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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2012 1:52:03 GMT -5
I live in central fl and noticed this on my sweet basil. Every time I remove the leaves the spots eventually reappear. It really started once it was raining a lot near mid-late summer. Early on, the plants were doing great with no problems at all. Almost every Basil plant now has these spots. Would you say it is Bacterial Leaf Spot? I have the basil growing in two separate beds about four feet apart. I was planning to start planting some cold weather veggies but now am wondering if the soil is contaminated. Any suggestions? Thanks so much!! Attachments:
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 4, 2012 11:51:53 GMT -5
Even though you are in FL, has it gotten very cold there? I have never had leaf spot on basil, except for those caused by cold. Not just frost will cause it - just when it gets too cold for them, like down in the 40s sometimes. They are always the first plant in my garden to show signs. But then, maybe you have things down there that I don't have up here!
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izzy
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Joined: July 2011
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Post by izzy on Oct 4, 2012 21:40:47 GMT -5
Here's a little trick that may help. Strain the whey from some good quality plain yogurt. The whey is a concentrated form of lactic acid bacteria - which happens to be good for plants. It occurs in nature. Make a dilution with a few tablespoons of whey in a gallon of water. (Water should not contain chlorine as it will kill the LAB. If you're using treated city water, let it sit out in the sunshine in a bucket for a few hours to evaporate the chlorine, and it'll be ready to use.) Now you have a spray to help rid your plants of pathogenic bacteria and some viruses. Spray the leaves til dripping wet early in the day. May reapply the next day if needed. I discovered this trick when I had septoria on some pepper plants. Within a few hours, there was a visible improvement in the spread of spots, allowing me to keep the plants alive until the peppers grew to size. In many cases, LAB will overcome bacteria and viruses on the leaf surface - but cannot compete if the pathogen has become systemic. It sounds like it may be too late to save your basil, but there's no harm in trying it out on one or two plants now to see what happens. I also use this method as preventative for powdery mildew at the first sign of trouble. Saved my pumpkin patch and squashes this past spring. am wondering if the soil is contaminated. Any suggestions? Plant debris on the ground can harbor the disease. Bacterial spot is transmitted to other plants or weeds through splashing water, dew, or rain. I don't think it survives in soil. It might be helpful to remove any mulch in the area to prevent the possibility of overwintering on plant material. HTH
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2012 0:05:57 GMT -5
Hey pepperhead. It hasn't gotten very cold yet. I have noticed some nights have definitely gotten cooler, but I wouldn't even say chilly. Overall its been very rainy and it feels like the wet season started a tad late and ending late too. I'm originally from NY and been living here a few years and am still trying to get used to all the different weather and critters here!
Izzy, thanks for the tip! That is definitely worth a shot. The past few weeks, I have definitely been neglectful due to a busy schedule. There was lots of weeds and even an oak tree who had a few branches hanging down into and even touching some of the basil. I am wondering if this also caused poor air circulation thus, helping the conditions along. Since it is caused by splashing from water etc., in FL the rainfall is torrential at times, so I can definitely see if that is the case. Now this is probably bad, but I never used mulch but I did remove all weeds, fallen leaves and trimmed back the oak branches yesterday.
Thanks!
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