Had a seemingly healthy, BIG stalked....

[David from Dothan]

.....okra plant start dropping shriveled up leaves and stopped putting on new growth. Pulled it up and this is what the roots looked like. Pulled up a tomato plant in the same section of the raised bed and the roots looked the same. I'm guessing nematodes.

 

[Chuck]

Yep, root knot nematodes. I do not know of any quick fix but what I would do now is pull up all plants in the affected raised bed. Then I would start tilling. Turning the soil over will kill them because of the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Then in late winter I would plant trap crops. Then when spring planting time is near I would order the beneficial nematodes that feed on root knot nematodes and distribute them about 2 weeks before planting. Does your raised bed have a bottom or is the native soil the bottom?

 

[Chuck]

And next year plant nematode resistant varieties.

 

[David from Dothan]

Yep, root knot nematodes. I do not know of any quick fix but what I would do now is pull up all plants in the affected raised bed. Then I would start tilling. Turning the soil over will kill them because of the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Then in late winter I would plant trap crops. Then when spring planting time is near I would order the beneficial nematodes that feed on root knot nematodes and distribute them about 2 weeks before planting. Does your raised bed have a bottom or is the native soil the bottom?

Native soil bottom......

 

[David from Dothan]

What if I pull the plants and solarize the soil for the rest of the summer, turning the soil every couple of weeks ?

 

[Silentrunning]

Since I am growing nothing but heirloom tomatoes this year (no resistance to anything) I planted them in 5 gallon buckets with sterilized potting soil and perlite. I have the largest plants, largest tomatoes and most tomatoes per plant that I have ever had. I got tired of battling nematodes every year.

 

[Chuck]

What if I pull the plants and solarize the soil for the rest of the summer, turning the soil every couple of weeks ?

That will certainly help but you must understand that getting rid of them is a long and many times a futile quest. They are in your native soil and are coming into your raised beds from the bottom up. You will probably have to do as @Silentrunning does and plant in containers. I know of no chemical treatment that actually works but perhaps someone on the forum will know of something.

 

[Silentrunning]

That will certainly help but you must understand that getting rid of them is a long and many times a futile quest. They are in your native soil and are coming into your raised beds from the bottom up. You will probably have to do as @Silentrunning does and plant in containers. I know of no chemical treatment that actually works but perhaps someone on the forum will know of something.

Chuck, it may be helpful if you post a link to your thread containing information on soil sterilization.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Ahem..yall called? I hate those things.

If you have a raised bed, take it apart, sterilize everything, put a bottom in it, reload. Its a luxurious lifestyle, that raised bed world.

I fight my nema off by tilling in nema killers and trying to sterilize the soil. The thyme oil product from promax huma grow and the monteray(?) pesticide I used this year will probably get me 2\3 thru the season. Over time they crawl back. They do not move far, but those roots have to grow down and help the nema out. Those roots you are showing sure were nice and long. It lets me get a lot of fruitset, but later after the main bulges of produce I start pulling the plants that are in decline. The produce has been hitting. Pickles anyone?

 

[JerryVA]

There's no Okra varieties with resistance to nematodes. Gold Coast is occasionally mentioned as tolerating nematodes due to its extensive root system. I just planted 6 plants in a bed where I had root knot problems on Sungold tomatoes 3 years ago. I went with marigolds then sweet corn and now with Gold Coast Okra for a fall crop. I also planted Clemson Spineless so I should see some difference if I still have high numbers of nematodes in the bed. Gold Coast is a 50 day semi dwarf released in 1960 by the Louisiana Ag Exp Station with seed available through Southern Exposure Seed.

 

[Meadowlark]

I had nematodes really bad the first year I gardened in the current location...that was about 38 years ago. Have not seen them or had any effects since. My solution....cover crops in combination with crop rotation and hygienic practices in the garden.

It has positively worked for me. Sterilization is an indiscriminate killer of everything in the soil. I would never do that or allow anyone to do that in my garden. Elbon rye is my favorite nematode control plant but there are others.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I had nematodes really bad the first year I gardened in the current location...that was about 38 years ago. Have not seen them or had any effects since. My solution....cover crops in combination with crop rotation and hygienic practices in the garden.

It has positively worked for me. Sterilization is an indiscriminate killer of everything in the soil. I would never do that or allow anyone to do that in my garden. Elbon rye is my favorite nematode control plant but there are others.

I see elbon rye for approximately 2 bucks a pound, shipped and taxed at my door... How many pounds per thousand are you putting out?

 

[Meadowlark]

I can get it for less than $.25 per pound in 50 pound sacks at my local feed store.

“Elbon Rye was developed in Oklahoma and is a Southern type of cereal rye. Cereal Rye is used in gardens and production fields to control nematodes and as a cover crop. It winter hardy and produces more forage than most small grains. Do not confuse with ryegrass or northern cereal rye. http://justinseed.com/elbon-rye”

I always plant my Elbon in conjunction with other legumes and cereals....and plant very densely. Its cheap...and in fact is the cheapest, easiest, and all natural source for N2 you can get for the garden.....not to mention the other benefits. Look it up.

For all the soil killers out there I offer this “Consider cover crops your most important crops, because the requirements for abundant food crops — building soil fertility, improving soil texture, suppressing weeds, and inhibiting disease and crop-damaging insects — can be best met by the abundant use of cover crops, season after season. MotherEarth News”

Soil building takes years. It is never ending or shouldn't be....but can be completely undone in a matter of days by soil killing aka solarization. Solarization...Not in my gardens, not now, not ever. I honestly would prefer nematodes...but fortunately they are easily eliminated with Elbon.

 

[David from Dothan]

???????........

 

[DirtMechanic]

???????........

Flowers...yeah I read that crap. Thing is, nobody making money on food has time for the fantasy. Anybody that rolls that slow road has other sources of food and income. I think it is important to grow your own food. I think it is equally important to admit you could not feed your family with b***s**t. Wait..that is great fertilizer...