Black spots on pepper stems

[CrazyConure]

About the best thing for them is insecticidal soap, Next best is a Spinosad product. I would not use the copper as a preventative. Proper growing techniques will usually stop any need for it.

Thanks. I stopped the copper. Is there a DIY insecticidal soap method you recommend or is buying it premade my best bet?

 

[Chuck]

Thanks. I stopped the copper. Is there a DIY insecticidal soap method you recommend or is buying it premade my best bet?

Just get some Safers. It's fairly cheap and works well. At Walmart its about $18 for a pint of the concentrate and that much will last you quite awhile. The directions say to use 2.5 oz per gallon of water but I always use 2 oz per gallon. I always mix it by the quart as a gallon is a big waste.

 

[CrazyConure]

@Chuck
I bought and am using this potting soil. I didn’t realize it didn’t say organic on the bag. Is this soil good for vegetable plants in outdoor containers? I trust your advice.

I already planted my vegetables in it. I’m not sure why it doesn’t say organic. Does it make a difference?

Some people online are saying it can come with gnats. Is that a concern?

 

[Chuck]

Miracle Grow, IMO, is the worst possible growing medium in existence. Sure, it will grow plants just fine, BUT. This stuff is chock full of different kinds of synthetics. I don't care what anyone says about soil not being a factor in the case of plant diseases and harmful insect populations, you will have much more of these problems with MG than you will have with Kellogs or Dr Earth or Natures Guide or any number of OMRI certified soils. And be very leery of fertilizing for the first 6 months or so as this stuff has fertilizer already added, it just doesn't say nor will MG say just how much or what it is. It says on the front "feeds up to 6 months". And grows plants twice as big. Go to their website and it says "than plants not fertilized." It does say what the stuff is made of though. Forrest products, whatever that is and peatmoss.. Oh well, what's done is done. I just wished you'd contacted me before getting this stuff. About the gnats. Don't worry about them. Worry about whitefly and aphids of which this MG stuff is probably the cause of.

There is something you can do to alleviate this. Get some GOOD manure based compost and spread it all around and under your plants. Get a gallon of feed or horticultural molasses and mix 2 oz per gallon of water and water your plants with this. This will enhance the growth of soil microbes of which there are very few in MG soils.

 

[CrazyConure]

Miracle Grow, IMO, is the worst possible growing medium in existence. Sure, it will grow plants just fine, BUT. This stuff is chock full of different kinds of synthetics. I don't care what anyone says about soil not being a factor in the case of plant diseases and harmful insect populations, you will have much more of these problems with MG than you will have with Kellogs or Dr Earth or Natures Guide or any number of OMRI certified soils. And be very leery of fertilizing for the first 6 months or so as this stuff has fertilizer already added, it just doesn't say nor will MG say just how much or what it is. It says on the front "feeds up to 6 months". And grows plants twice as big. Go to their website and it says "than plants not fertilized." It does say what the stuff is made of though. Forrest products, whatever that is and peatmoss.. Oh well, what's done is done. I just wished you'd contacted me before getting this stuff. About the gnats. Don't worry about them. Worry about whitefly and aphids of which this MG stuff is probably the cause of.

There is something you can do to alleviate this. Get some GOOD manure based compost and spread it all around and under your plants. Get a gallon of feed or horticultural molasses and mix 2 oz per gallon of water and water your plants with this. This will enhance the growth of soil microbes of which there are very few in MG soils.

I’m going to dump the soil in my backyard and replace it. I don’t have that many plants, and I really want to be successful. I’ll use one of your recommendations. Thank you so much.

 

[Chuck]

I’m going to dump the soil in my backyard and replace it. I don’t have that many plants, and I really want to be successful. I’ll use one of your recommendations. Thank you so much.

Food for thought. When my wife died I sold my property that I had my garden on for 30 years and moved in with my daughter. My garden now is all in fabric containers. I had experimented with Hugelculture in containers prior to moving here and was astounded at how well things grew. Last year, the first year I was here, I tried a modified Hugelculture growing system. I mixed 1/2 horse stable compost, 1/4 purchased garden soil and 1/4 Kellogs potting soil all together and added 2 cups of Medina GrowNGreen. All fabric containers were 10 gallon. Tomatoes and peppers exceeded my prior in ground plantings. The only thing that didn't do well was watermelons. You could do something similar.

