Help, please - Brassica leaves wilting
Bill Harnell
My broccoli and brussel sprout plant leaves wilt during the day and seem to
return to normal at night only to repeat the cycle the next day. If no sun
appears during the day, no wilt.
The leaves are _really_ wilted (they look like tired old rags), some right
down to the soil.
I have never experienced this before although I have had some bad
experiences with club root problems but this does not seem to be the
problem this year, the stems are large and appear to otherwise be healthy.
It almost seems as if the leaves evaporate more moisture than the roots can
absorb yet the soil is moist (we've had plenty of rain this year) and all
other plants in teh garden (onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, beans, green
peppers, green onions and radishes do not appear to be affected.
I surely would appreciate any information that would help me resolve this
problem.
Thanks for listening.
--
Regards,
Bill Harnell [bha...@adss.on.ca]
--------------------------------
Neason
Cabbage Root Maggots. Nasty buggers. I haven't yet figured out a
foolproof way to control them. I lose 75% of my spring brassicas. If
you plant brassica now, you should get a good harvest in the autumn,
depending on where you live. If you get your freezout after Oct 15 you
should get some good yield.
Steve (Maritime Climate -- USDA Zone irrelevant)
Mary Conner
In article <33C06B...@foxinternet.net>,
Neason <Rebecca...@foxinternet.net> wrote:
>Cabbage Root Maggots. Nasty buggers. I haven't yet figured out a
>foolproof way to control them. I lose 75% of my spring brassicas. If
>you plant brassica now, you should get a good harvest in the autumn,
>depending on where you live. If you get your freezout after Oct 15 you
>should get some good yield.
Foolproof way to control them is to use row covers, such as Reemay or
a lighter weight insect barrier. A traditional treatment of a sawdust
collar, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick and 4 to 6 inches wide around the plant
deters the fly that produces the cabbage root maggot from laying its
eggs around your brassicas.
--
Mary Conner
tr...@serv.net
Neason
I intend to try some reemay on a small patch of spring brassica next year. The cost should
not be prohibitive because I can afford to plant fewer seedlings. The sawdust scheme, along
with tarpaper collars and ashes never seemed to have an effect. My fall crop is way too big
for reemay. I usually plant five or six 50' ridges, seperated by 24" wide drainage trenches.
(We get LOT'S of rain in the autumn and winter.) But the fall crop is not as seriously
damaged as the spring crop. I will to try a garlic drench on the young fall crop plants this
year to see if i can "fool" the fly. I'll leave a block untreated as a control.
Mary Conner
In article <33C305...@foxinternet.net>,
Neason <Rebecca...@foxinternet.net> wrote:
>I intend to try some reemay on a small patch of spring brassica next year. The cost should
>not be prohibitive because I can afford to plant fewer seedlings. The sawdust scheme, along
>with tarpaper collars and ashes never seemed to have an effect. My fall crop is way too big
>for reemay. I usually plant five or six 50' ridges, seperated by 24" wide drainage trenches.
> (We get LOT'S of rain in the autumn and winter.) But the fall crop is not as seriously
>damaged as the spring crop. I will to try a garlic drench on the young fall crop plants this
>year to see if i can "fool" the fly. I'll leave a block untreated as a control.
>
>Steve (Maritime Climate -- USDA Zone irrelevant)
If you're just planning to use the Reemay for an insect barrier, I'd
suggest you use a lighter weight insect screen (not sure if there is
a brand name for it). It is cheaper and will not hold heat in during
the summer, when you would be planting those fall brassicas and need
the protection from the fly the most. Territorial Seed
(www.territorial-seed.com) sells a 50' section of Reemay for about
$15, but the 50' section of insect barrier is only $10. Of course,
if you're using tons of it, you can buy the master rolls, 2550' feet
long, $454 for the Reemay, $259 for the insect barrier. For some
odd reason the insect barrier does not appear to be in their online
catalog, but it is listed in their Winter 1997 catalog that I just
received, and I know they carry it.
I used Reemay on my spring broccoli (though I'm growing in a very
small backyard garden, no where near the scale you are), and it not
only keeps the plants virtually pristine (no flea beetle holes, no
cabbage loopers, no cabbage worms or root maggots), but the plants
also grew astonishingly fast, which is likely due to the fact that
Reemay kept the temperature a few degrees higher than the outside
ambient temperature. But that heat retention makes it much less
suitable when you're planting in July for fall and overwintering
harvest.
--
Mary Conner
tr...@serv.net