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

"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

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.

"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.

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 ,
"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

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.

"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

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

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.

During the learning process, I've planted up to 4 times before I got a crop
started. The plants died exactly as you described.

In article ,
"Bob F" wrote:

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.

During the learning process, I've planted up to 4 times before I got a crop
started. The plants died exactly as you described.

If they died in the germination trays from white mold, that's called
damping off. The soil should be sterilized first (200°F for 30 min. This
may be overkill but best err on the side of sterility.) Germination
trays should be new or thoroughly sprayed-out and soaked in a chlorine
(bleach) rinse (1/4 cup bleach to 5 gal. water) for 20 min. Rinse with
clean water and they are ready to go.
--
- 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