Help! Wilting from dieses, what? Broc/Caba/Cauli

[Don1971]

I also posted in disease forums.

I have had a large garden for a few years and have a new bad problem. I grew broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage from seeds indoors. I transplanted them into my garden. They are doing great EXCEPT, one by one, they are suddenly wilting and dying fast. I did everything the same as last year (I rotated locations) I did introduce pine needles as mulch - from trees in my yard - nearby (read in that unlikely they bought anything in). I also got added more soil to my raised beds (it STUNK bad and had leaf humus mixed in that had to be from last year and ROTTEN).

Each group is loosing plants fast, and always in order (meaning it does not jump around, one plants wilts and dies then the one next to it a few days later).

They are in different parts of my garden. It does look like the base of the plant (start of root) is weakening - one plant I pulled out had the base pretty much down to nothing - no roots came out it broke very easily. I am finding slugs and green caterpillars - which I get every year - I pick them off by hand. Other then holes in leaves from them eating plant shows NO signs of distress except wilting.

At this rate they will all be gone in a couple weeks. What disease is this????

Don Ohio

 

[headfullofbees]

Soil shouldn't "stink bad".
It should smell sweet and earthy.
I think it's possible that you may have unwittingly added an acidic, anaerobic mess.
Get a pH tester (they're very cheap and easy to use) and test your soil, asap.
For your plants, if you have buckets, put some soil or compost from another source into them and your plants into that, until you manage to sort this out.
Good luck.

 

[Claire]

I was also going to guess that it sounds more like a soil problem than a disease. It almost sounds like they aren't getting enough nutrients from your soil.

I've had great success in my last two seasons of going to potted vegetable gardens and raised (but small) beds, instead of in the ground. Our problem was that ground water was leaching all our soil of its nutrients. Add broccoli or squash, two very needy plants in terms of food requirements, and you've got basically dead soil.

Miracle grow helped a lot. So has adding a teaspoon of coffee grounds to each plant, twice a season. If you don't compost, you might start to do that too, though it takes a season to really get it going. If nothing else, you might try spreading your veggies around so that they aren't organized in your garden by variety. Mix things that like lots of nutrients with some things that are low maintenance and hearty.

 

[Don1971]

Definitely not a nutrition problem that I am completely certain of. I tested the soil into spots one came back neutral the other alkaline.

Remember I grew an awesome garden here last year everything did great I added compost etc. no chance it is nutrients.

 

[Don1971]

Noon then 5:00

 

[Don1971]

Literally died in 6 hours. Over watering?

 

[headfullofbees]

When did you put that plant in?
It is very difficult to overwater brassicas.

 

[Chuck]

That looks like herbicide poisoning. Where did you get the hay or any other organic matter that you have added to the soil? Here is a way to find out for sure. Rake up some of the straw and let it soak for at least 24 hours and then go pour it over some kind of broadleaf plant like a dandelion. Do the same thing with some of the soil too. If the dandelion is ok after 36 hours then it is not herbicide poisoning

 

[headfullofbees]

Don, do you have any other plants which have been affected, especially potatoes, tomatoes and peas or beans, growing in the area?
These are particularly susceptible to hormone-base herbicides.
Chuck, my experience of hormone-based herbicides is that the leaves shrivel rather than wilt, so I don't think it's that.
Most other common herbicides tend to break down quickly on contact with soil.

 

[Don1971]

Great idea. I think the herbicide poisoning is the best guess yet. It just happens so fast.

It seems to always happen during the day. The weirdest thing is the plants right next to the one that dies are perfectly fine

It is not from the straw. I have a whole lot of my other plants in the straw and they are all fine. And a lot of the ones that died were in pine needle mulch from my yard.

 

[Don1971]

I dug in the soil around the most recent one. Barely under the surface I found two small bugs that looked like a hard worms. They curled into a really tight small ring and their bodies are really firm. I think it was a coincidence though.

 

[headfullofbees]

Pine needles are highly acidic.

 

[Don1971]

I have all the plants you mentioned and many more growing all over and they are all perfectly fine. Is only the broccoli cauliflower and cabbage. Again one plant dies immediately while the one right next to it is perfectly fine. For now.

Actually I tend to notice them wilt in the morning around the time the sun first hits them it progress is very fast and they do not recover at all no matter what.

I know Pineneedles are acidic there Pinetree's in my yard and the needles have always been in my garden. Also it would not explain how one pant that is been there for a month in the Pineneedle mulch suddenly dies in a matter of hours while all the ones around it are perfectly fine

What is confusing me most is how quickly it happens and how it does not affect the other plants nearby.

I think we need to focus on this fact instead of letting it be the most confusing thing it is definitely a key piece of information.

 

[Chuck]

Don, do you have any other plants which have been affected, especially potatoes, tomatoes and peas or beans, growing in the area?
These are particularly susceptible to hormone-base herbicides.
Chuck, my experience of hormone-based herbicides is that the leaves shrivel rather than wilt, so I don't think it's that.
Most other common herbicides tend to break down quickly on contact with soil.

I am thinking Picloram. It is acid based. Ranchers, farmers, city and towns use this stuff on broadleaf plants on right of ways, fence lines, ditches etc It can be lethal @3 parts per billion and just a little wind drift of this stuff can do enormous damage. It has a half life of 1-2 years in soil and does not adhere to the soil

 

[Don1971]

I did have a company put down weed killer on the yard but that was a month ago. Also by coincidence this part of my garden is the furthest from my grass and is surrounded by only a deck and without a doubt the most isolated part of my garden from a potential herbicide

These plants are in the top left corner of this picture this picture is from last year but it gives you a feel for the location they are right around the deck but I've not done anything to the deck this year