How to Fix Verticillium Wilt in Garden Soil

While many diseases and infections commonly found on outdoor plants come from exterior sources, such as mold spores or insects, verticillium wilt attacks from below. It inhabits the very soil in which you grow your plants, infecting every plant that absorbs food and water from the dirt. There is no absolute cure for verticillium wilt once it inhabits a plant, and your best bet is to remove the plant before it spreads the disease to others. If you find that your soil is infected with the wilt, the only way to stop it from infecting every new plant is to solarize the soil to kill the fungus that causes the disease.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Clear plastic tarp
• Rocks, bricks or garden stakes
• Soil tiller

Instructions

1. Dig out all plants from the soil that is infected with verticillium wilt. Dispose of these plants in a garbage bin or burn them; do not compost them or dispose of them near other plants, as this will spread the wilt.

2. Cover the area with a clear plastic tarp. Weigh down the edges of the tarp with stones or stakes, so that the tarp cannot blow away and no air circulates beneath the tarp.

3. Refrain from disturbing the tarp for six weeks. The heat from the sun will essentially cook the soil, destroying the fungus of verticillium wilt.

4. Remove the tarp after six weeks. Water the soil thoroughly and till everything to a depth of 10 inches to get it ready for planting again.

Tips & Warnings

• Solarize your garden soil during the hottest days of summer. This is the best way to ensure that you thoroughly kill the fungus.

• Solarization also will kill any plants and insects inhabiting the soil, including weeds and seeds. Do not plant anything you want to keep in the soil before solarizing.

References

• Planet Natural: Verticillium Wilt
• "University of Minnesota Extension"; Verticillium Wilt of Trees and Shrubs; Cynthia L. Ash; 1994