Tomato And Chilli Leaf Problems

[ragingbull81]

Hi All,
Just looking for a bit of help and advice on some tomato and chilli plants.
I have had the plants sitting on my south facing windowsill quite happily until a a few weeks ago.

The first signs something was wrong was that I noticed a few leaves looking a bit dry on some tomato plants. They seemed to be more on the lower leaves. As this is my first year of attempting to grow anything I didn't have a clue what it was to begin with so I did a bit of reading and came to the conclusion it must be magnesium deficiency. I got some epsom salts and sprayed them for a week. The result after a week was surprisingly good. The lower leaves still looked the same but the upper leaves looked an amazingly healthy dark green colour so I thought they were fixed.

A few days later I noticed some deterioration on the leaves of some of my 'Purple Tiger' chilli plants. The damage appeared a little like the tomato plant but the affect was on upper leaves more than the lower ones and they became wrinkled as well.

Also, now the tomato plants seem to have a new type of leaf imperfection so I decided to ask you guys for help and advice.

I have both the tomato plants and chilli plants in 3 inch high pots intending to re-pot them in a few weeks into their final position. Would the pot being too small cause these problems do you think? I read too that it could be over-watering or of course the magnesium deficiency.

I have taken 2 photos of the chilli plants and 3 of tomato plants and would appreciate any advice on causes, cures, and prevention if possible. Many thanks in advance.....

[teakdesk]

I have had the plants sitting on my south facing windowsill quite happily until a a few weeks ago.

We've had some very hot sun recently; I'd suggest they have been scorched.

Try shading them on sunny days.




.

[Kristen]

Looks like water dropplets that have then burnt the leaf (water drop acts like a magnifying glass when the sun is out).

Have the leaves got wet? Watered from above, or condensation dripped onto them

I also wonder if the air in the house is a bit dry? Maybe mist the plants to keep the humidity up, or stand them on a gravel tray - put some gravel in the bottom with water so it evaporates and creates higher humidity around the plants - the pots themselves should not "sit" in the water, so it should be below the top of the gravel.

[ragingbull81]

Thank you both for your replies. What you said makes perfect sense now. I was wetting the leaves with the epsom salts mixed with water and also spraying them during the day when it was hot so it looks like you hit the nail on the head. Will they be ok even with the leaves damaged? I have others coming through as back up anyway. Many thanks

[Kristen]

Will they be ok even with the leaves damaged?

Yes, should be fine, but it may reduce their vigour somewhat, and the damaged parts of the plant can be a site for infection, but many of my plants get some sort of damage at some point and survive!

[zazen999]

RB - I think that your compost has run out of steam, can you pot them on into bigger pots; use a good compost and incorporate a little well rotted manure into your compost mix?

Are the roots showing at the bottom of the pots yet?

If not, and you don't want to pot them on; I recommend a watering with seaweed extract; it works wonders for perking up plants fast.

[ragingbull81]

Thanks for the input Zazen. I didn't know compost ran out of steam!

The roots on some of them are showing at the bottom but I intend planting straight into their final resting place next.

So what happens when I re-pot them and that compost runs out of steam too, does the tomato feed replenish it?

I also have pretty much everything else growing in compost pots so will the seaweed feed be fine to put on everything else?
Many thanks