[ember]

I've been keeping an eye on my garlic as it didn't seem quite right but just put it down to wet, as there was no mould or creatures. One look last night and the lot came up. So p**!!d nearly forgot to take the strawbs home.

Himself spotted some tiny, wormy, threadlike critters yesterday (could be baby maggots) and I found some larger maggots today, approx 5mm . The garlic is softenned, rotted in worst cases, at the neck and some of the bulbs are distorted and/or discoloured. The pictures say it all really - can't attach more.
Have I got onion fly AND eelworms or is it something else entirely different?
Any ideas and do you think it's still usable - smells ok. My shallots are in the same bed should I get them out quick (and onions are not too far away)? M
Done a self reply pics.

Added - Thanks for the help Mum
Pictures now on, click on picture to enlarge.

[ember]

Sorry no luck with pics - looking for help. M

[bigben]

I found some of these http://www.uknatureblog.com/2010/04/spotted-snake-millipede.html on one of my garlic - do they look like the same thing? If so then read the comments below the photo - they are bad news for onions and garlic so I would consider removing them.

[ember]

Thanks for the info Bigben, had a look. Your's are far prettier than mine. Mine are just classic little maggots. The tiny one are just that - a fine hair width. M
Wouldn't a piccy be good?

[mumofstig]

I hope this link helps with the pics
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=19476.msg100026#msg100026

Good luck!

[Lardman]

Doesn't look like the onion fly to me - but someone with more experience of it will have to confirm.

Are you sure there was no damage to the leaves of the garlic ? Its hard to tell if the insects caused the damage and the bulb rotted or the bulb rotted and the insects move in. Are they all suffering ? Anything else showing the same problems.

[ember]

Hi Lardman,

The leaves were dying down, but thats to be expected as this time I guess. The garlic just seemed to start going soft at the soil line. See pics. M

[ember]

Doesn't look like the onion fly to me - but someone with more experience of it will have to confirm.

Are you sure there was no damage to the leaves of the garlic ? Its hard to tell if the insects caused the damage and the bulb rotted or the bulb rotted and the insects move in. Are they all suffering ? Anything else showing the same problems.

No damage to leaves as far as I'm aware -we do get various creatures about though. All the garlic has had to be lifted. I shall be having a very close look at onions and shallots next time I'm at the plot (likely to be Saturday am). Everything else seems to be fine. Carrots that are growing at the end of the garlic/shallot run are just fantastic.

This what I saved. Have thought about sending it to the Tate Modern   M




edit to clarify quote

[Lardman]

It certainly doesn't look good.

Is http://www.garlicworld.co.uk/garden/page3.html any help ? Thinking of the Stem & bulb Nematode  or if you do a Google image search on "garlic white rot" there are some pretty close matches, but I would have thought other crops - onions / shallots etc would have show the same symptoms.

Where did you get the original garlic from that you used for seed ?

[SkipRat]

Looks like they have been sat in too wet soil for too long and got some sort of fungal/mould issue that has caused them to start rotting

[ember]

Where did you get the original garlic from that you used for seed ?

Garlic bought from reputable source via local branch of  NSALG, so should be ok

Thanks to all for web links, have had a good look round to the point of being dizzy. I think I'm veering towards onion fly as the pictures of maggots, discolouration and follow on damage are very similar to that on my garlic, though I haven't totally excluded anything as there are symptoms of everything. I guess this is because as a plant collapses everything goes to rot.

Anyway as a last resort I've emailed, with attachments, our local radio station which has an excellent 3 hr gardening programme on a Sunday morning. Radio Leeds ,Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden. You may have seen Joe's articles in Kitchen Garden Magazine. Will let you know how I get on at the plot this w/e and if I get a response from the programme.

I shall now revise my planning as I wanted to follow on with leeks but that idea's scupperred now 

Thanks again M

[ember]

Had a look a the shallots this morning. Dug them up. 
The brightside is that they are far less affected than the leeks.  No fungus/mold for a start but the critters are in there. 
Have given them a clean up, the shallots not the critters, removed the ones with soft necks to the kitchen and left the rest in the shed to dry. Will look at these again tomorrow.
Tomorrow is also onion checking day!!!

I spoke with a plot neighbour who then checked her garlic and onions. Same problem as me. Will have to see who I can catch to let them know. This is where we could really do with a notice board on the site.....

Will let you know about the onions, but I think we can second guess that, and if I hear anything from Radio Leeds.

Take care M

[ember]

Checked the onions today, about 1/2 my reds (Red Baron) were softening and a few of the whites (Sturton). Only a very tiny amount of mold/fungus and no critters. So a lot better than it might have been.    Have taken these up, worst ones at home for onion marmalade, rest on drying rack in the hope they'll be ok. Main thing will be to keep an eye on what's left. 

Did get on the radio programme  . Was told that you can never tell what's been on a plot. So could be white rot (they'd not seen the pics  ) or a form of botritis (which fits in with what Skiprat said about wet but does it explain the distortion?. Advised that should grow sets on in pots. before planting out and other general horticultural advice.

I was asked where my stock from as this type of problem can arise fron supermarket bought garlic..

So bottom line is that I'm still not much wiser about what actually caused the problem. 

Think that I may now just check the pH, chuck some BFB on,plant some tares and see what happens. 

Today's upside of it all had nothing to do with alliums. Lady who lives next to the site has a cherry tree, so himself bartered some strawbs for cherries - yum. 

Good luck with your harvests and thanks for your responses. M