Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Solanaceae Woes

I just realized I did something not too smart.  Last year my bell pepper bed did not do well.  The plants wilted and produced very few, pathetic peppers.  I figured it was a bacterial wilt.  Fast forward to this spring.  I rotated my crops and planted the peppers in the bed that had previously grown root crops and some lettuce.

Then for the fatal mistake- I planted the previous pepper bed with potatoes!  I'm not sure what I was thinking.  I am aware that potatoes, peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes are all Solanaceae.  Now my potatoes are wilting and dying.



I need a giant sign on this bed to remind me no Solanaceae!  After reading about the different wilts, I think I have fusarium or verticillium wilt.  Both of these are caused by a fungus and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to save the potatoes at this point. 

They recommend no Solanaceae in the infected area for 4 - 6 years!  I sure hope I can remember. Also, planting mustard as a cover crop is suppose to help.  Mustard has anti-fungal properties and can help kill the fungal culprits.

Hopefully I'll get a few potatoes this year.  I've never tried a fall crop, but this may be the year to try.

Lesson learned!

6 comments:

  1. A fall crop is a great idea! I hope you do try planting a fall crop. I would be interested in how they do!

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  2. Oh how sad. Good luck with your fall potatoes.

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  3. We love growing our own potatoes but they can be a challenge to find enough room to rotate their bed. We're settling for growing them in containers, but the yield seems much less consistent...

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  4. How old are your potato plants? Is it possible they are dying back because they've finished cropping? i sometimes get surprised by how quick the process can be - some varieties only take about 3-4 months before they die back completely. If it is wilt though I feel for you - such a pain!

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    1. I'm hoping that might be the case, but they've only been in the ground for about 2 1/2 months. However, it has been an exceptionally warm spring so maybe that sped them up. Some of the plants still look fine, so I don't want to dig yet. For now it's waiting and hoping!

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  5. Oh no! how awful :-( I do hope you'll try for a fall crop! Good luck!

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