sunflowers
Last post 17-08-2012 4:06 PM by My DIY Garden. 5 replies.
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11/08/2012 05:49 PM
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- erica67
- London
- 01 Jun 2012
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8
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I planted a whole packet of sunflowers, 5 different kinds, and after giving a few away I am left wth 76 plants from a few inches tall to over 7 foot and they all look fine until they bloom. 21 have bloomed over the past week and many of them have taken one look at this world and shrivelled up and died. Since planting in compost in various kinds of little containers and then onto the actual garden soil they have been through hot, cold and wet weather but I cannot understand why they look so good and then also look so good when they bloom and then some die within hours.
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16/08/2012 05:10 PM
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Hi, I am no expert on sunflowers but like you I am very fond of them. Perhaps the cause is a presence of sclerotia fungus bodies in your soil?? You may find the following article of interest ( http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/diseases/fac31s00.html). If sclerotia is the problem then finding ways to prevent the buildup of sclerotia in your soil is what is required.The article recommends crop rotation and checking whether there is any neighbouring areas infected with this fungus. I would be interested to hear what others feel is the problem too. Best of luck, Gavin
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16/08/2012 08:34 PM
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- Phot's-Moll
- The sunny South coast.
- 06 Jan 2007
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4,553
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What a shame. Do you know if the same thing has happened to those you gave away?
http://patsysplot.blogspot.co.uk/
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17/08/2012 02:55 PM
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- erica67
- London
- 01 Jun 2012
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8
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Thank you for the advice. Things are looking up. Literally. Four of the Tall Single sunflowers are now over 8 foot tall and one is 8 foot 10 inches. Two of the blooms are good. I think the oners surviving best are the "Irish Eyes". I also planted Autumn Beauty and Paquito and Teddy Bear. All not so good. There may be another common denominater in that they were planted in various ways. Soil contamination reminded me of when we first moved here 36 years ago my then little son grew carrots and they were all black spotted and we got advice from somewhere that it was lead poisoning as the garden backs onto garages. Now most of the garages are used for storage and the drivers are more aware of the pollutants they spread with their engines. Evenso I would not eat anything planted in my garden. I am not sure what happened to the ones I gave away. Hearing nothing might not be good.
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17/08/2012 03:01 PM
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- erica67
- London
- 01 Jun 2012
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8
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Me again. In fact I would be interested in getting my soil tested. Does anyone know how I can get this done? For pathogens as weill as ph.
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17/08/2012 04:06 PM
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Hi, Glad to hear things are looking up. One forgets that the sunflower is still a sensitive plant. Soil contamination is not a pleasant thing to have to handle and you are right to consider having your soil tested. As regards testing the pH level I would suggest you purchase a simple kit from your local garden centre (this is what I did as I have very acidic soil and a huge moss and fungus problem). I liked this article from Wikihow on how to test the pH level of your soil ( http://www.wikihow.com/Test-Soil-pH). As regards testing for pathogens I found this article from eHow very helpful (http://www.ehow.com/how_5630993_test-soil-fungus.html). To me eHow's main message here is that to keep our soil and turf lawns healthy we should keep them well aerated and ensure they have good drainage. Best of luck Gavin
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