meshmouse
Senior Member
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:14 am
Location: Long Island NY USA zone7a

Re: Plants looking bad in new garden. Is it my soil?

Wow imafan -

I will be ruminating your post for a while. So much that I have never even heard about. Thank you.

meshmouse

wisconsindead
Senior Member
Posts: 168
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:48 pm
Location: Zone 5b

Anyone know what bug this is? I found him munching on my Tomato plant. you can see the holes he made on another leaf.

Also, heres an image of a pepper plant that just got planted the other day with the off white discoloration.

Finally, here are some images of a tomato plant showing multiple types of stress.
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applestar
Mod
Posts: 30540
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Tortoise beetle -- same as this one :arrow: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... 2&p=360027
...I picked one off of a potato plant leaf today :x

Pepper white area is probably sun scald.

The tomatoes look like they were exposed to too cold temperature -- multiple days of low 40's or below, resulting in lowered metabolism and phosphorous deficiency. I have heard that giving them a weak epsom salt solution will help to green them up... But I can't rmember if it was foliar spray or soil drench -- leaning towards soil drench.... And the amount.... I'll look up my notes, but someone else may already know and post.

If it's still gets cold where you are, be sure to cover them at night. Too much of this and they will shut down and take a long time to recover. I have seedlings that were exposed to extreme cold around early to mid March that are FINALLY starting to come back to life and looking like they might make something of themselves.

meshmouse
Senior Member
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:14 am
Location: Long Island NY USA zone7a

wisconsindead and applestar -

One Tb epsom salts to one gal water. Drench or foliar spray. Foliar is quicker. That's what I've heard, that's what I've done and it works well for me both ways. From what I understand, the purple color to stems and leaves indicates a magnesium deficiency which the epsom salts address.

As I understand it (and I may be wrong), the yellow tone to otherwise healthy leaves is either nitrogen deficiency or over watering. One is leaf tip to inward and the other, the reverse. I don't remember which is which, but I'm sure somebody else does.

Good luck.

meshmouse

wisconsindead
Senior Member
Posts: 168
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:48 pm
Location: Zone 5b

OK thanks guys/gals. I'll probably try that foliar feed.

Also, with respect to nitrogen deficiency, because it is a mobile element, you typically see a rather homogeneous yellowing from the bottom up. I think there is something with nitrogen going on here but related to a greater problem, like you mentioned the metabolism or P deficiency etc.



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