For the third year running I have lost virtually all my garlic crop with some form of onion rot. Planted proper commercial varieties last November, they grew fine and dug them up a couple of weeks ago. All rotted.
Anyone any cure for this?
Well you could try the "onion soup" method. It does work but not always.
Basically you need to treat the area, probably this month or next, with ground up, liquidised onions/garlic. Garlic powder seems to do the job and is as cheap as chips. The idea being that you trick the WOR "spores" to become active but as there are no onions to feed on they then die off.
More here.. http://www.growyourown.info/page173.html
This has worked pretty well for me over the last couple of years..
Safer still, don't grow alliums on that patch for 7 (9?) years!
Lost all ours last year to Rust.
Tim
What's the weather like round Brum this year, George? I can't imagine it's that different from Oxford (Tim is even closer to me, and I lost at least half of mine last year), but I've lost one bulb of garlic to white rot this year, and not an onion. I did wonder if it was because it was so dry (and, being on a watermeadow with topsoil on gravel it exacerbates it), but I did treat with garlic powder the autumn before, so maybe it does work?
Not growing is probably best, but it depends on how much space you have.
Adrian
I had it near Oxford this year ... and my only solution is to pick it all as soon as there's a hint of it happening and you can save the majority of the crop before it spreads. I lifted mine back at the beginning of July from an October planting and they were all ready.
I think I will try the onion juice method on the area I will plant next year's crop in ... if there's a chance it works.
So sorry to read this, George, it's such a disappointment, isn't it. The garlic soup method worked for me for a couple of years but last year failed, so I decided to give up on onions and leeks. I've grown garlic this year in large buckets of spent compost from last years tomatoes, and they've been fine. We don't eat a lot though, it's probably not much use if you use large quantities. Best of luck with whatever you try.
Thanks for your replies. The weather in Brum this year has been generally on the dry side. The winter was relatively mild.
The strange thing is that isn't having a significant effect on any other alliums - shallots, onions, leeks & even elephant garlic.
You may have it just in that patch, for the moment at least. Leeks (elephant garlic is a leek, of course) don't seem to be affected. I don't remember having it on shallots either, for that matter, but I may be wrong. It seems odd if it doesn't affect them.
I rotate my crops every year and it seems to appear wherever I grow them.
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on August 15, 2015, 11:38:46
You may have it just in that patch, for the moment at least. Leeks (elephant garlic is a leek, of course) don't seem to be affected. I don't remember having it on shallots either, for that matter, but I may be wrong. It seems odd if it doesn't affect them.
I can't grow leeks or shallots because of white rot. In fact, shallots were the first crop that succumbed. The only related thing that doesn't seem to be affected is/are chives.
The first year I had my plot I lost all my onions to white rot but since then I have read about using garlic powder. I have not cleared it but I do get a crop worth growing. I am applying the powder again this autumn in the hope of finally get rid of it . Do remember if you are rotating your crops that it is very easy to spread the disease by walking on infected soil. So clean all tools ,footwear etc. when going from one part to another.
I've got round mine for the last couple of years using a raised bed with membrane between it and the soil, I fill it with the soil I dig out form the greenhouse each year.... though I have a massive greenhouse so that method might not get you enough soil....
chucked my garlic powder on the ground the other day dug it over and put about 500g over 1.5m x 6m area and watered it in
now the rain can take it even deeper in the ground for me hopefully this will be enough to sort it
dont knwo about anyone else i tried to mix it in the watering can and it just globbed up in chunks on the top this is why i threw the powder all over the ground and watered it
Make a paste with the garlic powder and a little water and then add it to a watering can or large bucket full of water. It does however swell up A LOT so if you use a lot (500g is quite a lot) it will just form something like thick wallpaper paste.
there were a few big powdery deposits but i dropped it from 1m high so it spread and hopefully all the rain we are due will wash it in if not ill just dig it in again
I have looked it up and it looks like garlic powder has been scientifically proven to be effective. However you have to apply it on the area of the plot you are going to put the garlic one year before planting garlic . You can grow other things on it the year its not in use for garlic. Obviously also you have to take care not to contaminate this cleaned area with soil from other, possibly infected, areas.
from what i read it has to be put down when the temp is atleast 15 degrees so it will germinate but you can do it now for planting in oct/nov
I too am having an awful problem with white rot. I put in 140 onions this year, but have lost half of them to white rot. As has been said it gradually infiltrates the whole area even though I rotate my crops on a four yearly basis. My garlic was a huge disappointment as they too had been affected though they looked fine from above. My shallots were absolutely fine though, which is just as well as I always enter some in the annual allotment show, which is Saturday.
I must try the garlic powder method. Can anyone tell me where I get it from, and I will sprinkle on next seasons garlic bed to see if it helps. Thanks for bringing this up as it really helps knowing I am not the only one suffering. busy_lizzie :wave:
See
http://www.growyourown.info/page173.html
If you need anything made clear just holler..
see if you have a local equine shop near you they have it for the horses i got 1kg for just over £5
Reluctant to speak out but so far in 35 years of growing on 5 seperate sites( of which 2 have been in use for 80 plus years in the Public sector), this is one problem not encountered. Would the application of the time honoured dose of soot make this the reason. Do any of you use soot?; its thought to have fungicidal benefits , probably from the sulphurous content. However, its also probably toxic but never read of any adverse reports
More expensive but easier to source - Morrisons ethnic foods 65p per 100g packet
Bought mine from Upper Farm Equestrian Ltd at £ 10.73 for a 3kg bag delivered.
As you need to apply 30g/sq.m, and maybe repeat, a decent quantity is normally required.
Thanks for the really helpful information. Very useful to know and worth a try. busy_lizzie :happy7:
I lost all my onions earlier in the year as they were affected by Allium Leaf miner, I think. This also spoiled leek crops for the last two years.
So far so good with this year's leeks as I covered them until June and have covered them again with plastic cloches.
A number of other plots also have the same problem. The leaves grow all over the place like octopus' tentacles and then when you come to cook the veg. you find white maggots or brown pupa inside the flesh.
Anybody had this and how did they get round it ?
Is it caterpillars or maggots? I had onion fly, which has the effect you describe. Fleecing the plants while they were small got round it.
I had both allium leaf miner and leek moth one season! I used Thiacloprid (Ultimate Bug Killer from Bayer) It stopped the problem in it's tracks and I had a reasonable crop over winter.