Return to the Hydroponics Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
weak basil stem
| | |
Posted by lifesagardendigit (My Page) on Sun, Oct 4, 09 at 22:16
| Hi I have a question but no picture so I will do my best to describe my situation...
I have been growing under lights for a little over a year now. I primarily grow basil but use my lights to get my seeds started and begin vegitating prior to spring.... that being said I am currently growing basil in a DWC and find that my plants are all growing very dense and quickly. Usually my fastest grower will begin forming a dark brown ring on the base of the trunk (stem) which develops into a weak point and the plant flops over... it usually grows several weeks if I allow but normally I get rid of it... btw same thing happened to me late last winter when I started growning in soil....
i am wondering if i need to transplant my plants deeper in the medium (hydrotron sp?) or possibly hit the air on them sooner...
any advice would be appriciated... i know without pics its hard to critique but any shots in the dark are fine by me...
ps. it only happens to 1 or 2 plants max so it shouldn't be the nutes... they are all roughly the same size when transplating and i usually start with ready grow plugs but don't always cover the entire plug when transplanting.. oh veh! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: weak basil stem
| | |
| Hi lifesagardendigit , I see the plot pretty well, as I have observed the same thing with my basil (actually mostly with Italian style, Valentino etc.) I haven't got any plausible explanation for it either, except the vigorous growth of basil, which may lead to this "weakness". Perhaps some immobile elements may not follow the growth. Basil seems to tolerate fluctuations of nutrients and PH change pretty well and thus it's hard to search within those parameters. I also thought of insufficient drain, but some of the plants seem to not be affected by high humidity of the substrate. I am not sure if transplanting deeper will help. Perhaps lower nutrient concentration may be worth a try, as this will give the plant time to strengthen the stems. The most pragmatical (although kinda unorthodox) solution would probably bee to grow more plants anyway and eliminate (consume) those with the stem problem earlier. ;-) |
RE: weak basil stem
| | |
It sounds to me like the crown is too wet. Would it be possible to raise the affected plants mabe 1-2 cm so the top of the media doesn't get wet directly from the nutrient (i.e. it gets moist from capillary action).
I had a similar thing happen to me a few years ago growing peppers in a EnF system where my overflow was too high and it kept the crowns too wet. |
RE: weak basil stem
| | |
| thanks for the thoughts lucas and grizz... i thought that it might be a wet crown too so i might ex. more with different depths... lucus i think the eliminate process will definately be the direction at this point.. thanks again! |
RE: weak basil stem
| | |
| Soil growers call this "Damp-off". It's caused by letting the stem get and remain wet. The dampness allows a fungus to form and eventually the whole plant topples. Less water on the stem and perhaps a little fungicide will fix things up. |
RE: weak basil stem
| | |
| I also think blowing a fan on them from early on might help. I think if you start off with a stronger stem, they'll be less likely to flop. If you're ripping them out anyway, you might experiment a little-- If you pull them out of the hydro system and let them wilt and almost die, then put them back in, they may develop a brown, woody stem. My outside herbs do this when stressed, and it's very sturdy. Or you could try supercropping, maybe? |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Hydroponics Forum
|
|
|
