Not sure if disease or overwatering (tomatoes & capsicum)

[2jjg4]

Im in this region.

And I worry about sticking them outdoors in a permanent spot, just this coming next week there's 3 days of 40c heat back to back predicted :/ potted i can just move them to a cooler spot, but grounded i'm committed, i guess i could rig up some shadecloth though hmm.
And yeah ive picked a few other things to grow over winter based on sowing charts, dill and peas are the only one in your list ill have in addition to my others, i only grow what I intend to eat Capsicum, Chives, Garlic, Beetroot, Several Lettuces, Peas, carrots, and a few new tomato varieties

 

[redback]

Thanks for considering my ideas. I am influenced by my recent attempts to grow garlic and ginger in pots over summer. My attempts failed, but in this forum under the topic 'vegetables' is a thread called ".Hügelkultur in containers" which suggests potted crops are possible.

 

[2jjg4]

Yeah I watch a ton of youtube videos showing it can be done, some easier than others, but even as im finding out not all my potted plants thrive, hence why im here to see how i screwed up lol, but i think its a mix of rootbound and overwatering, which i will try to fix asap before they kick the bucket entirely.

Sorry to hear your garlic didnt make it D:, end of this month im growing Garlic 'Colossus' and 'Early Purple', I hope to have success.
Hügelkultur in containers, sounds interesting ill check it out

 

[redback]

That area on the map is called 'The Hay plains" in SA.
If you want to get to know your land better do a percolation test. Somewhere dig a 600mm diameter dam about 30mm deep using the scapings from the high side to form a low dam wall. Fill it with water and see how long before the water soaks in. If it takes less then 10 minutes fill it several more times. In the morning sink your fork in as far as possible.
If it takes more than 10 minutes to soak in, your site has poor drainage.

 

[2jjg4]

Yeah its very plain-y out this way lol flat dry brown, out here we just call it bumf*ck nowhere haha

Interesting, well if i ever need to check the soil for that I shall remember this test cheers

 

[MiTmite9]

Hey all, would love any help identifying a couple of issues im having but dont quite know why.
All these plants are growing in pots with store bought potting mix.

Weather is late summer here, averaging 30-35c (86f-95f), but always kept well watered and partly shaded.

Left pic is an older capsicum/bell pepper plant, right is a young chili pepper, both are getting the same symptoms where the highest leaves curl up on themselves and get all crinkled. :/ Not sure what's causing this, seemingly otherwise healthy.
View attachment 101770


But the more concerning issue are my cherry tomatoes, they've been growing totally fine since december, getting huge and green with lots of tomatoes coming in, but just in the last week or two the bottom leaves rapidly go yellow and die, sometimes entire limbs dead overnight, the top foliage seems fine but I'm worried its going to spread and kill the whole plant.
View attachment 101771
View attachment 101772

View attachment 101774
Mostly healthy then bam a limb shriveled overnight.

They're all growing in pots, some have 2 or 3 plants sharing one pot which were mainly just oversow but theyre huge pots, but single plant or several doesnt seem to matter, theyre all getting the same issue :/ defintiely isn't underwatering as I water every morning, but it may be overwatering? first time growing these so I really don't know lol

All have drainage holes in their pots except for one, so they never sit in stagnant water. They're all planted in good store bought potting mix. Gave them fertiliser maybe once a month and some compost on top, covered with mulch as you can see.

Any help appreciated guys

 

[MiTmite9]

Hey all, would love any help identifying a couple of issues im having but dont quite know why.
All these plants are growing in pots with store bought potting mix.

Weather is late summer here, averaging 30-35c (86f-95f), but always kept well watered and partly shaded.

Left pic is an older capsicum/bell pepper plant, right is a young chili pepper, both are getting the same symptoms where the highest leaves curl up on themselves and get all crinkled. :/ Not sure what's causing this, seemingly otherwise healthy.
View attachment 101770


But the more concerning issue are my cherry tomatoes, they've been growing totally fine since december, getting huge and green with lots of tomatoes coming in, but just in the last week or two the bottom leaves rapidly go yellow and die, sometimes entire limbs dead overnight, the top foliage seems fine but I'm worried its going to spread and kill the whole plant.
View attachment 101771
View attachment 101772

View attachment 101774
Mostly healthy then bam a limb shriveled overnight.

