Is this club root?

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by Konachick, Nov 23, 2013.

  1. Konachick

    Konachick Active Member

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    Hi all, I am growing Brussels sprouts for the first time this winter and have noticed some lumpy growth at the base of two of our plants, and I wonder if this is club root. It is my first year in this community garden plot so I don't know if brassicas had been grown in the soil in previous years. I have attached photos in case anyone can identify what this is. Also, whatever it is, could anyone provide advice on next steps?
     

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  2. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    How your plants were performing otherwise?

    The pictures are not very clear so it is difficult to be absolutely sure if it is club root, although it looks like it. The soil looks wet and acidic (moss), probably rather cool (Vancouver), ideal conditions for the fungus to develop. There is not much to do to achieve quick results in fighting it.

    In the long run, water only when absolutely necessary, add organic matter to the soil, grow cover crops like winter Rye and check your soil acidity. If the soil is very acidic use lime to neutralize it. Don't over-lime since most plants perform best in slightly acidic soils. And forget about growing brassicas for at least a few years.

    Don't despair, there are many other plants to grow.
     
  3. Konachick

    Konachick Active Member

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    Thanks Sundrop! I did lime with dolomite lime at the beginning of the season, but only sparingly. However, I agree that I should do a soil test as this end of our plot has definitely developed a bit of a moss problem. I do plan to adhere to a rotation plan, so hopefully it will clear up in a couple of years.

    Should I pull these plants out? Their growth is not really stunted and there are sprouts forming, though they may be slightly smaller than some of the other plants.
     
  4. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    Chances are it may be not club root, as I already said the pictures are not clear enough to be absolutely sure, but don't take any risks. Definitely dig the plants out. Put them into your garbage and dispose safely. Don't leave them in the garden.
     
  5. Konachick

    Konachick Active Member

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    Thanks Sundrop --- we pulled out the one with the big growth at the base because, in taking a second look at the plant, it was a fair bit smaller than the others. It definitely did look like clubroot when we pulled it out, so into the dumpster it went! We're debating about the second one, but I think it will be coming out as well.

    Thanks for your response and we'll do some soil management to hopefully avoid this in the future!
     
  6. Lysichiton

    Lysichiton Active Member

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    I am currently not growing any member of the Brassica group in my vegetable garden. I ended up with several problems & decided to quit for at least 2 years. I reflect back and I think I made the mistake of putting some cabbage-family plants in my compost heap years ago. They were infected with both cabbage aphids and club root - in hindsight.

    I also have neighbours with Brassica troubles, so my efforts to wait-out this problem are probably a waste of time.

    Oh well, as sundrop says...there are lots of other things to grow.
     
  7. woodschmoe

    woodschmoe Active Member 10 Years

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    Just grow them in large containers, if you can't live without Brassicas in your garden (just try telling my Ukrainian grandmother "no more cabbage"). Brussels sprouts, at least, do well in big tubs.
     
  8. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    If you are thinking about liming remember there are two kinds of lime: dolomite composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg(CO3)2, and agricultural or garden lime composed mostly of calcium carbonate CaCO3. As you can see dolomite, besides calcium, contains also magnesium. Something to think about.
     
  9. Konachick

    Konachick Active Member

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    Thanks for the responses! I do really love brassicas (broccoli, brussels, kale, gai lan) so it is sad for me to think that I will have to grow less next year. I do have a large pot on my patio and may just try a brussels sprout plant in it next winter!

    Sundrop: your note about lime was a little cryptic :) Would it be a bad thing to just rely on dolomite lime? I read that it acts more like a buffer and raises pH more slowly. I also was thinking that the extra Mg would be a bonus... though I suppose this is really why I should get a soil test done. Feel free to elaborate on what you were thinking... I'm happy to hear your thoughts on this!
     
  10. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    First of all check your soil pH. Keep in mind that pH values depend on the depth in the soil and may also vary from one spot to another.
    If your soil pH is lower than 6.0 liming is a good idea. Usually (but not always) calcium deficiency is accompanied by magnesium deficiency in the soil. In such a case using dolomite is better. If you have access to uncontaminated wood ashes (my neighbour burns plastic bags together with wood) you could use them together or instead of lime.

    Calcium and magnesium are easily leached in the soil, so be careful not to water needlessly. When calcium and magnesium cations are removed from the soil, they are replaced with hydrogen cations to keep the soil electrically neutral. The more hydrogen cations in the soil the more acidic it becomes.
    Fertilizing also makes soil more acidic.

    I don't use any synthetic fertilizers and the only organic fertilizer I use is Alfalfa meal. Mulching with organic materials, green manures and crop rotation work very well for me.
    As a matter of fact all this fertilizing and watering is quite a new invention. Not that long time ago people were growing plants without all this and it was just fine. Now we do things that are unnecessary or even harmful to plants because, like water, they are easily available, or because others want to sell us something and they will do everything to convince us that what they have to offer is what we can't live without.

    If you want to manage your soil well learn more about soil here Soil Biology in the Key to Healthy Soil
     
  11. Konachick

    Konachick Active Member

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    Thanks so much for this information! Happy growing!
     
  12. Konachick

    Konachick Active Member

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    Hi all, just thought I'd update and say thanks to all who responded. In the end we don't think this was club root even though some of our plants had knobby bases. Ultimately we think it was just general lack of soil fertility. Our Brussels sprouts and sprouting broccoli tried the best they could and produced to a point, but I can't say we had the harvest I initially had planned on. Some of the stems were hollow, and they also developed almost like a dark green algae on some of the leaves... not sure what that is all about so I need to do some research on that.

    We did test the soil as suggested by Sundrop. Over the holidays, we bought the little chemical tests and I received a meter for my birthday so we could cross-reference our results (I know it's not as accurate as taking it in to a lab, but it gives us a general idea). When we did the soil tests we found that the pH was generally slightly acidic but very near neutral. Phosphorus and potassium levels also seemed to be all right, but nitrogen was very depleted. Now this may have been due to the low temperature, but in any case we have spent some time since Christmas amending the soil with more manure and burying kitchen scraps directly in the beds. We have more composted manure to add to our beds, and picked up a bag of alfalfa pellets that we will dig in as well. We also have filled up our compost bin to the top over the winter, and while not all of it will be ready for use this spring, we are on our way to building our soil. Hopefully next winter we'll be rolling in Brussels sprouts!

    PS. We do have a decent-sized garden plot and will be rotating to a new area.
     

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