I used the beneficial nematodes in my garden to help control fire ants. The little hair like roots on my carrots have knots on them. Is that from the nematodes? Are they harmful to root crops to the point that we should not eat the carrots?

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002

Answers

is your soil rocky at all,, even little rocks can impede roots,, either way,, they arent harmful to you,,, can eat them

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 24, 2002.

no rocks at all...raised beds with fine rich soil haven't had carrots with nodes like this before the nematodes were added...kinda ICKY if you think about it

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002.

I was never sure if the "bad" nematodes were the same ones as the "good" ones. Since I had problems with one kind I never felt like adding anymore to the soil.

Yes, it is nematodes that cause nodules on the roots of plants. Have you scraped open a node on a carrot and seen the worm? Use a magnifying glass. It is up to you if you want to eat them or not. A little extra protein never hurt anybody. ;)

You can get rid of the nematodes in your soil by fertilizing with white sugar. Just sprinkle it on and water it it. It will not harm any other bug or people and probably sweeten your veggies a bit. I cannot tell you the exact rate of application for the garden because I misplaced that book years ago. For house plants, I used 1 teaspoon per 6 inch pot and it worked very well.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002.