[strangerachael]

Does anyone have experience of club root? I have recently had to dig up two cabbages and a purple sprouting broc, whose roots were solid. I've never seen it before. My allotment neighbours said they have had it in their garden and used diluted jeyes fluid in the planting hole about a week before planting. Has anyone tried this and if so does it work and what strength solution should I use? Can you use it to water round the existing plants, or will I poison them/ourselves? How can I prevent it spreading?

[gobs]

Unfortunately so.

When you say 'solid', what is it you mean? As brassica roots supposed to be solid.

With clubroot you get too distinct shapes of distortion - on not tap root veg, like swede and radish - swallen, gall like or fingers and toes, which is rotting away.

Jeyes fluid is not legal anymore for soil disinfection.

If you really have the problem, raise plants in pots, till have 4-6 leaves and a biggish root system, plant deep, add lime to the planting hole and earth up the base of the stem with clean soil.

Use resistant varieties where available, kale, broccoli and savoy are less prone than other brassica in my experience, but there are different strains, so these last two points won't be of use for everybody.

[strangerachael]

Well, the plants were wilting, and when I pulled them up, their roots were like, well like clubs - a big cream coloured waxy looking solid lump, instead of lots of thin root-shaped roots.

[Aunt Sally]

I have club root on my plot too   :cry: If you follow what gobs has recommended you stand a good chance of avoiding it !