On Apr 20, 7:56*am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
David said:



Someone Please help me!!

My Thai spicy pepper plants are having a bit of trouble here in S.
Florida.

1.) *A number of them have leaves which are getting a white swiriling
line going through the leaf and then the leaf turns yellow and finally
dies off. * Not sure what this is nor how to cure it in a manner which
will keep the peppers safe to eat (organic). * Some dishwashing soap
in water perhaps? * Not sure if this is fungal though.

This is leaf-miner damage. *



2.) *We had a bit of cold weather this past week (over the nights)
where the temperature dropped to the low 60's or 50's. *

Is that daytime temperature? *As an overnight temperature, that's
no problem. *

One of the
thai pepper plants leaves shriveled up and simply began falling off
even though I gave it water. * I am wondering if the plant can still
come back and what the best way to get it back will be since the stem
is still very green. *Also, what products (if any) I should be using
which will keep the future peppers safe to eat (organic). *Not sure if
this is fungal though. *I sure hope it is not root rot as I do not
know how to cure that organically. * I do not think Subdue Max is safe
to use on produce.

Below are some pictures. * I greatly appreciate your help!

(Plant which shows leaves which have white swirling lines):
http://www.consumergroup.com/palms/peppers/IMG_0159.jpg

Leaf-miners, no doubt. *You can try to carefully squish the little
miner to kill it (in leaves that aren't much damaged) or snip the
affected leaves and destroy them. *Not usually a huge problem if
the plant is vigorous, but your plant looks a bit under-the-weather
to begin with.



(Plant which shows leaves which shriveled up and dropped off; picture
taken within 24 hours of this event):
http://www.consumergroup.com/palms/peppers/IMG_0167.jpg

Um, that plant is seriously underpotted. *Plus, darker colored plastic
pots in sunshine get seriously HOT. * I would guess that the roots to
that plant have been seriously compromised and the cold snap was
probably just one more thing. * It *looks like this plant is still clinging
to life, so *try repotting it. *Set it just a tiny bit deeper (it looks like
the stem has some nubs of advantitious roots on it).

Repot your plants, find some way to shade or insulate the pots
(minimally, another larger pot with an air-gap) or pot them in
pots made from rigid foam.

Peppers might like the heat and need plenty of sun, but they also
appreciate a bit of shade in the hottest part of the day. *Wild
hot peppers ("bird chiles") *usually grow under trees an large
shrubs, where the birds plant them.

If you've had your plants out in the sun all day, you might see
them wilted from the stress and heat, think they were lacking
water, and water them while the soil was still damp (they wilt
because they can't keep up with the demand to pump through
water). *This sets them up for root-rot, so they wilt more, you
add more water, etc.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

After enlightenment, the laundry.


Hey Pat,

Do you know of any organic safe fungicides which will cure Phytophera
(root root) ?

Also, I find that some of the well draining soil that I use for palm
trees may not hold water well enough for pepers. I have been using a
cheap top-soil type product (sandy and mucky). I guess I should mix
the two ? The palm soil has a lot of saw dust, small mulch,
vermiculite, and florida peat (just a bit of sand).

Is it safe to plant a bunch of pepper seeds like this in one big
pot? I have only been planting one seed per 1 gallon container. Is
it good to seperate them like this?

Thanks for your help!

David