My eggplant leaves are curling up. Help!

[gregrw]

Hi all, this is my first post here.

This is my third year gardening, and the second year in my raised bed. So I'm a newbie. Last year was the first year with a raised bed. I bought some triple mix, and it was quite dead, so I used granular chemical fertilizer that year. Results were OK, but as great as hoped. To help liven-up the soil, I raked in some seeweed compost overtop (1/2 inch) last fall.

I purchase most of my seedlings from the nursery, including the eggplant. It seemed to be doing ok, but everything was growing quite slowly. I didn't think the soil was ready yet. So I hand-watered the plants with some semi-organic liquit fertilizer at 13-13-13 to give them a jumpstart.

It's after that (coincidence?) that I noticed the eggplant leaves curling up. Everything else is doing fine (especially my tomatoes). Notice that the bottom leaves are wilting. Another possibility is over-watering which is happening because of the carrot seeds I have been trying to "pop". I just used the automatic watering system I put in - everything got watered more.

Anybody know what's causing this, and what I should do? I don't see any insects on it.

Thanks!

Greg.

[Lindsaylew82]

What has your weather been like?

[imafan26]

Take off the lower leaves, you don't need them and if left on they will cause some fungal issues. Some of the plants in the background are a little yellow looking to me and the ground looks wet. Back off on the watering until you can poke your finger in the soil a couple of inches down and it feels almost dry.

If you want organic fertilizers go with fish emulsion weekly when you water.

For the leaves curling up a couple of things. It could just be hot.

Look under the leaves for pests. Sucking insects like spider mites or white flies can cause the leaves to curl and they are around this time of the year.

[gregrw]

Thanks for the tips. It's been beautiful around here (25c == 77f), so not too hot. The yellow plants in the background are actually some cucumbers that I didn't correctly transition from indoor seedlings to full-sun (some of my plants are from seedlings I started). The new growth on the cucumbers look nice and green. I will look again under the leaves, but on last check I found nothing. I'll try the fish emulsion. I really do need to try to bring life into my sterile soil. I'll update later today. Appreciate the help!

[lexusnexus]

Greg, it would be a good idea to put your location information and/or hardiness zone in your profile so we know where "here" is.

[gregrw]

Greg, it would be a good idea to put your location information and/or hardiness zone in your profile so we know where "here" is.

Dan,

Thanks for the tip - I've updated my info. I'm in Toronto, which by US standards is Zone 5.

As an update, I checked again for bugs - and found nothing under the leaves. I clipped the wilting leaves as was recommended. It's been raining so I'm waiting for the soil to dry out before doing anything.

I appreciate the help!

Greg.

[applestar]

What has the overnight low been? As I mentioned elsewhere, I my experiences with eggplants have been precarious. Every year they get caught in a cold snap with temps falling down to 50's°F during which they hold their leaves upright -- honestly looks like they are praying -- and after that they yellow and sulk and stop growing.

I've been holding my seedlings back, keeping them indoors, and have only started hardening them off 3 days ago. But last night it got down to 62°F around 8:30 at night and I brought them back inside. (It's was down to 60°F this morning). It did get warm today, but drizzly all day so I didn't put them back outside. They are predicting another dip this time down into the 50's next week. But I'll probably put them outside starting tomorrow until then.

I plan on growing them in extra large containers this year to see if that would help them stay warmer.

[gregrw]

Applestar,

Maybe you're right. I checked historical data between June 1 and June 12 2014, and the low was 53.6. I don't recall exactly the date where I found them "praying", but perhaps that is the reason. I didn't experience this last year though. Maybe some varieties are more resistant to others, or maybe last year was warmer. But, nobody seems to think it's over-fertilization which at least is something. Hopefully they snap out of it. I'll update.

Thanks!

Greg.