Topic: Wots a girl to do?

[Doris_Pinks]

My farmer friend has given me 50 barerooted spring cabbage plants out of the blue today. ;D So I have to find a spot for them on my little lottie!! (i must take a photo! You would laugh! but it keeps us going.)
I have clubroot, so have avoided growing brassicas in any large numbers, but if I do, I usually  lime the patch a few weeks before they go in.
Can I put these in tomorrow and lime around them? Will it damamge their roots?
Or should I just put loads of manure into the soil and forget the lime???
Am I right in saying that you shouldn't apply lime and manure together? I am sure one of you out there grows brassicas and will know the answer. Now with that many I shall be looking at the recipe section in Spring for 1001  things to do with cabbages! (If they manage to survive the monster slugs that is!) hehehhe  Dottie P

[Palustris]

Folk-lore (better than O.W's T, my p.c. advisers tell me) says that you should put a few bits of Rhubarb stem in the planting hole to prevent club root. Never had it, never tried it. And it is the wrong time of year for Rhubarb. And advice is normally not to lime and manure at the same time.

[gavin]

Hi Dottie - some of the lads around me put a small handful of lime into the hole where/when they transplant the cabbage.  Worked for them, and it's worked for me too.

Just a thought - and I don't want to be a spoilsport - are your spring cabbage plants free of clubroot?  I've had my plots for four years now, so I have a good idea of which generous friends' brassica seedlings I plant, and which I "forget (Oooops, just didn't have time!)".

All best - Gavin

[Doris_Pinks]

Rats, I just got rid of the last of my rhubarb stalks a couple of weeks ago! Hmmmmm  might be worth picking through my compost to see if I can find any though, that would be an interesting experiment Eric, some with, some without rhubarb, thanks for that. May be we should have a folk lore/old wives tales page?! Will let you know how I get on!! DP

[Doris_Pinks]

Gavin, yes he is clubroot free.well his soil is anyhow! ;D
I too am very wary as to what I put in, very careful about wallflowers for my garden as it is clubroot free and I want it to remain that way! Thanks for  your reply, DP

[teresa]

Hi Doris
I was given some cabbage plants this summer and along with them some rhurbarb sticks. The chap showed me how to cut it into inch cubes and put into the hole before the plant. He said he did not have club root on his lottie but his neighbroughs did. The plants have been fine on my lottie this is my first year here. But you could always give them some rhubarb wine before you plant them hee hee
Teresa

[Doris_Pinks]

Well I have done an experiment! Some have lime, some have rhubarb(!) and some have both!! This should be interesting to see what happens, if they survive the slugs and the pidgeons  ;D

[Palustris]

Found another Folklore thingy, if you have any soot mix it with the lime, that is supposed to help. No proportions given though. so a bit of guess work needed.

[Doris_Pinks]

Soot, I have a bag of teh stuff care of my chimney being swept! plants are in now, but may mix some around a few to se what happens! Thanks Eric!  DP

[Beer_Belly]

I had clubroot problems this year but heard a gem of a cure/preventative measure that I'll try next year. Apparently club root is a soil surface speader so if you plant a bottomless plantpot in the soil making sure that the top of the pot pokes about an inch above the soil, fill it with clubroot free soil (maybe from a bought bag ?) and plant the seedling in this. Commercial growers cover the soil with plastic apparently and blow steam under to kill off the surface clubroot infection.

[Doris_Pinks]

I too will give this a try next year BB, I hate not being able to grow many brassicas  :( Thanks for the tip! DP