Manky Cauliflowers

[gonz]

Hello

Can anyone help me with my caulis!  I planted them out a good few weeks ago and put brassica collars on them all.  They all seemed to do well (at least the leaves looked liked they were ok) but on returning from holiday for a week about half of them looked very sad.  When we looked closer it looked like they had been raised up a bit from the soil and the roots had little caverns in them.  There were no insects/maggots etc and they had all been netted so no rodents could have got them.  We have pulled up the manky looking ones and left the rest.  Any ideas what it could be.

Sam x

[gonz]

[davyw1]

If there is tunnelled stems then it could be Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle but it is a bit early they usually don,t turn up till about August.  If the roots are eaten then it could be Chafer grub but you would have seen it when you pulled it..

Have a google on the first one.

[gonz]

Thanks Davy, I'll have a look

Sam x

[gonz]

Hi everyone

I am still investigating the problem with my cauliflowers. Someone on our site told me that it looks like the dreaded club root, but not everything in the affected bed has died.  Does that sound feasible as I thought it spread around quickly.

Hope someone can help..

Sam

[Tee Gee]

Is it possible to give us a picture of your problem?

Club root is the feasible cause, and yes! it can appear on just a few plants.

It is possible the pH values under each plant is be slightly different meaning some plants are more susceptible than others.

[gonz]

Hi Tee Gee

My camera is in hospital at the moment, so I am unable to take pictures.  They seemed to be doing really well and then wilted.  When we pulled a couple of them up the roots seemed deformed and not very healthy at all.  I have a few cabbages in the same bed and they seem fine, should I leave them alone?

Will this mean that I cant grow anything at all in the same area next year?

Your help is much appreciated.

Sam x

[Tee Gee]

Hi Tee Gee

They seemed to be doing really well and then wilted.  When we pulled a couple of them up the roots seemed deformed and not very healthy at all. 

Definitely sounds like club root to me.

I have a few cabbages in the same bed and they seem fine, should I leave them alone?

Its all you can do at this late stage I guess!

Will this mean that I cant grow anything at all in the same area next year?

Depends upon what you mean by 'anything'

It would be best to avoid any of the 'brassica' family if you can and remember this; turnip,radish and wallflower are of that family.

If it proves impractical try growing them this way; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Cauli/Cauliflower.htm

In related links there is a slide show under 'planting out'

Basically you want your plants to get off to a good start hence my reason for growing them on in 3" pots containing good fresh potting compost.

Do not be too impatient about planting them out if the root ball is fairly large you might find that the new root growth formed after planting out might be the only parts affected, and the original root ball might not be.

This plus the armillatox and lime treatment will also help to minimise it.

Another thing to keep in mind when you have 'club root' in your soil is be careful where you walk after walking on the affected area.

The disease can be spread by any soil that is stuck to your boots and deposited elsewhere.

Its a beggar to get rid off, it can take years which is not always practicle so good rotation and hygiene is your best defence.

I hope that helps!

[gonz]

Thanks for your help Tee Gee.

I was thinking of putting either my potatos, peas/beans or carrots there next year.  Will any of them be ok?

Sam x

[Tee Gee]

Will any of them be ok?

Did you lime your plot prior to planting your Caulis.

The reason I ask; Potatoes do not like a limy soil the others will be OK

[gonz]

Tee Gee

I didnt add any to lime my soil.  We only got our plot in February this year so I dont know
what has been done previous to that.  I think it has been left for a couple of years,
but I'm not too sure.

I just wanted to make sure that I can at least grow something else in that area.

Thanks again.

Sam x

[Tee Gee]

I didn't add any to lime my soil.

This wouldn't have helped your club root problem more so when you say;

I think it has been left for a couple of years

It might have turned a bit acidic in this time!!

At least you are a bit wiser now and can take steps against this in future.

Like you I learned the hard way but I don't think it is a bad thing, you now know what can happen if your soil is not in the right fettle.

Rotation is often key and I work to this rule of thumb;

Potatoes do not like lime brassicas do! The soil needs to be the right pH to get the best out of it so it often needs liming to do this.

So my three rotation programme is basically;

Lime a bed in year one and plant brassicas, in year two plant most anything except the potato family then in year three plant potatoes.  Then back to liming & brassicas in year four and so on.

Its not rocket science but it has always worked for me.