Saturday, June 6, 2009

Here Begins the Garden Carnage

I think my shallots are rotting from being too wet. I did find a small worm in one but not sure if this is the cause or just an effect of the bulbs breaking down. I must be over watering them and the soil seems to not be draining as well as I would like. The compost I got from the horse farm is still quite coarse and seems to be holding water. Yellow tips on alliums can imply over watering. Below top are the plants I pulled with brown withered leaves; bottom shows yellow tips on remaining plants.

Here is a picture of the worm, I have ruled out the onion maggot:



2 comments:

Pam said...

I cannot really tell from the picture, but could it be a Pot Worm(Enchytraeidae)?

Sometimes called white worms, these small, white, threadlike worms are found in worm bins when there is a quantity of finished material. They are beneficial organisms that feed on decaying organic matter and are considered a prized tropical fish food. Some worm growers culture this species of worm for the pet food market. While usually found when the bedding in the bin is slightly acidic, their presence does NOT indicate a pH problem and pH adjustment is not recommended.

Pot worms are white, segmented worms, frequently mistaken for baby redworms. Their bodies are nearly transparent and their digestive system quite visible when viewed through a hand lens. Potworms do not feed on living plants and pose no threat to the garden or people.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://vermica.com/articles/images/potworm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://vermica.com/articles/other_organisms_in_worm_bins.htm&usg=__Z4a1OysJs0C3lAEdmPaeCJ-QxeQ=&h=480&w=412&sz=23&hl=en&start=62&um=1&tbnid=xfSARnTFkIKg9M:&tbnh=129&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwhite%2Bgarden%2Bworm%2Bpest%2Bpicture%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D60%26um%3D1

Kelly said...

Thanks Pam, I think you are right!