[out4nowt]

I've got some wonderful Swedes (Marion) which we have been eating for months, but gradually they are developing more and more black bits in the flesh. Initially I was finding small black specks in the flesh at the bottom of the swede, now I have to cut away almost half of the swede. Any ideas?

[DavidT]

It could be caused by the ground being too wet.

[mumofstig]

Could be brown heart a Boron deficiency 

look here

[cob nut]

Last year I found that most of our parsnips had a brown 'veining' in the centre, usually around the core - do you think this could be the same problem?  So far this year they have been okay as they were the previous year.

[whistler]

Hello,
Please could someone explain what is Boron, and how do you remedy a deficiency? I looked Boron up on wikipedia and got even more confused!

Thanks,
Sally

[davethespread]

hi sally,i looked it up and found this for you.

boron deficiency is an uncommon dissorder affecting plants growing in deficient soils and is often associated with areas of high rainfall and leached soils.
boron may be present but locked up in the soils with a high ph.
the deficiency may be worse in wet seasons.
boric acid (16.5%boron),borax(11.3%boron) can be applied to soils to correct the boron deficiency,although care must be taken because excess boron is toxic to plants.
so make sure of correct application rate and even coverage.
leaves of many plants are damaged by boron,so when in doubt apply to soil only.

hope this is of help
regards dave

[whistler]

Thanks Dave!