Topic: Onion white rot

[pumkinlover]

Well done Laurie 

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, Nice one laurieuk, I hope mine are as ghood. Well done and I bet you are well pleased. 

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, In conversation with a colleague from over the way in Norfolk and some 60 miles from me asked why I had the bag of garlic powder. I mentioned the dreaded white rot in onions and he told me that a farmer by them uses garlic on his Fields every year. he said it smells for weeks but this farmer grows onions on the fields every year. So it must be a good omen to hear that the professional people use it and well done to laurieuk for bringing it to our attention. I have also heard about using the garlic spray to deter white fly on cabbage. Could be a help as white fly are in their millions here.

[cudsey]

I had white rot the first year on my new allotment not used that bed since but my problem is neck rot not sure if it is due to the same problem   ie spores in the soil

[lezelle]

Hi Ya, I think neck rot is something else and I did hear on an allotment programme that bull neck, as they called it which could lead to neck rot, was down to to much compost being fed to the plants. I am not sure how true this is so more research needed.

[busy_lizzie]

Hi  I am interested to see this also, as I have onion white rot on my plot. I bought some garlic powder this year, but haven't had the chance to use it. Sometimes you think you have got away with it, as the onions look okay when they are growing, but when you dig them up is when you can see the damage. For the past two years I have dug the soil out of a bed and lined it and put fresh compost on it. I also sterilise all my tools, it has worked so far, but it would be so good to not have to do this. I will certainly try the garlic powder test when I dig up my overwintering onions next year. Keep in touch and let us know how these ones do. Would be brilliant if this was the solution. Thanks, busy_lizzie 

[Vinlander]

I also need a really bad year to trigger the motivation to use garlic powder.

Part of that problem is that I always tug at any onions that sow the slightest yellow at the tips - if it comes out it is usually white rot so I cut the bottom off before it spreads from the root 'crown' to the onion layers and use them immediately - preferably the same day as spring onions.

Cheers.