skip to main content

Vegetable Gardening

What are these little things on my potato roots/stems?

9 years ago

My 'Salad Blue' potatoes blew over exposing their lower stems and some roots, and I found bunches of these little egg like things on the soil/stems. See picture. From seeing pictures they dont look like potato cyst nematodes and they are not stuck, they come off when you touch them. Close up they are like a very feint blue colour but look white from further away. Any idea what they are?? Whether its going to affect my potatoes or whether they are just some kind of harmless insect egg or fungus?

Thanks a lot
Evamc

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

digdirt2
9 years ago
My first impression was fungus growth, possibly Pythium Root Rot but the roots in the pic don't show any blackening that I can see. Are the plants themselves showing any problems? Wilting? Softening of the stems?

Has it been exceptionally wet or is the soil there unusually slow to drain? Both can encourage P. root rot. But sometimes as the soil dries new roots will develop and the plants will recover.

If that is the case then a good fungicide application will help the plants recover IF the soil can dry out.

Dave
mav72
9 years ago
Do you have a lot of pill bugs? I was having problems with pill bugs eating my newly sprouted gourd plants inside pots. I kept planting new seeds and they kept getting eaten. I decided to flood out a pot and found a bunch of pill bugs and what looked like little white floating eggs. I dont know if those were their eggs but that was my guess and they look like what's on your pic.
Related Discussions
Potatoes for my little darlin
Q
Comments (4)
Wile I wouldn't agree that it is the best way to grow potatoes, it does work. You will have to drill lots of holes in the trash can though. 1. Do I understand that you cover the potato in a layer of soil and wait for the foliage to grow up, then you cover the foliage in more soil? You continue this all summer?? Yes. Leaving the very tops of the plants uncovered. I mix chopped straw with the soil to make it lighter and less likely to compact when wet. Once the hill is 10-12" deep you can use plain straw for the rest of the covering. 2. Anyone recommend a reliable source for organic seed potatoes? I would also like to hear comments about varieties. Technically all seed potatoes are organic and approved for gardening organically. Ronniger's potatoes is one of my favorite sources but since you will only have room in the can for a few seed potatoes there isn't any point to buying lots of them - they are usually sold by pound. Instead just buy a few potatoes from any local source and cut and pre-sprout them as you would any seed potato. There are lots of discussions here on how to grow potatoes as well as where to buy them if you want to read through them. Just use the search box at the bottom of the page to search this forum using 'potatoes'. Dave
...See More
What are these spider like things in the middle of the stem?
Q
Comments (2)
You have a Dendrobium orchid, the new growth with the roots attached is called a keiki (baby plant). Probaby a hard-cane type of Dendrobium, see if you can find some complete culture notes on the net that relate to the climate where you live.
...See More
Help? Little white things crawling in my Hydrangea roots!!
Q
Comments (2)
Hi Shannon, Although far from being an expert (I don't even think I deserve amateur status yet) I thought I would respond to your question since I've been doing quite a bit of research on these very same (or very similar) critters. I have some morning glory seedlings that have an infestation of some sort in the surrounding soil. I posted a question and link on the Growing from Seed forum a few days ago. I thought I had it figured out and that what I was seeing were called symphylans (do a google search or follow the link below). But I kept reading that symphylans are wary of light and I kept seeing these things on top of the soil. So now I think they could be newly hatched centipedes, which look quite similar (I hope anyway - check out: http://www.ent3.orst.edu/smartkey/display.cfm?pagename=Centipedes&groupname=nogroup) However, your grain of rice reference sounds like soil mealy bugs, but you say they are fast moving and I don't think that these bugs are very mobile (not sure though). It's strange, I searched all over these forums for information on these critters and couldn't find anything. You are now the third person (myself included) that has asked about this in the last few days. There is even another post in this forum from a yesterday that has another link (my original link) to a page about symphylans. At least I finally get to ANSWER a question for once. Good luck. Let me know what you find out and if your solution works. Here is a link that might be useful: symphylans
...See More
My hydrangea stem has rooted, now what?
Q
Comments (4)
I would plant it in the ground once it goes dormant OR pot it and keep the pot in the ground during the winter months (this lets you extract the pot should winter become very, very cold unexpectedly). If your winter appears to be unusually cold (long term forecasts are not out yet), bring it into the garage or cover the shrub with lots of mulch to protect it in the rare chance that temps go down enough to risk flower bud damage. Temps around -4C, more or less would start to bother me and I would create a mound around the little shrub. I have planted cuttings of mopheads, serratas and oakleaf hydrangeas of that size with no issues. My concern is usually that temps here tend to go up and down during winter and then they crash so, watch out for similar temperature "behavior". If that were to concern you a lot, feel free to keep it potted in the garage all winter instead (during winter). I noticed some -4C temps (or lower) last winter in your area. December was the coldest month in winter with frequent low temps around -3C thru -6C.
...See More
Evamc
Original Author
9 years ago
Hi,