 

[CrazyConure]

Hi @Chuck

My plants are doing very well.

Today I bought a zucchini plant, and some of its leaves looked a little funny. I trimmed them off, but I took pictures this time.

First, here’s the plant after the trim:

(One of the stems are bent; not sure if I should have trimmed that as well)

Here are the leaves I cut off:

I’d appreciate your input on what those leaves were telling me.

 

[Chuck]

Those leaves are saying that we were put out into the bright hot sunshine and had water poured all over us and we got sunburned.

 

[CrazyConure]

Those leaves are saying that we were put out into the bright hot sunshine and had water poured all over us and we got sunburned.

The plant is doing much better. None of the new leaves have this issue. I never water during the afternoon sun.

Off-topic question, I have a few bushes that have the leaves half bitten. I want to know what animal or insect is causing this damage because my vegetable plants are nearby, and I think I’m seeing the start of a similar issue.

If you look closely at the first picture, you can see many more of the leaves half gone.

 

[Chuck]

The plant is doing much better. None of the new leaves have this issue. I never water during the afternoon sun.

Off-topic question, I have a few bushes that have the leaves half bitten. I want to know what animal or insect is causing this damage because my vegetable plants are nearby, and I think I’m seeing the start of a similar issue.


View attachment 107224View attachment 107225

If you look closely at the first picture, you can see many more of the leaves half gone.

Its "probably" a caterpillar but you don't know for sure. If it is a caterpillar you would use a Bt product which is the absolute best thing for them. Since you don't know you should use a product that kills both caterpillars and insects and that is a spinosad product such as Captain Jacks Dead Bug Killer. The difference between the two products is that the spinosad takes a couple of days to kill a caterpillar whereas Bt kills them within 4 hours after taking a bite of you plant. When spraying either product you must make sure you spray the entire plant thoroughly.

 

[CrazyConure]

Its "probably" a caterpillar but you don't know for sure. If it is a caterpillar you would use a Bt product which is the absolute best thing for them. Since you don't know you should use a product that kills both caterpillars and insects and that is a spinosad product such as Captain Jacks Dead Bug Killer. The difference between the two products is that the spinosad takes a couple of days to kill a caterpillar whereas Bt kills them within 4 hours after taking a bite of you plant. When spraying either product you must make sure you spray the entire plant thoroughly.

I’ve never seen a caterpillar take a perfect bite of a leaf. It’s perfectly horizontally cut.

 

[Chuck]

I’ve never seen a caterpillar take a perfect bite of a leaf. It’s perfectly horizontally cut.

I haven't seen it with a caterpillar or an insect but it is NOT a 4 legged creature or a bird or a fish, so it is either a caterpillar or an insect. And when you don't know wihich it is you have no choice as to what product to use. I bet if you go out in the middle of the night and look you will find out who the culprit is.

 

[CrazyConure]

I haven't seen it with a caterpillar or an insect but it is NOT a 4 legged creature or a bird or a fish, so it is either a caterpillar or an insect. And when you don't know wihich it is you have no choice as to what product to use. I bet if you go out in the middle of the night and look you will find out who the culprit is.

The plant above doesn’t concern me. The plant is huge, and I don’t really care about the leaf health. It’s an ornamental filler. The plant otherwise is healthy as is only a minor cosmetic issue, which is barely noticeable.

I honestly thought a snail or iguana was eating it (which we have in Miami), so I just wanted to plan for it in the event it started going for my vegetable garden.

I took a better look, and there isn’t any damage to my vegetable plant’s leaves.

 

[Chuck]

The plant above doesn’t concern me. The plant is huge, and I don’t really care about the leaf health. It’s an ornamental filler. The plant otherwise is healthy as is only a minor cosmetic issue, which is barely noticeable.

I honestly thought a snail or iguana was eating it (which we have in Miami), so I just wanted to plan for it in the event it started going for my vegetable garden.

I took a better look, and there isn’t any damage to my vegetable plant’s leaves.

It's not a snail or slug, they leave holes. And wouldn't an iguana eat the entire leaf much less cutting it in a straight line? At any rate I would keep very close attention to your vegetables. If you see any damage to them first look for slime trails and if you do get some Sluggo Plus.

 

[CrazyConure]

@Chuck

Hi. I see the first signs of leaf damage.

Zucchini plant:

This is the full plant. It is generally very healthy, but the damage will only get worse. Which pest is causing this?