Onion sets/garlic advice

[Soooz]

Thought I might try putting in some onion sets and some garlic over the winter, but my vege plot formerly had lots of daffodils which gradually disappeared a few years ago due, I was told, to eel worm.

Is the eel worm still likely to be in the soil and if so, will it attack onions/garlic? If so, are there any varieties which are known to be resistant.

Thanks

Soooz

[rustylady]

Are you sure it was eelworm? How long have you had the plot?

[Bill HH]

I think eel worms only attack onions if there is a readily available source of sausage and bread rolls.

[Potstubsdustbins]

As far as I know there are different types of eel worm, narcissus eelworm being the one that attacks daffs etc. Whether that would attack your others crops I know not.

If you are worried you could try caliente mustard grown as a green manure. Then chop it up as fine as possible and dig it in to a depth of about 6" This acts as a bio-fumigant and helps with eel and wire worm.

Potty

[Soooz]

Are you sure it was eelworm? How long have you had the plot?

Hi rustylady - yes, I'm pretty sure it was - they stopped flowering, the leaves came up distorted and yellow and then the following year no signs of anything at all. When I dug up an area and found remains of bulbs, they were teaming with little wormy things. I left it a couple of years and planted 10 more bulbs, about half of them flowered first year and by year three all I had were some little yellowing leaves, and then finally nothing. Its not a large plot, only about 3 x 5 metres in the back garden, but it used to be dominated by a large pond which we filled in 2011 and turned it into a vege/soft fruit plot so it's got a good thick layer of topsoil on it. The place I would plant the onions/garlic is about 3 1/2 metres away from where the bulbs used to be but there's runner beans there still cropping at the moment.

[Soooz]

As far as I know there are different types of eel worm, narcissus eelworm being the one that attacks daffs etc. Whether that would attack your others crops I know not.

If you are worried you could try caliente mustard grown as a green manure. Then chop it up as fine as possible and dig it in to a depth of about 6" This acts as a bio-fumigant and helps with eel and wire worm.

Potty

Thanks Potty, I will give caliente mustard a google.

Soooz

[Two_Sheds]

caliente mustard ...dig it in to a depth of about 6"

For the no-diggers: just put a chopped handful into each planting hole