Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago. In the last 48 hours I have lost
one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to happen is that
the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant stem at the base turn
brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What could be the cause of this?

In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago. In the last 48 hours I have lost
one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to happen is that
the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant stem at the base turn
brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What could be the cause of this?

Have you noticed any slugs or snails in the vicinity?

"Amos Nomore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago. In the last 48 hours I have lost
one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to happen is that
the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant stem at the base turn
brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What could be the cause of
this?

Have you noticed any slugs or snails in the vicinity?

None, these are in pots.

Could it be overwatering? I may have gone a bit heavy on the water lately.
Could it be damping off? Looking at an affected plant the roots look more
or less ok. There is just this dry, woody brown band at the stalk base
about 1/2 inch long and it's cutting off water to the plant.

Tell me its not fusarium!

Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other than
water?

David

Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago. In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What could be
the cause of this?

It is still too early here in Seattle to plant basil. Basil always does this to
me if I plant it before late May or June. If it isn't continuously warm where
you are, you may be having similar problems.

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other than
water?


They are in a warm and sunny spot. They easily get full sun 8 hours a day.
They were planted in Sta-Green planting mix. These were seedlings about 3
inches tall. I chose the healthiest ones I could find. About all I did
except for water was a touch of Scott's MG last week.

Paul

"Bob F" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago. In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

It is still too early here in Seattle to plant basil. Basil always does
this to me if I plant it before late May or June. If it isn't continuously
warm where you are, you may be having similar problems.

Hmmm, cold nights perhaps? It's been around low 50s at night. Days have
been 78-82.

Paul

In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other than
water?


They are in a warm and sunny spot. They easily get full sun 8 hours a day.
They were planted in Sta-Green planting mix. These were seedlings about 3
inches tall. I chose the healthiest ones I could find. About all I did
except for water was a touch of Scott's MG last week.

Doesn't Sta-Green already have added fertilizer? I think your seedlings
may have gotten burned. They really need to be well established before
using any chemical fertilizers.

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other than
water?

David

If they're in the ground (not pots), I'd suspect Fusarium oxysporum f.
sp. basilicum.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-125.html

A devastating basil wilt disease caused by a soilborne pathogenic
fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. basilicum, was first discovered in the
U.S. in 1991 and identified in N.C. in 1992. Plants infected with this
disease usually grow normally until they are six to twelve inches tall,
then they become stunted and suddenly wilt.

Initial symptoms usually include brown streaks on the stems,
discoloration of the internal stem tissue, and sudden leaf drop.

Interestingly, only sweet basil is affected. Some of the specialty
basils, such as lemon basil and purple basil, show some resistance to
the disease.
The disease is introduced into fields, hydroponic systems, and
greenhouse culture primarily through contaminated seed. Growers should
only buy basil seed that has been tested for the fusarium wilt fungus.
Currently, these tests involve growing out a large number of seed and
looking for disease symptoms. This does not guarantee that the seed will
be free of infection, but it greatly reduces the risk. If it is not
possible to obtain tested seed, the seed should be soaked in cold water
for four hours followed by a heat treatment of 20 minutes in 133-136
degree F water. Seed germination rates will probably be reduced by the
hot water treatment, so a germination test should be conducted on a
small lot of the treated seed to determine how much seeding rates need
to be adjusted. Also, the hot water treatment causes a sticky layer to
develop on the outer surface of seed making it difficult to handle.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

"Amos Nomore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other than
water?


They are in a warm and sunny spot. They easily get full sun 8 hours a
day.
They were planted in Sta-Green planting mix. These were seedlings about
3
inches tall. I chose the healthiest ones I could find. About all I did
except for water was a touch of Scott's MG last week.

Doesn't Sta-Green already have added fertilizer? I think your seedlings
may have gotten burned. They really need to be well established before
using any chemical fertilizers.


Yes it has a timed release fertilizer. I'll let the soil dry out then flush
with plain water.

Paul M. Cook wrote:
"Bob F" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago. In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?
It is still too early here in Seattle to plant basil. Basil always does
this to me if I plant it before late May or June. If it isn't continuously
warm where you are, you may be having similar problems.

Hmmm, cold nights perhaps? It's been around low 50s at night. Days have
been 78-82.

