Soil Problems?
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:49 am
I grew three varieties of potato this season.Rocket,poor yield;Charlotte,good yield and clean;Desiree,good yield but scabby.Reading Dr.Hessayon"Vegetable Expert" it seems that Desiree are very susceptible to scab disease and there is no treatment.Shame because I like the Desiree potato and they were very scabby.Or it may be that it was just that part of the plot as it was in the lower half of the plot on the opposite side to where I grew potatoes last year and they were scabby too but not as bad as this years.
My crop of Parsnips,Hollow Crown,have a bad bout bout of Canker.Of what I have pulled so far about a third to half have been badly affected by it,The Parsnips were sown in the same part of the plot as the potatoes,next crop down as a matter of fact.I've checked Dr. Hessayon and read other Gardening books and Googled to find out whether or not the two diseases are linked but no answer to the problem.
I am given to understand that the soil which I am growing in is topsoil which was imported to make up the, now gone,so-called raised beds and am told that it was between 10 and 20 tons put into these beds.The soil is very light,sandy and gritty but fortunately I can make about a ton of compost/leafmould every year so by incorporating it I am hoping it might help solve any problems.The Ph is,home testing, 6.5 and that is a good mark for growing vegetables but I might give the plot a heavy liming this year to see if it will "sweeten" the soil.
Only second year growing on this plot so I am still learning about it.I had my plots in Cardiff for over 30 years so I knew where(and rotating) I could plant crops and get the best yields but it still took me about five years to "learn"where and what I should do to get best results.
My crop of Parsnips,Hollow Crown,have a bad bout bout of Canker.Of what I have pulled so far about a third to half have been badly affected by it,The Parsnips were sown in the same part of the plot as the potatoes,next crop down as a matter of fact.I've checked Dr. Hessayon and read other Gardening books and Googled to find out whether or not the two diseases are linked but no answer to the problem.
I am given to understand that the soil which I am growing in is topsoil which was imported to make up the, now gone,so-called raised beds and am told that it was between 10 and 20 tons put into these beds.The soil is very light,sandy and gritty but fortunately I can make about a ton of compost/leafmould every year so by incorporating it I am hoping it might help solve any problems.The Ph is,home testing, 6.5 and that is a good mark for growing vegetables but I might give the plot a heavy liming this year to see if it will "sweeten" the soil.
Only second year growing on this plot so I am still learning about it.I had my plots in Cardiff for over 30 years so I knew where(and rotating) I could plant crops and get the best yields but it still took me about five years to "learn"where and what I should do to get best results.