop? I've no room to plant them in a new area. I was told I don't have to sterilize the stakes or fencing but what would I use to disinfect the soil where he plants were growing?

I live in northwestern Connecticut.

Dublin, CA(Zone 9a)

I don't know about that blight in particular, but I know with tomatoes you're supposed to rotate where you plant them because otherwise you can wind up with disease problems. With potting mix, you can use the oven or microwave to sterilize it, but I don't know that there's a good way to do it in a garden bed. If you're so limited on space that you can't plant them somewhere else, then you might consider growing them in containers like the Earth Box (or home-made equivalent). That way you can replace the potting mix every year or two which gives you the same effect as rotating them.

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