Paul


I can't imagine lower fifties would kill them, so I don't think that's
it. They do like slightly acidic soil (pH 5.5 to 6.5), but the bagged
stuff you're using shouldn't be far off that, also bagged stuff is
usually sterilized, which would preclude Verticillium wilt. I wish I
had a clue for you, but all the bases seem to have been covered. Oh, and
between what's in the soil mix, and you adding some MG, lay off the
fertilizer for at least a month now.

Tony

In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"Amos Nomore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other than
water?


They are in a warm and sunny spot. They easily get full sun 8 hours a
day.
They were planted in Sta-Green planting mix. These were seedlings about
3
inches tall. I chose the healthiest ones I could find. About all I did
except for water was a touch of Scott's MG last week.

Doesn't Sta-Green already have added fertilizer? I think your seedlings
may have gotten burned. They really need to be well established before
using any chemical fertilizers.


Yes it has a timed release fertilizer. I'll let the soil dry out then flush
with plain water.

If you think that is what it is, re-pot and gently rinse the roots.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"Amos Nomore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Paul M. Cook" wrote:

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
...
Paul M. Cook wrote:
Planted 3 bunches of basil 22 days ago.

Do you mean cuttings or seedlings?

In the last 48 hours I have
lost one bunch and another has started to die. What appears to
happen is that the roots die and I see about an inch of the plant
stem at the base turn brown and woody. It happens very quickly. What
could be the cause of this?

Where did you plant them, in what conditions, what have done other
than
water?


They are in a warm and sunny spot. They easily get full sun 8 hours a
day.
They were planted in Sta-Green planting mix. These were seedlings about
3
inches tall. I chose the healthiest ones I could find. About all I did
except for water was a touch of Scott's MG last week.

Doesn't Sta-Green already have added fertilizer? I think your seedlings
may have gotten burned. They really need to be well established before
using any chemical fertilizers.


Yes it has a timed release fertilizer. I'll let the soil dry out then
flush
with plain water.

If you think that is what it is, re-pot and gently rinse the roots.

Let me try that again. Gently hold the stems of the basil between your
thumb and index finger with the roots draped across your palm, and hose
the potting soil off of them, then re-pot the basil.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

Absolutely not!

When you handle seedlings do it by the leaf not the stem.

As for your disease problem more likely damping off organisms.








Let me try that again. Gently hold the stems of the basil between
your
thumb and index finger with the roots draped across your palm, and hose
the potting soil off of them, then re-pot the basil.
--

In article
,
beecrofter wrote:

Absolutely not!

When you handle seedlings do it by the leaf not the stem.

As for your disease problem more likely damping off organisms.








Let me try that again. Gently hold the stems of the basil between
your
thumb and index finger with the roots draped across your palm, and hose
the potting soil off of them, then re-pot the basil.
--

Been doing this for a long time, to no ill effect. Particularly helpful
when I buy starts at a nursery, that have more than one plant per cell.
It might be more accurate to say that the thumb holds the stem of the
plant (just above the roots), and presses against the side of the hand
and the index finger, (Which is to say that the thumb and index finger
are more or less parallel.) and the roots are draped across and
supported by the palm of the hand. I use a pistol grip nozzle which I
adjust to a wide spray, and using only a bit of the circumference of the
spray to wash the dirt from the roots.

Untangling the roots is a bit of a hassle, which is why I was so
interested by "Creative Propagation" [Illustrated] (Paperback)
by Peter Thompson (Author), Owen Josie (Illustrator)
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Propa...dp/0881926817/
ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273249143&sr=1-1 and his procedure for
"pricking out" seedlings (p.57), which does handle seedling by their
leaves (this is when the plants still have their dicotyledons), but with
older plants that have more fibrous stems, I feel more comfortable
holding them by the stems than by their leaves.

If Paul's basil was less than 3 - 4" (not counting the roots), I may
agree with you, but if they are taller than 6", I'd hold them (not
dangle) by their stems.

In Paul's case, I'd re-pot into potting soil that doesn't have any
chemferts in it, or any fertilizer at all for that matter. If they are
doing OK in a couple of weeks, I'd give them a half ration of fish
emusion.

Can you describe a similar procedure that you do?

Good Gardening.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html