All my plants are looking diseased. Help appreciated.

[Cyclone]

I am a total armature when it comes to gardening and this is the first year that I decide to start so many plants in doors. I have in the past but this year I decide to grow a lot more.

Months ago I noticed small red bugs on the Thunbergia Vines I started. Now more and more of the different variety of plants I have started seem to be having other different problems like white, black spots on the leaves, curling, parts of the leaves drying up, bumps and some of the other plants also have these red bugs. I think I have a few separate issues going on with my plants. Bugs, mould, fungus?

I have uploaded a bunch of photos and divided them into 3 pages with a few notes. Sorry if I took too many photos. I tried to be thorough.

http://www.inspiredvisuals.com/Cgtalk/P ... lants.html
http://www.inspiredvisuals.com/Cgtalk/P ... ants2.html
http://www.inspiredvisuals.com/Cgtalk/P ... ants3.html

I think there are a few reasons for my problems. Overcrowded plants, too humid in the room, over watering, fertilizer burns but I have no idea if any of those are the cause. I only fertilized the plants twice (once with general purpose fertilizer and once with rooting fertilizer) and tried to be really careful with watering them making sure they weren't too wet. The weather is crappy and I cannot put the overcrowded plants outside. I think I started them too early. Some plants are even blocking the lights with their leaves… On the bright side I haven’t had a plant death yet.

Got any ideas on the cause of my problems? I have a bad feeling that everything is just getting worse and worse and I will end up with no plants.

Thank You
Have a good day.

[red]

hello - welcome to the forum

that is a lot of photos! - I'm afraid I only scanned through them...

the green bugs look like aphids to me. the brown patches could be scortch - from waterng when in sunlight? but...pfff.. I'm guessing.

you are not having a lot of luck! - I would say.. either start over... or if you want to keep going with these plants - change the conditions.. water less - air more etc.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Welcome!

I agree with Red - get them outside if you can.

If you are not adverse to spraying a fungicide might help. Bordeaux mixture is considered suitable for organic culture, but its action is more preventative than curative, so it may not be that effective at this point and you may need something more vicious.

Otherwise try to encourage more growth by watering the soil / compost only to avoid scorching and maybe apply pyrethrum based insecticide for the aphids.

Mind you, I think your peppers look pretty much OK. Maybe it's the angle, but the yellowing just looks like primary leaves dying back.

[Peggy Sue]

Alot of mine look scorched too, I assumed it was because my house is really quite cold and they were a bit frost bitten overnight but it sounds like thats not your issue

All the plants are outside now and seem to be picking up a bit, I wasn't that worried, maybe a I should be!

[MKG]

Your little red arrows (you put them in, so you already suspect) are telling. You definitely have some insect infestation. Also, although I'm no plant expert, some of your other photos look terribly like fungal/viral problems. I suspect that all of your plants are close together - separate them. Then, I'm afraid (although remember I'm not a whizz in the vegetable world) it might be down to getting rid of (burning) a few of the worst affected.

Basically, I think you need a strong regime of insecticide/fungicide/virocide (is there such a thing?), give them much more room, be careful with your watering, be strict in culling, and then keep your fingers crossed.

Sorry to be a harbinger of doom.

[Cyclone]

Thanks for the replies.

If I use dish soap and soak the leaves of the bug infest plants in the soapy water for a few minuites and then rinse them off. What that be ok for the plants. Or what it hurt the leaves? I don't want to use pesticide.

The peppers have these marks on them are curling what is it?








I'm also desperately trying to figure out what I did wrong. Obviously my conditions were great for the bugs/diseases.

[MKG]

Let me preface this once again by saying I'm not an expert, and hopefully someone else will come along and tell you I'm wrong. It looks awfully like a mosaic virus (which is carried by insects). If that's the case, I'm afraid you've lost your plants.

Hang on for a while, though - someone else may jump in here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[Millymollymandy]

Some of your plants look scorched - the pepper leaves in particular. The bumps on the leaves I don't have a clue what that is.

The red insects and webbing are red spider mite. Cause is a dry atmosphere and the best thing you can do is mist spray several times a day (but not whilst in direct sunlight).

You've also got aphids on your watermelon.

You really seem to have a nasty mix there!

I suggest getting half the plants outside and leave the rest where they are in case there is a frost and the first half get killed! Then you can try again with the second lot. But don't put them all in direct sunlight straight away as they will get even more scorched - they need some shading until they get used to the sun.

