Thread: Nematode Destruction

Is there any way possible to find out if nematodes are present in the planting area before you put a fig tree in the ground? This would be helpful. For my parents' fig tree, they will be cutting through their blanket of centipede or bermuda grass (which is incredibly vigorous in their soil). The grass has been healthy in the yard for a decade, so there is a good layer of organic material soil under the grass, about 6" deep or more....

Yes, there are two ways to find out if your soil has nematodes. 1) Send a soil sample to your local Ag. Extension service for nematode testing 2) plant a Tomato or Okra in the prospective site.......if Nematodes are present they will attack the roots and you will see the presence of those characteristic root galls when you later pull out the plant. Dan

Hello, This summer I met a woman who had told me about a method of dealing with nematodes. It is basically preventive maintenance. She said she had learned that when planting a tree its a good thing to put some hair trimmings in the ground as well. Hair is made up of keratin. When its breaking down it attracts microbes that eat keratin. Since nematodes are made up of keratin they get eaten as well. Has anyone else heard of this method of...

It's a variation on the tale that ground-up crab shells will do the same thing (with "chiten" replacing "kerotin" in the story). Cladosan (sp) is a product based on this principle. We in gardening are prey to all manner of myths, tales, mediocre and overpriced products, and outright scams and it is hard sometimes to sort them out without considerable research effort. A nematologist at the University of Georgia once...