Disease-ridden Raised Bed

13 years ago

I had a bad growing season in one of my raised beds this summer, where everything I planted -- watermelon, strawberries, marigolds -- succumbed to disease. The previous crop of garlic and onions did very well, but the summer crop looked miserable, growing poorly with a whitish speckled coating on the leaves.

I have three 4x8 raised growing beds in my garden. I try to perform crop rotation, but with only three beds, it's difficult to let enough time pass before using that bed for a repeat planting. I created these beds over a decade ago. Usually twice a year, after each harvest, I double-dig the beds, adding amendments such as compost, steer manure, peat moss, and blood and bone meal.

I'm wondering what I should do with/to the soil in this problem bed? Dig out all the soil and dispose of it, starting fresh? Add a lot of compost? Try my hand at solarizing the soil? Any suggestions appreciated.

Here is a link that might be useful:

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Comments (2)

gardenlen
13 years ago
dunno raymondo,

the medium doesn't look real flash, and there isn't much mulch in use. we mulch our beds to 8"s thick, and tuck our kitchen scraps under to feed the worms.

see our bale bed presentation.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens bale garden
TXEB
13 years ago
Without a diagnosis of the diseas(s), I don't think it can be said what your best move should be. The only clue you give is "whitish speckled coating on the leaves". That sounds like powdery mildew, which is a fungal disease. The thing with powdery mildew though is it is caused by a number of fungi that are rather plant specific -- see link below. It can usually be managed with fungicides. If you are seeing it broadly over a number of different plant types that suggests cultural practices along with weather and timing may be a large part of the issue. But, before you do anything you really need to pin down what problem you're dealing with, especially if you think it's a disease.

Here is a link that might be useful: Powdery Mildew on Vegetables
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