Cabbage disease black rot

Before we start on cabbage diseases, there are still a few sporadic pests that we should look at. One is the cabbage webworm (Hellula undalis).

Several cabbage pests may be sporadic or seasonal. One of these is thrips.

Aphids are a problem in two ways. Firstly, they cause physical damage when feeding on the crop.

Nearly everyone who has ever grown brassicas has had a problem with the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). Small wonder it is also called the ‘cabbage

As soon as you have planted your cabbage crop, you should apply herbicide with insecticide to eliminate cutworms.

Many factors play a role in the spacing of cabbage – the process is not quite as simple as you might imagine.

A shortage of nitrogen is the single most common reason for a cabbage crop not reaching its full yield potential. This applies equally to the quantity applied

Cabbage can be planted by hand or mechanically. For hand planting, the best tool is a home-made miniature hoe.

Getting a full stand and a vigorous getaway is crucial for high yield. Some important aspects in this regard have been mentioned in previous articles.

The first consideration when preparing land for cabbage is to get the soil’s nutrient content right.

The seedling is the start of a very valuable crop and the stand and speed of initial growth will have a significant effect on profit.

For sweet potato runners to root, the soil around the plants must be moist. Usually, the irrigation applied just after planting will be enough, but this depend

Sweet potatoes are highly adaptable when it comes to soil type. I have grown this crop commercially in soils ranging from sandy to a very heavy clay.

Unless you obtain clean planting material from time to time, there is a risk of virus lowering yield and quality in your sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato consumption has not grown in the way it should have. When travelling in the Mpumulanga Lowveld 35 years ago,

The advent of grow bags has made a great contribution to growing tomatos easily at home, and allows the owner of a small garden to make full use of the main

Potato virus Y (PVY) is one of the most important plant viruses in South Africa.

Potatoes are hardly worth growing in a small garden unless you can concentrate on early varieties to provide ‘new’ potatoes or on good-quality unusual varieties

Spotted wilt, which was covered in a previous article, is but one of 17 viruses found in peppers worldwide.