Thanks for the replys. There is no damage to the plants, in fact they are a few of my healthiest looking of the varieties. So I dont think its the root rot u mentioned.

Mav72 if you mean woodlice, I have lots of them but they never seem to cause a problem, and there dont seem to be any near the potatoes

My best guess is that its some kind of harmless tiny fungus.

Thanks
Evamc
digdirt2
9 years ago
Good. Happy to hear the plants are healthy. Given that I wouldn't worry about it either.

Dave
seysonn
9 years ago
They are just some kind of fungi. Or tiny mushrooms?
mav72
9 years ago
Yea, that's them... They usually leave older plants alone but they're a pain when direct seeding, growing soft fruit near the ground, or growing plants with tender leaves...

Good to hear that your plants are healthy.... Your plants are probably just good habitat for them bugs...

Related Stories

ARCHITECTURE Roots of Style: Where Did Your House Get Its Look?

By Steven Corley Randel, Architect

Explore the role of architectural fashions in current designs through 5 home styles that bridge past and present

GREEN BUILDING The Big Freeze: Inventors Break New Ground to Keep Things Cool

By Olivia Strigari

Old-fashioned fridges can be energy guzzlers, but there are more eco-friendly ways of keeping food fresh, as these global innovations show

RED FOLIAGE Great Design Plant: 'Little Henry' Sweetspire

Small in stature but big on impact, this fuss-free shrub promises spring flowers, fiery fall color and good manners in the garden

FARM YOUR YARD 6 Things to Know Before You Start Growing Your Own Food

By Abundant City

It takes time and practice, but growing edibles in the suburbs or city is possible with smart prep and patience

FUN HOUZZ 10 Truly Irritating Things Your Partner Does in the Kitchen

By Mitchell Parker

Dirty dishes, food scraps in the sink — will the madness ever stop?

REMODELING GUIDES 7 Bad Things Your Home May Be Hiding

By Ventana Construction LLC

What you don't know about your home could cost you during a remodel. Here's what to plan for

BASEMENTS What Lies Beneath: Cool Things to Build Underground

By Joanna Tovia

Ingenious designers are going below the surface in some amazing — and surprising — ways

TREES Great Design Plant: Coral Bark Japanese Maple, a Winter Standout

By Paintbox Garden

Go for garden gusto during the chilly season with the fiery red stems of this unusual Japanese maple

EARTH DAY ‘Terroir’ Brings a Sense of Place to Your Landscape

By Susan J Tweit

Species native to and characteristic of your region firmly root your garden and landscape

EVENTS On Show: The Ingenuity of Ancient Architecture

By Christine Ciarmello

A German exhibit celebrates the diversity of traditional homes built with materials at hand

Sponsored

More Discussions

gave my garlic a haircut today

11

Slug killer 1% Iron Phosphate vs. 5% Sodium Ferric?

2

What will leftover leeks from last year do?

3

What are rabbits favorite veggies?

11

Al's Potting Mix-pine bark fines

5