(white rot) not a great start to the year

[astraman1]

just got my plot last year and currently clearing it planted some over winter onions and some garlic ive had to pull my onions up today as they all had white rot ive got to check my garlic now too as its in the same area

first time facing this demon what can i do about it anybody had any success in combating it if so what have you done

cheers nick

[Scarlet]

I've got it this year too my whole garlic bed, thankfully I grew my giant garlic elsewhere. If you just have it in the one bed at least it's isolated. Don't put any of your garlic/onions in your compost. Bag it all and put it in the bin. Make sure your tools are cleaned off before using them elsewhere. You may be able to contain it. Don't try growing anything in the garlic/onion family in that bed for several years.
I have read to get rid of the problem you can use a garlic mixture and pour on the bed in winter although whether it works or not I'm not sure.
I'llbe growingmy garlic in different a bed well away from this years with new soil next Oct.

[astraman1]

i dont really have beds set out yet as i onlly got it late aug last year as a field im just digging and planting anything i can get in anywhere really this year ive just been reading up on the ground garlic in water method i think i may try that next year water the whole plot with it for a couple of years see if it gets rid of it

as an immediate plan i think im going to grow them at the grandparents and put some of there stuff in the plot to swap them up

[Scarlet]

Just out of interest, where did you buy your garlic from?

[Thelma Sanders]

I can't plant onions anywhere on my plot, without loosing at least half

Leeks don't seem to suffer to the same degree, they're grow at different temperature I suppose?

Advice here

vegetable diseases

[Martin H]

Thanks for the link, Thelma. I do like the sound of that garlic treatment, it seems logical and I'm going to use it on the bed that I got white rot on this year. I have lots of spare garlic, that bed wasn't affected.

[astraman1]

got them from a local garden center marco was the veriety

[astraman1]

going to try the garlic water

managed to get 10 cloves harvest out of 40 planted the rest were white rot

a couple of things ive been thinking is dig a trench and fill it with mp compost and plant alliums in that but it could be expensive for all my onions galic and leeks failing that move them up to grandads house and have some of his stuff at the plot

some of the guys at the allotment said everyone has got it so its not good they said to try lime and growing in modules to develope roots

there was all stages tho some not infected others just starting and one had the little black nodule things that startes the next generation hopefull attaching a pic to this post

[starloc]

dig sulfur into thee soil, dust the sets with sulfur and dust the plants every now and then as they ggrow with sulfur
Probably illegal under some European law....but it works,

Gives stronger tasting onions as well....good if you like strong onions

I had white rot once, theen started using sulfur to make the onions stronger and growing in the same place, no white rot since

Another way, that will work....if you want to do it.....again maybe illegal.....but will cure it.....

Water with something like sodium hypochlorite....used to kill pathogens in micropropagation to get virus free clones, woul treat soil a few weeks before planting though....not sure how long but I know people use it, even watering plants with it but it kills good bacteria as well, maybe hydrogen peroxide would work?

Some more info here on some cures

Effective and Cheap Methods to Control <I>Sclerotium cepivorum</I> Through Using Clorox or Sulfur Powder And/or Calcium Oxide

[Thelma Sanders]

If you continually add sulphur powder you will end up with acidic soil, be careful.

[Mr Bones]

We find sterilising the cloves (or onion sets) by dipping them in malt vinegar prior to planting works well. Can also plant garlic on ridges to improve drainage and lessen the chances of white rot. I haven't used it but have heard said that adding soot to the soil also helps (maybe it's the sulphur content).