HelpfulGardener.com

Hey all,

I'm growing a basket variety of pepper plant they are almost 2 months old about 8 inches tall and have probably a dozen sets of leaves. Very healthy thick stems, healthy dark green color no curling etc however I've noticed that at the tops the last cluster of leaves that came out are very crinkled and on leave actually has large holes in it. They are in clear solo cups the root systems are intense by I can see the bottom of the cup and they are not bound up (I am planning on potting up today or tomorrow).

Does anyone have any guidance as to what's the sysmptoms of the crinkled top leaves and the Swiss cheese looking holes ?

Thanks

It sounds like something ate it -- where are you keeping the seedlings?

If indoors, off hand, some possible culprits I can think of are -- slugs (hitchhiked with container plants moved inside for the winter), mice, indoor overwintering bugs like stinkbugs and plant eating type of ladybugs, cats (my kitties keep eating pepper foliage -from overwintered ones not seedlings- which are in protected area... and then throwing them up ...I need to give them more lettuce or grow them some grass or something)

...crinkled leaves -- are they under lights? Maybe too close? Remember that many solanacea plants fold their leaves up (hold them upward) during the night so you need to leave sufficient clearance.

They are indoors in my growing box under lights .... my dog has ripped through a leaf before .... maybe I didn't see him get to it this time.

We definitely have stink bugs ... yes I moved the lights up but perhaps not enough ... I will try to move them up more

think the lights were a little too close