Battling Rootknot Nematodes

GoDawgs · January 11, 2020

Today I pulled the first four spent cauliflower plants. Good news! The roots were clean as a whistle with no evidence of nematodes at all. It could be the result of a multitude of things. Maybe a bunch of them starved. Corn was there this past spring and nematodes don't mess with it, Fall '18 the bed was fallow, and cukes grew successfully there Spring 18 following a fallow Fall '17.

Still, I've read that brassicas are nematode supressors so that could be part of it too. Too many variables! Regardless, today I followed advice in that article and chopped up the leaves and stems of the cauliflower plants, turned them under and then mulched over the top with leaves. The incoming rain will water them in.

There will be peas going in there mid February.

Notice the cauliflower plants in the other side of the bed. They are very small compared to the first four big ones (about a third or quarter of the size) although they are still heading up. The big ones I just dug were planted out Sep 18 while the second four went out Oct 11. It very well could be that getting them in just three weeks later set them back some. It will be interesting to see how big the second set of heads get.

January 11, 2020	#33
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Today I pulled the first four spent cauliflower plants. Good news! The roots were clean as a whistle with no evidence of nematodes at all. It could be the result of a multitude of things. Maybe a bunch of them starved. Corn was there this past spring and nematodes don't mess with it, Fall '18 the bed was fallow, and cukes grew successfully there Spring 18 following a fallow Fall '17. Still, I've read that brassicas are nematode supressors so that could be part of it too. Too many variables! Regardless, today I followed advice in that article and chopped up the leaves and stems of the cauliflower plants, turned them under and then mulched over the top with leaves. The incoming rain will water them in. There will be peas going in there mid February. Notice the cauliflower plants in the other side of the bed. They are very small compared to the first four big ones (about a third or quarter of the size) although they are still heading up. The big ones I just dug were planted out Sep 18 while the second four went out Oct 11. It very well could be that getting them in just three weeks later set them back some. It will be interesting to see how big the second set of heads get.