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JDelage
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Location: Seattle, WA

What's wrong with this seedling?

Some of my tomato seedlings look a bit unhealthy (leaves curling) while others are doing fine. I last watered them a cple days ago with a diluted 4-10-3 solution.
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imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Your soil looks to be heavy and very wet. There is water in the tray. Most plants do not like to sit in a puddle of water. It eventually will rot the roots. When the roots rot the plant essentially starves, turns brown at the tips, yellows and dies. The curling may be from mites or thrips. It is hard to say. You woul have to look under the leaves with a magnifying glass to actually see them. You have some splotchy yellow on the lower leaf? It may be fungal (downy mildew: spores would show on the bottom of the leaf, but the top would be splotchy yellowing. Powdery mildew would show up as a white substance on the top of the leaf) especially if the air circulation is poor and the plants are sitting in water all of the time. The color of the leaf looks a little gray. Gray mold is another disease that shows up when the soil is too wet. Mites would have a bronzing look mostly to the underside of the leaves. The curling would be from them sucking the juices out of the plant. Thrips usually rasp the leaves, it can cause curling as well. Usually I see what looks like something has been scratching the leaf.

What I would do:

Transplant the good seedlings to a mix that has more perlite in it. If it is indoors, get a fan. When you water, empty the tray after 10 minutes, there should be no standing water in the tray. Use new soil. The ones in your container may already be sour or contaminated with spores.

If the seedlings do have fungal disease and it is widespread, and you still have time. I would start over. Fungal disease is hard to control once it starts and it might actually be more practical to sanitize your equipment and area and start over.
Most people water more and fertilize to correct problems, but most of the time it is better to identify the problem first.
Plant diagnostic key:
Is the plant wilting?
Wilting can be caused by either too much or too little water
Feel the soil. If it is damp or the plant only wilts during the heat of the day and stands up later, then it is probably normal, but wilting could be relieved if you just get a bigger pot since the soil would dry out slower.

If the soil is a dry block, and you haven't watered within a couple of days, then it needs a good soak in a bucket to make sure the entire root ball gets saturated. Watering a very dry potted plant when the soil has contracted often has water flowing around the rootball while the core remains dry. Soak the pot in a bucket of water until the bubbles stop or in a tray if the pot is too big until the plant cannot absorb any more water. This may take 20 minutes or more to wick up. Do not leave water sitting in a saucer or tray for more than that or the roots are likely to rot and fungi will grow in the soil and sour it.

Leaf color
Purple leaves and stems (abnormal) = need more phosphorous, especially important for seedlings to be fed regularly with a balanced food. Feeding and transplanting corrects the problem.

Spindly growth = crowding and not enough light. If the plants are turning, the light needs to be closer and over head or turn the plants

Stunted growth, roots have filled the pot and pot dries out quickly = time to pot up or plant outside

Soil: Smells stale= probably sour soil and bacteria and fungi are growing. White mold or algae growing on soil. Change soil, don't over water. Clean pots with bleach to kill bacteria and spores if you re use. Soil should not be reused in pots. Soil can be sterilized. Good soil should be evenly moist without being soggy. A light soil with 50% aeration (coarse sand, perlite, vermiculite, cinders) drains and dries well.

Fertilizer: Seeds do not need fertilizer. You can add a slow release fertilizer like osmocote to a potting mix, but seedlings do not need to be fertilized until the true leaves appear. Too much nitrogen and water can cause dampening off or failure to germinate.
Use a complete fertilizer. For seedlings you can use a 1/4 strength water soluble fertilizer since small plants need regular food but not as much as a big plant.

Roots: make sure soil is not soggy and pot is not sitting in water. Most plant roots will turn brown and rot if they cannot get enough oxygen. Pot up before roots start to coil in pot, it prevents setback. Vegetable seedlings need to be constantly growing so make sure the pot can accommodate the root ball and have a couple of inches of growing room. Do not over pot.

Leaf problems
Holes = chewing pests slugs, snails, beetles, leaf cutter bees, sometimes holes are a result of bacterial disease the leaf necrosis and the center drops out.

Lines, scratches, scars in the leaf or on fruit = leaf miners (squiggly lines in a leaf = pick off leaf), mites, thrips (scratch and suck leaves leaving scars on leaves and fruit), Crack marks on Jalapeno peppers are genetic and normal.

Leaves have a powdery, gray, or yellow splotches. The underside of the leaf is black or reddish in color = mold and mildew. This usually occurs in wet, humid conditions or when leaves remain wet for a long time and air circulation is poor. This is difficult to control. Pick off and destroy heavily infested plants and leaves. Susceptible plants should be treated with an anti fungal spray when weather is wet and humid.

Leaves spots = Bacterial or fungal. Usually occur in wet humid conditions. Same control as fungal diseases. Make sure plants have good air circulation.

Black mold on leaves = get rid of the ants with ant bait. Get rid of the aphids and scale on the plant

bugs on the plant = Identify the bug and use appropriate treatment

Plant to encourage beneficial insects in the garden. Make sure plant get enough room and air to grow and are kept healthy with proper watering and feeding. Mulch to control weeds but keep mulch away from the stems and trunks.

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JDelage
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Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:40 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Lots of info, thank you. The soil was damp but not wet, and there was no standing water this AM (I took the pic as I was soaking the pots from the bottom. I did that for 20mn and then emptied the tray.) The potting mix is about 50% coir and 50% worm casting / compost mix.

I just culled my seedlings (I had 2 of each varietal and I went to one of each).

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JDelage
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Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:40 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Update pictures. Watered the plants from the bottom yesterday, put them outside for 30mn to start hardening them. What's going on?
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theFoodie
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Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 8:03 pm
Location: Sunnyvale CA

I would try to only water them without nutrient for a week, and use neem oil spray.



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