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Cinquefoil
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Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Aug 15, 2015 7:31 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

What's eating my plants?

One plant has had nearly all its leaves eaten away and has only one tomato:

Image

The other has actually fruited quite well, but its lower leaves have also been eaten away:

Image

Image

Both have little black flies crawling around in the soil - could they be the culprit?

Thanks for any help!

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

No, the little black flies in the soil are fungus gnats. If you type that into the search box at the top left of page , you will find lots of information about them. Their larvae are in the soil and can eat plant roots , but they are not leaf eaters .

It looks like you have a bad case of slugs or snails . You will never see them in daylight , but if you come out late at night or very early in the morning with a flashlight , you will find them .

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

Sorry , trying to do this on a small screen , ended up with a duplicate post .

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rainbowgardener
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Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Looking at the top picture, your tomato plants weren't doing very well even before they were attacked by slugs.

It looks like you have two plants tied together to one stake, which will never work. And they look pale and spindly, suggesting they are not getting nearly enough light. Are these plants on a balcony? Which direction does the balcony face?



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