[Cyclone]

Thanks Millymollymandy. The peppers are on the hottest shelf in the house and are pretty close to the lights. Tommorow i'm going to spray the bug infested plants with soapy water. can't put them outside though. tonight = -5C

I think MKG is right about the mosaic virus but I would like mor opinions before I trash them. I read that its vary contagious and spread by bugs such as mites!

More pics of the pepper plants. Notice yellow splotches and curled leaves.

http://www.inspiredvisuals.com/Cgtalk/P ... ppers.html






Sorry if i'm coming across winny i'm just so frustrated. Thanks.

[Millymollymandy]

Minus 5!! Where are you?

Yes, try the soapy water - it is generally quite good for aphids and it will annoy the red spider at the very least!

[Cyclone]

I'm from Saskatchewan Canada. Next week it looks like night temps will be above zero. Hopefully the cold will be over. We have been having crappy cloudy weather a lot lately.

Today I sprayed the 20 watermelon plants and half the zucchini with soapy water. I sprayed every leaf and even rubbed the leaves with my fingers to squish all the bugs. Its dumb I broke a few stems and leaves moving/separating the plants... some are just going to die from mechanical injuries... grrr!!!

I read somewhere that yellowing in the veins of the leaves is caused by a nutrient deficiency. Anyone know what fertilizer I should use? Some of my peppers not only have yellow splotches but also have yellowing on the veins of the leaves but look normal otherwise.

[Cyclone]

All my plants in general seem to be doing better (except for the peppers) or at least not getting worse. I think at least the bug issue is somewhat under control. I noticed within a day or 2 of removing the insolating plastic from the shelves that was keeping the plants warm that the plants seemed to stop getting worse to such a huge degree. I think that the environmental conditions were just right for the bugs to flourish. The plants had red spider mites, thrips, white flies, and other bugs, maybe aphids and white spider mites? Most of the watermelon has died though. The leaves were so dried up from bug damage and some stems broke when separating the plants and spraying and rubbing the leaves to squish the bugs.

Here is an update on the peppers. :’(

I fertilized the peppers last night. I was very careful to not get any on the plants. Today when I checked the peppers they looked a lot worse. The leaves looked even more bumpy, curly, and sick looking. Even the ones that I thought were the healthiest. They also have a lot of buds on them but they aren't opening up and are drooping. Either the fertilizer is poisoning the plants or they have a virus and I accidentally spread it to the other plants with physical contact from the watering can spout? It was practically impossible to not have it touch the plants when I was watering. I have fertilized 3 times I don’t see a single bug on the plants unless they are microscopic so I don’t think its bug damage. I think either a virus (Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV)?) or nutrient problems?

Any ideas. I would at least like to figure out what is wrong with them, even if they die so I know for next time.









Thanks for the advice.

[Millymollymandy]

Gosh I don't know, it is way too complicated! It still looks rather like scorch from the sun - well some of it does.

You haven't shown any photos of the size of the plant and their pots - and when you sowed the seeds and whether you have been repotting into fresh compost. The reason I mention this is that normally you wouldn't start adding fertiliser to a plant whilst it is still indoors, until it has been planted out in its final position (soil or a pot) and usually when they start to flower (if fruit bearing). Bought potting compost already contains some fertiliser, enough to get the plant going although seed compost doesn't contain very much, but normally you wouldn't leave a plant in this as you'd be repotting into a larger size pot with fresh compost that contains some fertiliser.

[Cyclone]

Well I decide to trash all 110 pepper plants. Some plants were starting to shed their leaves and the leaves on all the plants were starting to droop :'(

The plants were about 7"tall and were in small pots. I don't think they were root bound. When I discarded the plants I looked at the roots and the roots seemed healthy and weren't all bunched up. So your not supposed to fertilize plants indoors? When I fertilized I notice all the plants had a burst of growth.

I think I narrowed it down to one of these diseases(if it was a disease). I think the plants had the first two. What makes it even harder to diagnose is the fact that each pepper variety can show different symptoms and each plant can have one or more virus diseases at the same time. grrrr.

- chino del tomate virus(CdTV)
- Pepper mild tigre virus(PMTV)
- Pepper Mild Mottle Virus
- tomato mosaic virus (ToMV)
- Tomato Leaf Curl Virus

I think the most likely cause other then the seed suplier were the white flies. I had quite a few of them on the zuccini plants.

[Wombat]

Hey Cyclone!

If you fertilised 3 times that may have been too much and resulted in oversupply of nutrients which may have poisoned the plants....possibly!

Do you smoke? Tobacco mosaic virus can be spread by your hands after smoking to capsicums, potatoes, tomatoes etc.

Nev