|
Club root is the thickening and distortion of the roots of Brassicas by the soil fungus Plasmodiophora brassicae. Roots are distended and swollen and may appear to be shaped like fingers or tumors. Infected plants will exhibit day wilting (wilting during the day, recovering at night), and general poor production. Root Brassicas like radishes and turnips may show black lesions.
All Brassicas are prone to this fungal disease: arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, canola, cauliflower, ching chiang, collards, cress, daikon, gai lan, horseradish, joi choi, kale, kohlrabi, mustards, pac choi, radish, rape, rutabaga, tatsoi, toy choy, turnip, wasabi, and watercress.
The fungus can lay dormant in soil as a cyst for as long as 8 years. Acidic, wet, cool, and poorly drained soils are the most attractive environments. There is no treatment for infected soil, so prevention is absolutely key.
Read More... |
|
|
Known as greenflies in the UK, there are over 4,000 species of aphids worldwide. Only about 250 species are agricultural pests, but they are a genuine nuisance. Like whiteflies, aphids are classed in the order Hemiptera because of their sucking mouthparts. They range in size from 1 to 10 mm long and may be green, grey, or black in colour. Local species usually occur in large numbers along the stems and flower buds of a wide range of plants.
Aphids feed by puncturing the outer cells of plants and sucking out nutrients. This robs the plant of the food it needs to develop properly, and may cause yellow blotches to appear on leaves, and even total collapse of the host plant. The punctured cells become open to viruses and other disease. Aphids also secrete honeydew, which creates large sticky areas on plants and attracts sooty moulds that can then spread quickly over the rest of the plant.
Control
Read More... |
|
|
Whiteflies are members of the order Hemiptera, a group of insects classed together because of the similarity of their sucking mouthparts, with which they feed on the juices of plants. They are closely related to aphids. There are over 1,500 species of whitefly, but two are a particular nuisance in North American greenhouses and gardens, the glasshouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum), and the tobacco whitefly (Bemisia tabaci).
Adult whiteflies look like extremely tiny, bright white moths, and are usually seen after they have been disturbed and take to the air. They infest the tops of plants, their growing tips, and the undersides of leaves, where they suck nutrients from the plants’ tissue.
Whiteflies lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves, and this is where the larvae develop and begin to feed on the plants. The pupa
Read More...
|
|
|
Grazing deer can be a major nuisance for gardeners in Coastal BC, on the Gulf Islands, and in the Interior portions of the province. Vegetable gardens, full of tender greens and food, should be protected with sturdy fences, tall enough so that deer cannot leap over. Other garden areas, though, can be planted with a variety of flowers and herbs that either repel deer or produce odours or chemicals that offend their palates. Below is a brief list of the varieties we carry at West Coast Seeds, but there are others. We will be expanding our selection of deer-resistant plants over the coming seasons.
|
|
|
 
We've often spoken to gardeners who just shake their heads despairingly when we mention growing tomatoes. The late blight fungus really has hit Coastal gardeners hard and, from what we hear, has now even made its way into the Okanagan. Most new varieties are resistant to the common fungal diseases, but late blight (Phytopthera infestans) is dreadful here on the Coast. The leaves develop brown spots which eventually cause the whole leaf to turn brown and drop off. If conditions are right for the fungus, the entire plant becomes diseased and dies quickly.
Although late blight has been around for many years, infections have become much more severe in the 1990s. Scientists at Simon Fraser University recently identified a separate "A2" type which previously w
Read More... |
|
