Liming Query

[VirginVegGrower]

Don't waste your money: make some out of card, plastic or just newspaper. You just basically want a barrier round the stem of the plant.

Some DiY options here: IDEAS FOR MATERIAL TO MAKE CABBAGE COLLARS OUT OF « Gardening Questions « gardenersclick

Oooh OK will do - didn't think about that. They are after all only a circle with a slit in so you can get it round the plant. Maybe a job for my daughter
Bright idea TS - thank you

[Snadger]

Kristen, there is a problem with clubroot up on the allotment site and most suffer. I did intend using the collars. Do you think adding a little lime to planting hole will help then? Am not well practised in growing brassicas, which is why I asked.

Use collars or enviromesh to deter cabbage root fly. Both are simply a means of keeping the adult fly (enviromesh) or the fly's grub (collars) from getting at the roots of the plant.
Clubroot is a fungal disease in the soil. It is at the molecular level so you need to be fastidious to keep it at bay, if you haven't already got it.
It prefers an acid soil so liming helps with soil alkalinity but will not deter it if it's already in the soil.
There are cabbage, cauli varieties that are resistant. Kales are resistant to a point because of there close knit cell structure which minimises the attack. The Hybrid cabbage varieties have Kale genes in there genetics methinks.
Clubroot is devastating but certainly not insurmountable. If you have it in the soil, as I do, just look upon it as another of lifes challenges and feel proud when you can still get a crop from infested soil.
My soil is about neutral so I don't bother liming.

My tips are:-

• Never accept brassica plants as gifts from anyone
• Start plants in pots and pot on to bigger pots before planting out
• Grow some clubroot resistant varieties
• Grow lots of varieties
• Try kales
• The fungus is temperature reliant so winter brassicas aren't as badly affected
• Grow in small pockets (Less likely to lose ALL your plants)
• Never follow like with like
• Sometimes affected plants can be earthed up and saved
• Don't tranfer soil around the plot (if its in one area......keep it there!)
• Try not to grow brassicas in heavily infested pockets
• Don't despair, it's not the ned of the world!

[VirginVegGrower]

Use collars or enviromesh to deter cabbage root fly. Both are simply a means of keeping the adult fly (enviromesh) or the fly's grub (collars) from getting at the roots of the plant.
Clubroot is a fungal disease in the soil. It is at the molecular level so you need to be fastidious to keep it at bay, if you haven't already got it.
It prefers an acid soil so liming helps with soil alkalinity but will not deter it if it's already in the soil.
There are cabbage, cauli varieties that are resistant. Kales are resistant to a point because of there close knit cell structure which minimises the attack. The Hybrid cabbage varieties have Kale genes in there genetics methinks.
Clubroot is devastating but certainly not insurmountable. If you have it in the soil, as I do, just look upon it as another of lifes challenges and feel proud when you can still get a crop from infested soil.
My soil is about neutral so I don't bother liming.

My tips are:-

• Never accept brassica plants as gifts from anyone
• Start plants in pots and pot on to bigger pots before planting out
• Grow some clubroot resistant varieties
• Grow lots of varieties
• Try kales
• The fungus is temperature reliant so winter brassicas aren't as badly affected
• Grow in small pockets (Less likely to lose ALL your plants)
• Never follow like with like
• Sometimes affected plants can be earthed up and saved
• Don't tranfer soil around the plot (if its in one area......keep it there!)
• Try not to grow brassicas in heavily infested pockets
• Don't despair, it's not the ned of the world!

Sounds good Snadger - thanks for checklist, much appreciated