Plants Stopped Growing

[4Shoes]

Feeding day for the polytunnel.....

Was only today that I have really noticed that the Deadly Nightshade Plants have all stopped growing (Many Flowers dropping off, leaves on Tomatoes and Aubergine dying back) and I'm thinking what is the trigger. Big change this last week.

The minimum temperature has been above 9C overnight this month with day time temperatures mostly above 25C. Max many days above 40C.
There was a really cold day last week when temperature just got above 15C. Must still be 15hrs + light daily.

Most pepper plants are still looking good so thinking feed and water as normal. There are a few late plants with no ripe pods.

Removing the dead leaves and the topped the larger Tomatoes

What else should I be doing?

Should I be restricting water to chilli's that are well on their way to speed ripening?

[4Shoes]

I have 2 bush tomatoes at the other end of the tunnel from main growing area. Just removed a whole lot of structure with blight and put onto heap for burning.


does blight spread to peppers and chilli being same plant group?

[Miss Mousetrousers]

Theyy are both affected by the same pests and diseases so yes, that could be the cause.

[Scarlet]

I have 2 bush tomatoes at the other end of the tunnel from main growing area. Just removed a whole lot of structure with blight and put onto heap for burning.


does blight spread to peppers and chilli being same plant group?

Have you got photos? I would be very surprised if you had blight...it's usually wet and warm weather and for plants that are undercover it's unusual.

[4Shoes]

Have you got photos? I would be very surprised if you had blight...it's usually wet and warm weather and for plants that are undercover it's unusual.

Don't have any for the polytunnel, but I had moved some bush tomatoes to a twinwall greenhouse early in the season because I thought they were getting too hot.

Here is a similar picture. Early Blight?

[Two_Sheds]

That’s botrytis (gray mould)

[4Shoes]

That’s botrytis (gray mould)

Thanks..

As I suspected, it seems to be caused by condensation and I have been having issues controlling temperatures in the polytunnel. I might be being over cautious about the wind, but it howls down the hill. Does anyone have a windbreak at the doors to their tunnel? What does it look like ?

[Two_Sheds]

Wind ? Is the wind a problem?

[Two_Sheds]

it seems to be caused by condensation and I have been having issues controlling temperatures in the polytunnel

It is active in temps up to 24c, with humidity. Removing excess leaves certainly helps with humidity: I remove all leaves below fruits

“ The type of wound is said to influence stem lesion development; breaking off leaves is reported to give a lower incidence of stem lesions than cutting off leaves with a knife “. Possibly because spores are on the knife?

[4Shoes]

Wind ? Is the wind a problem?

I seem to live in a wind tunnel. Put up a polytunnel with sides to the prevailing wind. I have what looks like scaffolding netting over top half of doors, but with doors closed and the wind more end to end, felt as if too much wind was getting in. So covered over, created door guides with holes every 100mm so that they are secured. This means that over the day, the temperature inside the tunnel fluctuates (and gets too high).

Thinking is that a wind beak at each end of the tunnel would reduce strength of wind and mean I could restore ventilation.


The other idea is to put ventilation mesh and a flap on sheltered side of the tunnel, but staying away from that at moment because there would be no going back.


Thought... Why is ventilation mesh at top of doors. Would it work for bottom half and than the wind break would not need to be so high?

[Two_Sheds]

I don’t think netting is going to make any appreciable difference to wind speed. You’d be looking more for hedges.

Shading will bring the temps down
High temp will reduce humidity, unless the ground is soaking wet and doors shut

Is the wind so bad that it’s going to blow the poly tunnel over?

[4Shoes]

I don’t think netting is going to make any appreciable difference to wind speed. You’d be looking more for hedges.

Shading will bring the temps down
High temp will reduce humidity, unless the ground is soaking wet and doors shut

Is the wind so bad that it’s going to blow the poly tunnel over?

May be that I'm a bit too cautious. Just after I'd built it, I'd left the doors ajar. Hadn't got round to putting in the door stops in the runners and came out to doors blown off.

The tunnel is well secured with base rails and the extra plastic trenched in. when visiting my brother and they were talking about a local fruit farms getting blown away.

How do you go about shading a polytunnel?

[Two_Sheds]

https://www.premierpolytunnels.co.uk...ories/netting/

I don’t have a polytunnel myself, just a windproof GH (baby Rhino). It needs shades drawn and door, louvres open all summer or things go crispy by home time

[4Shoes]

https://www.premierpolytunnels.co.uk...ories/netting/

I don’t have a polytunnel myself, just a windproof GH (baby Rhino). It needs shades drawn and door, louvres open all summer or things go crispy by home time

Hadn't realised you could cover the plastic with netting. Just had a feeling netting would rub and damage it... reducing life.

I have a northern Tummel, so with Wires, could cover easily put on.

Thanks for info..

[Chris11]

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Don't have any for the polytunnel, but I had moved some bush tomatoes to a twinwall greenhouse early in the season because I thought they were getting too hot.

Here is a similar picture. Early Blight?

Grey Mould aka Botrytis. I've seen it on tomato plants in the past when I left them too long at the end of the season in the greenhouse. Maybe you've got it early because of damp or humid air conditions.

From the RHS: 'Grey mould, caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, is a very common disease, causing a soft decay of plant tissues accompanied by a growth of fuzzy grey-brown mould. It affects many plants, especially those grown under glass where conditions are humid.'

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=165