"brucef" wrote in message
...
My eggplants grew well for a while, then they started to get this lacy
sort of dieback. They never really recovered and this would appear to
be the final stage:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce_f/2712262067/

Anyone have any idea what might have caused this? I can see no bugs,
no cocoons, no fungus. This is in Perth.

The cabbages, lettuce and broadbeans around them seem vigorous,
although the capsicum don't seem to have amounted to much.

Any advice appreciated.

Perth is having a cold wet winter. Eggplants like warm weather. If they can
survive to mid August when the frosts have gone they might perk up. Same
goes for your capsicums. Tomatoes are of the same family and you won't have
much success with those outside either.

Old rule with tomatoes, capsicums, eggplants and chilis don't plant until
the soil is warm enough to sit on with a bare bum.