Well, at least it was a learning experience...

[journey11]

Harvested my cabbages last night. They turned out pretty good, although I should have fertilized them more for bigger heads.

My cauliflower totally tanked! This is the first year I was able to grow them from seed and the transplants looked good when I set them out, but I wasn't counting on this...

Black rot. It's the most dastardly veggie disease I've ever come up against! Steve helped me identify it a couple weeks ago here.

It smells as bad as it looks! When I first noticed it I thought there was something dead in my garden.

And it moves in FAST. Tuesday everything looked fine. But I was too busy Wednesday and couldn't get out to the garden, so by Thursday I had found it hit them all, to one degree or another. I should have known better (and harvested them sooner). They were still growing, but the weather has turned hot, humid and with lots of storms.

The three I did harvest I'm just going to give to the chickens. I can't bare to look at them now. It makes me sick to think about it.

From what I've read, I guess you can't do much to control Black Rot. The best bet is to only plant a fall crop. It didn't bother the broccoli. The broccoli did great. But it was starting to affect the cabbage, so I got them picked just in time. I don't think they'll store well because of it, so I'm going to make sauerkraut today!

My daughter was so cute. She carried all the cabbages into the house for me, one by one. She really took her "job" seriously. I'm hoping to raise another enthusiastic gardener here.

Between the catepillars, aphids and rot, I think I'll only raise brassicas in the fall from now on! Bummed me out!

 

[HunkieDorie23]

Sorry, I have had fungus problems too. Powdery Mildew (not yet this year) and Septoria Leaf Spot (third year in a row). It is heart breaking. Is there something you can do for it next year?

 

[lesa]

I never had any luck growing cauliflower. I don't even try anymore. Thankfully, it is not my favorite veggie anyway. That black rot looks really awful! I tell you, sometimes gardening is like war! Enjoy your cabbages and that melon looks awesome!

 

[boggybranch]

WOW........those pictures make me sad, too.......and I don't, even, like cauliflower.

 

[chris09]

journey -
What type of cabbage did you plant?
Here is a little trick on cabbage try hitting them 4 week before you think they will be harvested and and then at 2 week before harvest with;
2 cups of vinegar and 1 cup of BoPeep ammonia in 5 gallons of water
Then the week you are going to harvest hit them with a tsp of BoPeep ammonia pore it right on the head. Watch the cabbage after you hit them with the tsp of BoPeep ammonia on the heads. They grow fast and if you don't watch them they will split fast...

Chris

 

[vfem]

Oh I am so sorry! At least you had success with the cabbage... that I have failed at several times now.

 

[Kim_NC]

Sorry about your caulifower. How discouraging! But hang in there and try again!

FWIW, we do find it harder to grow than other cole crops. But it's worth the 'struggle' when you get a good crop!

Nice job on the cabbage!

 

[journey11]

The cabbage were dutch flat head that I got in a seed trade on here.

I planted 3 different kinds of cauliflower and the first to get hit were the cheddar hybrids. The purple never made heads at all, but still look leafy and otherwise ok (but I'm still gonna rip 'em out). And I thought maybe the Amazing (white) cauliflower were going to be resistant, but this heat and humidity did them in at the end.

I've never seen anything move as fast as that black rot! They say there's nothing you can do about it. Creepy!

I'm going to try again next year with only a fall crop. But right now I'm going to work on improving the soil on that half of the garden with some cover cropping and manure. I'm too disheartened to try to plant anything else there right now. I'm going to put in some new raised beds for some other fall crops in a different location.