Plant wilted and dying(opinions please)
- Thread starter jbird74
- Start date
jbird74
Well-Known Member
All humor aside when i went back out late afternoon the plant was laying over. I barely had to pull on it and it came out with virtually no roots attached. There was a couple of fairly good sized tree roots in it's hole. No sign of any moles(there are NO gophers in this party of the state and only one kind in the entire state. What little bit of a root base it had looked healthy. The dirt was moist but not overly wet. This area had cattle in it for years and years(nice black soil) and it sits right next to a creek so the soil has a fair amount of sand in it allowing for great root growth. I mean just look at the other plants in the patch. I wonder if it was in competition and lost out??? It was the smallest plant in the patch by far.
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mwooten102
Well-Known Member
I can't but think something's eating your roots.
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FLkeys1
Well-Known Member
Something is not right. You really want to cut the root and check for any discoloration like what Dr. P posted also check for any tiny holes, possible root borer or nodules that could be nematodes. To me there was a lot of foliage for such a little root system and yet there had to be more roots at one point to get the plant to the size it was..
Interesting.
Interesting.
scarecrow77
Well-Known Member
What are you feeding them...are they hungry ...jbird
jbird74
Well-Known Member
In my above post I meant to say I wonder if the competition from the tree roots(visible in pic) doomed it??? I just don't know...But I'm keeping my fingers crossed concerning the rest in that patch. These are not my biggest plants but it is my favorite patch to work with and watch grow...thought about growing here yeeeeears ago. I made a half ass attempt somewhere in the middle of my 9yr hiatus but only put out something like a dozen and they were destroyed the first night out. It has truly lived up the name I gave the area some time ago, "The Honey Hole"
jbird74
Well-Known Member
Maybe if I keep The Ganja Goat in their things will be okay? Keep away pests and any would be rippers...UGH...
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jbird74
Well-Known Member
Well early on some fish emulsion but that drew in the Coons and I lost a dozen plants...give or take 1... I've hit them 5 times in the past 8 weeks...or maybe just 4...with plain ol MG 18-6-12....getting ready to order some Dyna Gro bloom 3-12-6....though I would kinda rather have a 3-9-6 mix... I've got my plants just a touch hot a couple of times but just a few fan leaves got their tips sizzled. I'm not prone to over love my gardens.....just the right amount
Colorado Old Guy
Active Member
I lost a few plants that looked exactly like yours, also several others were also sick and on their way out. When I pulled the dead ones, much of the root system was missing and there were a lot of small black insects present. They were eating the roots and chewing on the stem just an inch or so below the surface. I never did identify the insect, I just drenched the soil around the stem with a light dose of sprectricin and that solved the problem...the ones that I saved really never did grow properly, the bug stunted them..
From then on, when I prepare the next spring planting sites in the fall, I use a dose of the sprectricin granular, worked into the soil along with the mulch and fertilizer. By spring, all that has been incorporated into the soil. Haven't had any soil bug problems since.
From then on, when I prepare the next spring planting sites in the fall, I use a dose of the sprectricin granular, worked into the soil along with the mulch and fertilizer. By spring, all that has been incorporated into the soil. Haven't had any soil bug problems since.
jbird74
Well-Known Member
Well shit just got interesting. Everything went from great, to bad, to worse over the space of the past few hours. 