They're all growing in pots, some have 2 or 3 plants sharing one pot which were mainly just oversow but theyre huge pots, but single plant or several doesnt seem to matter, theyre all getting the same issue :/ defintiely isn't underwatering as I water every morning, but it may be overwatering? first time growing these so I really don't know lol

All have drainage holes in their pots except for one, so they never sit in stagnant water. They're all planted in good store bought potting mix. Gave them fertiliser maybe once a month and some compost on top, covered with mulch as you can see.

Any help appreciated guys

Read this for info on leaf curl on tomatoes: https://www.southernliving.com/gard...s the most,rolling or physiological leaf curl.

As for pepper leaf curl: Likely you have some type of pest: thrips/aphids/mites, etc. Blast off with hose water.

 

[2jjg4]

Read this for info on leaf curl on tomatoes: https://www.southernliving.com/garden/edible/tomato-leaves-curling#:~:text=Environmental stress is the most,rolling or physiological leaf curl.

As for pepper leaf curl: Likely you have some type of pest: thrips/aphids/mites, etc. Blast off with hose water.

Cheers, some good info in that article.

But as for pests, I scoured the plants thoroughly, ive yet to see a single aphid on any of them, squeaky clean as far as I can tell.

But on the plus side, my tomatoes are limping along but at least ill have a harvest soon and try better next time.

 

[MiTmite9]

I'm in Central CA. Every year my tomatoes end up getting leaf curl, no matter what the weather or how the plants are maintained. I grow orange bell peppers and have zero issues with pests or leaf curl.
You might try giving all of your plants a drink of molasses water = 1/4 cup molasses to 1 gallon water. (I suggest mixing molasses in small container with couple cups of water and then stirring into your watering can.) My plants loved their molasses water AND they got some foliar molasses spraying as well.
Another tip I learned off YouTube: crushed crab and lobster shell as an amendment. Our orange bell peppers this year, despite nearly 6 weeks of next to no summer sun, pumped the fruit. And the peppers tasted like candy.

 

[YumYum]

But as for pests, I scoured the plants thoroughly, ive yet to see a single aphid on any of them, squeaky clean as far as I can tell.

But on the plus side, my tomatoes are limping along but at least ill have a harvest soon and try better next time.

I see insect damage plain as day:

 

[MiTmite9]

One of the best laughs I ever got was from an article written about tomatoes. I tried and tried but could never find that article again (local writer, local FREE paper).
But one thing that made me laugh the hardest was how he renamed tomato seed packets and stated that one variety was called "Early Curl." It still makes me crack up.
I think the type of curl most of us have seen is due to a DNA virus in the soil.

 

[2jjg4]

I see insect damage plain as day:

View attachment 101815

I meant the peppers didnt have any, tomatoes yeah theyre being chewed for sure lol

 

[2jjg4]

Found at least one of the culprits, found a bunch of looper/budworm, moth caterpillers of some sort. Enjoying a nice big buffet at my expense.

So I was going to give some of this a try, or does anyone know of homemade alternatives?

Need to protect my incoming harvest! which just delivered a nice pile yesterday <3

 

[MiTmite9]

I'm not an expert, but that looks very much like the caterpillar for Cabbage White butterfly. That's some brassica or other the 'pillar is feeding on, right?
In our garden we plant extra so it's no big deal if some caterpillars or other munchers (squirrels, chipmunks) want to help themselves.

We're organic gardeners, 110%, so I can't help you with the insecticide thing. Online I am sure you'll find loads of alternative methods. Pesticide-free is definitely the healthy way to go --- for you and pets and honeybees, butterflies, lizards, etc. We use a blast of hose water on most plants, if the insects get too greedy.

Just so you know ---- BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) is capable of killing non-targeted insects. Anything you read about BT will say, "It does not kill most beneficial insects." In other words, it can and will kill some . . .

 

[2jjg4]

Yeah i might just try being more vigilant inspecting the plants when i see some damage starting, i pulled three of these buggers off today, im sure theres more hiding, a good water spray should be fine to blast them off, and ill look up home remedies too.

And nah that isnt my photo, but its the same worm, eating my tomatoes