Hi Gary, fusarium is a soil born fungus that goes systemically and it sounds like you're well aware of that. I do not have a problem with that, and not with root knot nematodes either, however I garden much differently then you do. Since nematodes and fusarium come from my soil, I now garden using potting mix put into a container that has a solid impermeable barrier between the container and my native soil. I mostly use Earthboxes, but I also use plain old landscape 7 gal shrub pots. And since the shrub pots have normal drainage holes, roots can grow through them and into the native soil and get fusarium, and also nematodes could migrate through the holes and infect the roots. My simple answer is to take that bag that my potting mix came in which is a thick impermeable 3 mil plastic, and just fold that up and place it under the pot. That allows drainage because it allows water to runoff that is in excess, but more important is that it is a barrier to the fusarium and the nematodes. For me this is a simple solution and I don't have to bother with grafting. Now instead of a three-month season I am getting a nine-month season.( I am lucky enough to live in South Florida and don't have to deal with frost).
You can see my 7 gallon pots with the plastic under them to the right in the photo. Easy peasy problem solved.
|