Ramping up the nematode war.......

[David from Dothan]

Last year's vegetable garden was a heartbreaking, TOTAL bust. The culprits responsible.....root-knot nematodes. After pulling everything up, well before August, I started an aggressive in-ground composting campaign, having read that doing that does promote the proliferation of good nematodes and micro-herd organisms that will kill the "bad" nematodes. Then, in the spring, I planted french marigolds throughout the affected raised beds having, also, read that they emit a chemical through their roots that repel root-knot nematodes. The results........MIXED, but better. HAVE had to pull up 8 tomato plants (5 others, so far, not attacked) and ONLY 4 okra (reported to be one of their favorite "target plants".....last year lost them all). EVERYTHING else, as of this date, is thriving and bearing. After the season is done. I plan to raise the the soil levels in the boxes with pre-sifted topsoil mixed with a newly discovered weapon......Shrimp Shell Meal. It contains chitin which, to a root-knot nematode, is reported to have about the same effect as sauerkraut served to a toddler at a birthday party. Ordered a 15 lb. bag (and it's a HUGE bag) from a company (Down To Earth) out of California.....cost, appx. $44, free shipping. It arrived today...........So, the battle rages on.........

 

[DirtMechanic]

Umm bro...just don't and say you did. Like lift it and move it and raise it and starve the little cannibals where they squiggle okay? I mean I am not saying bring in 55 gallon drums of gasoline and pour it on them and light it on fire for a week. I know it would make you feel better. You should not run piles underground that diffuse toxic gas either, because hey live and let live ya know? Monterey antinema chemicals are real expensive and you tilling that stiff (stuff) every 30 days from October until spring has to be a hassle right? Maybe they have a semi truck mounted microwave that could back right in and cook it all for you?

 

[David from Dothan]

Umm bro...just don't and say you did. Like lift it and move it and raise it and starve the little cannibals where they squiggle okay? I mean I am not saying bring in 55 gallon drums of gasoline and pour it on them and light it on fire for a week. I know it would make you feel better. You should not run piles underground that diffuse toxic gas either, because hey live and let live ya know? Monterey antinema chemicals are real expensive and you tilling that stiff every 30 days from October until spring has to be a hassle right? Maybe they have a semi truck mounted microwave that could back right in and cook it all for you?

Hahahahaha.......have you fell and hit your head?....Hahahahaha......"Lift it and move it......". I'm an ,ALMOST, 68 year old quadruple by-pass survivor and it's like 300* down here with a heat index of 2000*.....although "tilling that stiff every 30 days" has me scratching my head......

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hahahahaha.......have you fell and hit your head?....Hahahahaha......"Lift it and move it......". I'm an ,ALMOST, 68 year old quadruple by-pass survivor and it's like 300* down here with a heat index of 2000*.....although "tilling that stiff every 30 days" has me scratching my head......

Hey I can tell you tilling them up works (stuff not stiff) but you are dealing with a creature that has eggs of a dragon and replicates maybe every 90 days when its cold and every 20 when its hot. They live far deeper than you can till. All I have been able to do is purify the area long enough to get a crop in but by the end of the season they are back.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hey I saw the edit about the seafood meal. Good call. Thats about feeding the creatures that eat the stuff nema is made of, and there are also beneficial nema that work too. Also fungi attack and eat nema. RKN is the one we are after. It has a funny name.

Root-knot nematodes can be controlled with biocontrol agents Paecilomyces lilacinus, Pasteuria penetrans[10] and Juglone.[11]

Here is one getting after a tomato root.

Andd now we are back to raised beds....

 

[David from Dothan]

Hey I can tell you tilling them up works (stuff not stiff) but you are dealing with a creature that has eggs of a dragon and replicates maybe every 90 days when its cold and every 20 when its hot. They live far deeper than you can till. All I have been able to do is purify the area long enough to get a crop in but by the end of the season they are back.

Welllllll. maybe.....JUST maybe, this will turn out like a Christopher Columbus discovery when the man in the crow's nest yelled down to the deck, "LAND HO". Columbus asked his 1st mate, "What does that mean?" He replied,"It means he sees land". Columbus said....."WELL, pull over"........and you can quit tilling.......yep, that would be GRAND.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Welllllll. maybe.....JUST maybe, this will turn out like a Christopher Columbus discovery when the man in the crow's nest yelled down to the deck, "LAND HO". Columbus asked his 1st mate, "What does that mean?" He replied,"It means he sees land". Columbus said....."WELL, pull over"........and you can quit tilling.......yep, that would be GRAND.

I hope to be so lucky!