Onion White Rot sos

[Buckeye Girl]

I believe I have had a problem with white rot in a small patch of my lottie. I have just harvested my over wintering onions, most were OK but a few did have a bit of that white paste like residue on the bottoms.  I wish I would have read up on it more before I pulled up the onions because then I could have been more careful.  I have read that you should carefully remove the soil surround the bulb & then dispose of carefully.

The area concerned is small, say 6 x 6 feet. I would welcome any advice on what to do next, in particular, can I grow other things there?  I was thinking of possibly some parsnips or beets.  Or would it be best just to put some form of green manure in and leave the area to rest for a while. This is my 2ND season on a plot that had been previously overgrown and ignored for at least 10 yrs..

Thankfully it appears that only a small amount of my really small crop was affected but I'm not sure what I can do from this point forward.             Any thoughts ???

[Buckeye Girl]

[BarriedaleNick]

Mark the area off and dont plant onions there ever again!! 
While the dreaded white rot is a mare it doesn't affect anything outside the oniion family so you are safe to plant out whatever else.  It's too late for parsnips but there are plenty of other things to plant out at this time of year.
Next time you plant onions keep well away from that bit of the plot..  and hope its not too widespread.
And don't worry too much - you are not alone!!!

[realfood]

I am trialling an organic control detailed here http://www.growyourown.info/page173.html

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've had this for years; it's the same all over my plot. As long as I rotate the alliums I seem to keep ahead of it.

[Ian Pearson]

I suspect bought-in onion sets are often the source.

Realfood ... looking forward to hearing how you get on with that system.

I've not noticed any on Babbington's leek. Could they have resistance?

[realfood]

As far as I know, many onion farmers now grow from seed to prevent bringing in white rot, as well as some other diseases.
Generally, leeks do not seem to suffer so badly, likewise elephant garlic.

[macmac]

As far as I know, many onion farmers now grow from seed to prevent bringing in white rot, as well as some other diseases.
Generally, leeks do not seem to suffer so badly, likewise elephant garlic.

Yeah but with leeks if the white rot doesn't get 'em the leek moth surely will  >:(

[Garden Manager]

That organic control method looks interesting. might have to try it. I grow leeks from seed do no problems there, grow onions from sets but could switch to seed if needed but what about garlic? Can you grow that friom seed too? if so how would you get the seed? Not something you see on sale anywhere.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Garlic's always grown from cloves or (occasionally) bulbils. I've never come across seed either.

[lottie lou]

Will have to start saving the pips from my hard neck

[chriscross1966]

As far as I know, many onion farmers now grow from seed to prevent bringing in white rot, as well as some other diseases.
Generally, leeks do not seem to suffer so badly, likewise elephant garlic.

I'd debate that elephant garlic statement, mine's as badly affected as the other alliums I have, and it's affecting the seed grown stuff as well as set-planted bits and bobs...

chrisc

[Mrs Ava]

I find the overwintering onions do slightly better than maincrop.  I have had my allotments for over 10 years and both are badly affected.  Shallots vary from year to year, I have had amazing crops, then other years, lost the lot.  Garlic has to come up very early, end of May start of June, and probably a third is already rotten.  I have never had any problem with leeks, elephant garlic or spring onions.  I rotate, and hope for the best.

[torquil]

most of us on the allotments have white rot. have pulledwinter onions one or two had it but late spring sowing ones has got white rot. no problem with shallots,the experts say it is down to the weather mild spring no water. :-[ :-[ not enough problems with the pigeons.

[aj]

The one time I didn't get white rot [I always get it and expect to lose some onions from it but this year takes the biscuit as I got onion fly as well] is when I dug in loads of sand and cloched them all winter. I have clay soil so my onions do grow big but the sand did help them to stem the white rot that year.

So I'm trying a variety of different soil treatments this year, and cloching the lot from the day they go in.

I've also got a load of seedlings that never made it into final positions as the school they were sown for was being closed and they wouldn't have been ready in time - so those are going in as soon as the spuds are out as a trial to see whether I get anything useful out of them. They may bolt but they may give me springs late in the year and bulk up early next year.