My Honey Hole Patch is being pillaged by a fucking mole, I think. 3 more plants are fucking toast. I hadn't been to the patch since about 5 p.m. yesterday until 2 p.m. today. My patch is being fucking destroyed by varmit / varmits. Here's how I know. As stated above I went out to hit it with some MG 18-18-21 just a couple of hours ago. More plants destroyed. So I take the tile spade and pop one out and theres nothing holding it in the ground. So I go ahead and disect a couple of holes and can see nothing but awesome looking soil. Whats' left of the root system has beautiful healthy color to it as well. As I'm squatted down smoking a cig and watering a plant something catches my eye. Dirt falling down from the sides of one of the holes I just dug out. So I'm looking intently as a mofo...sure enough it's not dirt falling down it's being pushed out...so I KNOW ITS A FUCKING MOLE...possibly a gopher ..but I'm nearly positive there are ZERO gophers in this part of Illinois. So I'm staring and staring and it the dirt quits moving. So I slowly raised up and took two very big and soft steps over to my right and am behind but over the top of the side the fucking varmit is borrowing out of. Then some more dirt movement...I wait another eternity and nothing then a little bit of movement...so I jammed the spade into the ground and went ape shit on that side of the hole...to no avail...I couldn't even make out a fucking tunnel but I know what I saw...I watched this mother fucker for a good ten minutes all together. I'm going to do some quick googling on best way to take care of a fucking mole destoying your garden and double check University of Illinois website to see if pocket gophers dwell in my neck of the woods. 
My Honey Hole Patch is being pillaged by a fucking mole, I think. 3 more plants are fucking toast. I hadn't been to the patch since about 5 p.m. yesterday until 2 p.m. today. My patch is being fucking destroyed by varmit / varmits. Here's how I know. As stated above I went out to hit it with some MG 18-18-21 just a couple of hours ago. More plants destroyed. So I take the tile spade and pop one out and theres nothing holding it in the ground. So I go ahead and disect a couple of holes and can see nothing but awesome looking soil. Whats' left of the root system has beautiful healthy color to it as well. As I'm squatted down smoking a cig and watering a plant something catches my eye. Dirt falling down from the sides of one of the holes I just dug out. So I'm looking intently as a mofo...sure enough it's not dirt falling down it's being pushed out...so I KNOW ITS A FUCKING MOLE...possibly a gopher ..but I'm nearly positive there are ZERO gophers in this part of Illinois. So I'm staring and staring and it the dirt quits moving. So I slowly raised up and took two very big and soft steps over to my right and am behind but over the top of the side the fucking varmit is borrowing out of. Then some more dirt movement...I wait another eternity and nothing then a little bit of movement...so I jammed the spade into the ground and went ape shit on that side of the hole...to no avail...I couldn't even make out a fucking tunnel but I know what I saw...I watched this mother fucker for a good ten minutes all together. I'm going to do some quick googling on best way to take care of a fucking mole destoying your garden and double check University of Illinois website to see if pocket gophers dwell in my neck of the woods.
FLkeys1
Well-Known Member
I knew something was not right with the roots and MWooten102 was right something is eating your roots. there was just too much foliage on top to have that small of a root system, hence the wilting. I know Gopher - Ground squirrels are cute but I have no problem gassing the little suckers! came home one day about 4 years ago and a gopher ate all the roots off one of my palms from Madagascar the palm was just laying over. I put a few magic tablets in the ground and killed it, never saw another one!
sorry but I hope you can save the rest of the plants!!
sorry but I hope you can save the rest of the plants!!
jbird74
Well-Known Member
Exclusion
It is possible to exclude moles(or fucking gophers) from areas by using a barrier made of hardware cloth. The wire must be buried at least twelve inches deep.
It is possible to exclude moles(or fucking gophers) from areas by using a barrier made of hardware cloth. The wire must be buried at least twelve inches deep.
- Dig a trench at least 12 inches deep by 12 inches wide.
- Using a piece of 24 inch wire, bend the wire at a 90° angle and place it in the trench with the lower piece facing out from the area to be protected.
- Replace the soil, making sure that the wire is flush with the ground and is completely covered.
FLkeys1
Well-Known Member
I would but I am too far away, So. California here.. As you prob. know, do it as quick as possible, these guys eat fast!Well after doing some more reading it's most likely moles or shrews. I don't have any hardware cloth but I think I have enough soffit to do the following. Anybody want to help me dig?
Colorado Old Guy
Active Member
If it's not one thing, it's another....I hope the best for you...
Dr.Pecker
Well-Known Member
What the hell are those? ground hogs? prairie dogs?