Onions and half of garlic probably kaput

GoDawgs · February 27, 2020

All of this rain has finally caught up with the alliums. Botrytus or some other funk has finally set in. I wasn't able to treat anything when the problems first showed up because of the incessant rain.

The onions are probably a lost cause. The scallions are just now getting infected but they're almost used up anyway.

In the garlic bed are four varieties. On one side there's 9' of the two I grew last year (photo foreground). On the other side are two other varieties that I bought and planted this fall. The ones I saved have the same funk as the onions. The new ones seem to be ok.

Today I need to treat the good garlics! We have a five day rainless window for a change.

Black Krim · February 27, 2020

Have you considered spraying to knock down the funk ?? I used homemade concoctions to control what looked like early blight on tomatoes. Perhaps worth a search to save what you can.

Many options, like honey and coconut oil are antifungal and antibiotic, as are other common products.

Im just at the beginning of learning the old ways .

TomNJ · February 27, 2020

My onion fungal infection in 2018 looked worse than yours, but when the weather dried 90% of the onions recovered and I had a fine crop. The garlic bed next to the onions had fine looking foliage but about 25% of the crop was rotted. Part if that was likely due to excessive nitrogen feeding, like 590 lbs N/acre. I reduced the nitrogen to 250 lbs N/acre in 2019 and had a great garlic crop.

GoDawgs · February 27, 2020

Thanks for those encouraging words, Tom.

Too windy to spray today anyway with winds steady at 10 mph with gusts. Front coming through.

b54red · February 28, 2020

Use the diluted bleach spray. It will help with any that are not already deeply infected. I lost most of my onions and garlic one year to this stuff and after that if I ever saw any indication of it I used the bleach spray and have had no problems since. I also went to heavily mulching my onions and garlic with cypress mulch. The disease is caused by splash back from heavy rains and if it is in the soil it can get into the drenched plants. If it is caught early enough and you get a break from the rain the bleach spray will really help and also reduce the incidence of the problem in the future. I wouldn't worry about the wind because drift won't affect any nearby plants negatively but you could get some bleaching of your britches legs so wear some old pants. Make sure to add a bit of dish washing liquid to the spray so it will wet the waxy onion stems. It takes more soap than when spraying tomatoes and it doesn't hurt to go with a slightly stronger mix. You might want to read this thread.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray

You need to get a garbage bag and go out and pull any onions and garlic where the problem has caused softening or rotting in the stalk just below the new growth. The smell will be really bad from my past experiences with it but removing the worst plants will help some. I still remember the stench and flies from the last time it hit my garlic and onions.

Bill

GoDawgs · March 9, 2020

I hadn't checked the garlic in several days but when I did today, it's evident that the ones on the left aren't going to make it. Time to pull out most and give them the old heave ho.

February 27, 2020	#1
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	Onions and half of garlic probably kaput All of this rain has finally caught up with the alliums. Botrytus or some other funk has finally set in. I wasn't able to treat anything when the problems first showed up because of the incessant rain. The onions are probably a lost cause. The scallions are just now getting infected but they're almost used up anyway. In the garlic bed are four varieties. On one side there's 9' of the two I grew last year (photo foreground). On the other side are two other varieties that I bought and planted this fall. The ones I saved have the same funk as the onions. The new ones seem to be ok. Today I need to treat the good garlics! We have a five day rainless window for a change.

February 27, 2020	#2
Black Krim Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: New England Posts: 661	Have you considered spraying to knock down the funk ?? I used homemade concoctions to control what looked like early blight on tomatoes. Perhaps worth a search to save what you can. Many options, like honey and coconut oil are antifungal and antibiotic, as are other common products. Im just at the beginning of learning the old ways .

February 27, 2020	#3
TomNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Floyd VA Posts: 771	My onion fungal infection in 2018 looked worse than yours, but when the weather dried 90% of the onions recovered and I had a fine crop. The garlic bed next to the onions had fine looking foliage but about 25% of the crop was rotted. Part if that was likely due to excessive nitrogen feeding, like 590 lbs N/acre. I reduced the nitrogen to 250 lbs N/acre in 2019 and had a great garlic crop.

February 28, 2020	#5
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Use the diluted bleach spray. It will help with any that are not already deeply infected. I lost most of my onions and garlic one year to this stuff and after that if I ever saw any indication of it I used the bleach spray and have had no problems since. I also went to heavily mulching my onions and garlic with cypress mulch. The disease is caused by splash back from heavy rains and if it is in the soil it can get into the drenched plants. If it is caught early enough and you get a break from the rain the bleach spray will really help and also reduce the incidence of the problem in the future. I wouldn't worry about the wind because drift won't affect any nearby plants negatively but you could get some bleaching of your britches legs so wear some old pants. Make sure to add a bit of dish washing liquid to the spray so it will wet the waxy onion stems. It takes more soap than when spraying tomatoes and it doesn't hurt to go with a slightly stronger mix. You might want to read this thread. http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray You need to get a garbage bag and go out and pull any onions and garlic where the problem has caused softening or rotting in the stalk just below the new growth. The smell will be really bad from my past experiences with it but removing the worst plants will help some. I still remember the stench and flies from the last time it hit my garlic and onions. Bill

March 9, 2020	#6
GoDawgs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Augusta area, Georgia, 8a/7b Posts: 1,685	I hadn't checked the garlic in several days but when I did today, it's evident that the ones on the left aren't going to make it. Time to pull out most and give them the old heave ho.