Oriental Salad dying

[Marb67]

Why oh why oh why do I keep getting perfectly healthy salad (or plants for that matter) that thrive and mysteriously die? You only have to touch the plant and it comes out of the soil so easy. It's so frustrating as I have already taken caterpillars off the stems that have eaten some of the leaves, as they were perfectly camouflaged. This is something different though.

[Jungle Jane]

What’s happening to their roots,they don’t sound like they have any,could have dried out,rotten or have they been eaten by pests? I’d take that plant out & pour the compost onto a tray & look through to see if you have any bugs in the pot eating the roots. Theres a brassica pest (cabbage root fly) that lays eggs by the stem base in the soil? I’d cover seeds with fine net once germinated or before if there’s that problem.

[Marb67]

Yes the roots are a bit eaten. If you zoom in you can see them I can't belive the ever growing list of pests I'm hit with in this small garden. Leaf miner alone seems to be in everything I grow despite picking off infected leaves and binning them.

[Jungle Jane]

You have a very attractive garden you must have a good insect population as well as bad insects,Mother Nature created all to feed all,if there was no pests what would all the beneficial insects/animals eat. I’ve got leaf miners on honeysuckle & borage,they might like my rocket but they won’t fit through the net 😏. I grew potatoes in the container the rocket’s in,rotating crops stops some of the pest soil problems. Good luck with the plant defence.

[ameno]

Yes the roots are a bit eaten. If you zoom in you can see them I can't belive the ever growing list of pests I'm hit with in this small garden. Leaf miner alone seems to be in everything I grow despite picking off infected leaves and binning them.

They're all airborne pests, so it really shouldn't come as a surprise to you. They just fly in from elsewhere.

[Marb67]

Well again a perfectly strong, healthy crop in a pot (not over or under watered) in well drained compost mix has started going floppy. Whitefly in the base of soil and some aphids on stems. Why oh why does this keep happening ? I mean I kept it in the cool end of the kitchen during the heatwave so how have they got in ? Just sprayed stems with garlic water in the hope of shifting them.

[JoaoLeaftide]

Whitefly indoors is a nightmare, they spread so fast once they're in. Sticky yellow traps near the plants help catch them before the population explodes. If it keeps happening with multiple crops it might be worth a thorough clean of wherever you're keeping them — they overwinter on surfaces.

[Marb67]

Whitefly indoors is a nightmare, they spread so fast once they're in. Sticky yellow traps near the plants help catch them before the population explodes. If it keeps happening with multiple crops it might be worth a thorough clean of wherever you're keeping them — they overwinter on surfaces.

That's awful if they overwinter as it's hard to see them. I don't keep them in the kitchen, just for the hot period the last few days as I think they were already infested. If it's not the heat making them bolt, it's aphids and then the cabbage whites. I have just jet hosed them off the surface of the pot. I can't understand why garlic water hasn't moved them on previously. I may even try thick soapy water.

[Mark Rand]

If it's any consolation, my Chinese/Napa cabbage are bolting. If at first (second, third, etc.) you don't succeed, cry, cry and then try again?

[Containergardener]

And I've got bolting salads but left them outside for the insects for now.

[Penellype]

And I've got bolting salads but left them outside for the insects for now.

Same here. Its been much too hot for brassica salads which never seem to do well in summer. Maybe if you have a shady space or can use shade cloth as netting to keep the insects off they might grow without bolting, but when its 30C in the shade it is simply too hot for them. I'm having the same problem with my spinach, which bolts as soon as the weather gets warm.

[Containergardener]

Was just the heat Pen. Happened last year. Just one of those things.

[Peanut]

My broccoli tenderette went from growing to flowering with nothing in between, so I snapped it off and ate it, mostly out of spite

[Marb67]

Well even more woes as it's not just whitefly, the stems are hollow and I found a small white grub inside There is no way anything could have got in as it was mainly under cover. I just knew that when it looked so strong and healthy that it would only be a matter of time for something to spoil it.