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TomatoNut95
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Sick looking Cabbage?

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but something about these leaves just looks wrong. A couple of the plants(I have 4) look like this. The other two don't look this bad. I inspected the leaves closely and saw no cabbage worm signs. Does something look wrong to you, or am I freaking out for no reason? :|
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rainbowgardener
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The plant as a whole does not look sick, but those leaves certainly do. I would remove the damaged leaves and check carefully for any kinds of pests. I'm not sure what causes damage like that.

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Gary350
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When I lived in AZ there were micro small bugs that looked like gray color dust if they stay on a cabbage plant 3 days leaves turned into rotten mush. I sprayed bugs away with water hose but next day they were back. Magnifying glass makes bugs no bigger than tip end of a hair look like micro small spiders. After washing them away day after day they got so bad I could wash them away they return in a few hours. Soon the whole plant turned to rotten mush. Maybe TX has same bugs as AZ.

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TomatoNut95
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Thank-you for replying!
@rainbowgardener, I will remove the sick leaves as soon as possible. I was so afraid the damage was being caused by overwatering as I've gotten so much rain lately.

@Gary, I own a microscope I've held onto since my school years. I will examine a leaf to see if I see anything crawling around just like I saw some weird little microscopic critter on a tomato leaf last year.

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applestar
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I think those do look a bit fungal — maybe spray with baking soda solution for good measure? When you cut off the leaves, be sure to use clean tools and observe the cut to see if the black streak is going down the leaf vein.

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TomatoNut95
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AH-HA!! Upon closer examination, I found small piles of poo. Suspecting VERY foul play, I searched underneath this really sick-looking ornamental cabbage and found what appears to be a cabbage worm. After disposing of the culprit, I spritz the cabbages lower leaves with insecticidal soap.

For fun I looked at a leaf under the scope anyway, and saw nothing microscopic creeping about.
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Gary350
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In biology class I learned vinegar will kill mold & mildew in about 10 seconds. Anytime I think plants have mold or mildew I spray them with full strength 5% kitchen vinegar. Wait about 1 minute then rinse off vinegar with garden hose. Mold & mildew grows fast spray with vinegar every day.

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TomatoNut95
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I have heard of vinegar killing mold. I used vinegar to clean an old table that was infested with white mold. But I never knew you could use vinegar to kill mold on plants. Very fasinating; thanks, @Gary! But as much rain as I've been getting lately, I'd like to avoid wetting the cabbage anymore. Will cold kill mold? After today it is supposed to get very cold: 30's at night for several nights. :(

dveg
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I'd be careful about spraying vinegar on plants. Vinegar is a dessicant, and in principle it will kill foliage, especially in sunlight. That's why it is used as a herbicide for weeds. It may be that if you spray it on and immediately wash it off it won't have that effect, though.

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TomatoNut95
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In that case I better not use it. I've already given myself a bad reputation when I killed tomato plants in the past by spraying cooking oil on them to kill aphids. I will just keep my eyes on the cabbages; pull off any diseased leaves and destroy any very sick-looking plants. If it may help any, I may scrap away the wet leaves from around the bases of the plants.



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