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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] [Fwd: Re: [compost_tea] Bacterial Wilt of Tomatoes]
  • Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:03:32 -0500

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Bacterial Wilt of Tomatoes
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:35:55 -0500
From: soilfoodweb@aol.com
Reply-To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com


Bacterial wilts work much the same way as fungal wilts. Actually, most
bacterial diseases work much the same way. They require reduced oxygen
conditions to be able to win the competition war and they require
continuous water films to spread. Exit compaction and stop
over-watering and the disease cannot become a problem.

And just because your soil is mostly sand does NOT mean it will
not compact.

Example:
The city of Waikiki in Hawaii said that sand cannot compact when we
explained the soil around the dying palm trees was compacted.

They said, basically, "This is sand! The palms aren't dying because
the sand is compacted! You can't compact sand! You crazy lady?"

But when they started digging out the dying palm trees, guess what they
hit at 12 to 18 inches? The sand was so compacted that they had to get
heavy-duty jack hammers to break up the compaction. How can sand on a
beach become compacted? Only something like 2 million people, plus half
a million trucks and service vehicles walking and driving over it every
year. Does compaction happen just at the surface? Ah, no. We've had
the discussion on other websites about where compaction occurs, given
weight of the vehicles, and people , and size of the tires, etc.

So, don't fall for the silliness that someone told you, that sand
doesn't compact. All evidence is to the contrary.

Check compaction for yourself. You don't have to "believe me", or them,
check to see if your soil is compacted. It is so simple to do.
And it makes NO DIFFERENCE what the soil moisture is. Plants have to
grow in wet and dry soil, so test compaction at ANY TIME of the year.
What is your plant experiencing, and could it be harming your plant
right now? And of course, compaction varies through the year, depending
on all kinds of things.

Method:
Get a metal rod, about 3 to 4 feet in length, somewhere between a
quarter inch in diameter to an inch in diameter. A sharpened end would
be nice, but isn't necessary.
Put one end on the soil surface. The sharp end, if you have that.
Don't push yet, just see if the end will go into the soil under it's own
weight. If it does, the SURFACE is not compacted, which is a good
thing. But you aren't done yet.

Start pushing the rod down into the soil. How far down can it go before
you can't push that rod through the soil?

What ever depth you can't push the rod through the soil, then the roots
of your tomato can't grow deeper than that. Maybe dandelions could push
their tap root through it, which means you are selecting for dandelions,
but your tomato? Out of luck.....and guess where the disease is
waiting? The disease can't make it in well-aerated, good
organisms-active-in-it soil. But in that low oxygen, compacted, wet
zone? Yep, just waiting.....

Do the compaction test and then report back to the group, ok?

Remember, there are two major factors to the disease thing......
compaction and water-logging. There are two additional factors as well,
the disease organisms must be present, and the other beneficial
organisms cannot be there or be functional. If you really have no
compaction, then water-logging has to be tied to extremely rapid
bacterial growth in order to drop the oxygem level, which results in the
beneficials not being able to grow. I see that happening in hydroponics
units. But that's another topic, enough for now......

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Roxburgh, New Zealand
SFI Culiacan, Mexico
SFI Canada West, Vulcan
SFI South Africa, Polokwane
SFI England, Laverstoke Park
SFI Canada East, Halifax
http://www.soilfoodweb.com


-----Original Message-----
To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 2:54 pm
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] Bacterial Wilt of Tomatoes

On Dec 10, 2007, at 1:04 PM, soilfoodweb@aol.com
<mailto:soilfoodweb%40aol.com> wrote:

> In order to safely make it to your plant, in that water film, and to
> be able to not be out-competed for the infective site on the plant
> surface, the zoospore, reduced oxygen conditions and continous water
> film in the soil.
>
> Thus you see the connection with rain. But rain alone won't result
> in wilt, it has to be rain AND compacted conditions in the soil.
>
> No compaction, no wilt.

I'm sure this applies to fungal wilt, but from the research I've done
my garden's problem is bacterial wilt.

Besides, my garden is basically sand, and there's no compaction there.





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