# What's wrong with my plants? Piccies....



## Bert (Aug 26, 2011)

Hiya,

I am terribly worried about my poor herb garden and am hoping there may be some skilled gardeners out there who might be able to help?

I have 4 plants outdoors at approximately 50°North so, the summer is ending and it's starting to get cold and wet. They have only just developed their first white hairs - so about 2 months of flowering to go.

They are sat in buckets - see piccies - with John Innes No.2 + perlite. They are nearly 2 months old and during that time I have only fed them twice with a very cautious and small amount of miracle gro. Normally I would go with Bio Gro throughout - but this is the first time I have used John Innes and I didn't want to over feed. Soon I will start with a flowering nutrient like Bio Bloom.

The problem is that most plants are now developing small holes in the leaves, small dots and on one leaf (see 4th pic) yellowing bands and deformity. I can't see any insects about at all.

I'm worried that my lovely ladies are getting sick and that it might get worse. Please help!

- Bert =)

p.s. These are Sensi Seed Bank's 'Early Skunk' - Feminised =)


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## Budders Keeper (Aug 26, 2011)

Looks like bugs to me. I'm not a miracle grow user but I've heard it can do some strange things. Did you cut off a problem area and use a scope to check underside of leaf?

After another look..check carefully for caterpillar....pic 2

I think you may have a couple things going on. Wait for someone else to chime in.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Aug 26, 2011)

Holes in the leaves like that almost always signify some kind of pest problem.  However, I would be for staying away from the Miracle Grow.  Why would you think that Miracle Grow is better than Bio Grow and Bloom    Why have you only fed them once?  Was the soil you used pre-nuted (generally not a good idea)?

If it is starting to get cold and wet at night already, you may not have time to finish these.  They are going to take 8-10+ weeks to flower.


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## tcbud (Aug 26, 2011)

I grow outside and the holes in the leaf can be anything from Grasshopper to Cricket, possibly.  I see more big munching coming from grasshoppers than anything.  But the small holes I think are from Crickets, they show up/grow up here and wham the small holes start.

As for the white dots, are you sure they are holes and not some kind of eggs?

I would do like said above take a good look under a scope that those spots. I would say you got some kinda bugs.

Good thing you got these in pots and can move them inside if you have to.  Like THG said, they gonna take a long time to finish.  You might give them flowering nutes now for some bud set.

Good luck


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## dman1234 (Aug 26, 2011)

im not trying to start anything but.... those plants dont look like the MG has hurt them any at all.


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## Growdude (Aug 26, 2011)

dman1234 said:
			
		

> im not trying to start anything but.... those plants dont look like the MG has hurt them any at all.


 
I agree


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## Rosebud (Aug 26, 2011)

Are those eggs on the last pic? Can you take a pic of the underside of the leave? They do look nice and green.


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## Wetdog (Aug 26, 2011)

I would defineatly snag some Pro-Tekt right now. That cold wet fall is going to be bad enough. The Pro-Tekt might help it through. Maybe, it's awful late.

Wet


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## valleyboy (Aug 26, 2011)

Quick list from my crop pest control notes:

Garden Snail
Grasshopper
Field Cricket
Earwig
Cabbage Worm
Grapeleaf Skeletonizer
Meal Moth
Fruit Moth
Codling Moth
Tomato Hornworm
Corn Earworm
Yellow Striped Army Worm


I was going to finish the list but there are many more pests with rasping and mandibular mouths.  All of the above will cause similar damage as seen on your plant.

ID'ing the insect is probably a little useless.  Just get some insecticide and spray everywhere around your plants.  The whole yard.  Even your neighbor's when he/she isn't looking.  Then a light coat on the plants.  You should be fine, just watch out for mold.


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## pcduck (Aug 27, 2011)

If they are not looking real bad I would leave them alone. I do not like to spray my plants once they begin to flower. Once they get so big the bugs do not seem to hurt them to bad unless you have a infestation.


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## Bert (Aug 27, 2011)

Hi everybody - thank you all for your very useful replies.

I have had a much closer inspection now of every leaf on every plant! :watchplant:

I found one tiny caterpiller about 3mm long having a munch. He had to go.

I found one little grasshopper type thing about 15mm long. I flicked him over the neighbours fence!

And I found three unknown bugs which didn't look like they were up to much - all safely removed!

It does look like hungry insects. I didn't see any eggs. The little dots looked more like something that had eaten the greeness out of the leaf. Maybe I just need to keep on top of it and make sure I remove any insects each day? Not too keen on insecticides etc.

@THG The reason I haven't fed them much is that the John Innes No.2 is packed to start with so I was very unsure about feeding. Normally I would buy some basic soil mix which needs feeding straight away. The miracle grow was just a mini test.

It's so wet here that I've only watered them 3 times! So feeding is difficult without over watering. I'm thinking of placing some wood at an angle over the pots so the plants only get water when I want them too. (moving inside is not an option unfortunately)

The reason I got the early skunk is that they're supposed finish by the end of September are pretty hardy and mould resistant. Doesn't look like that will happen! More like end of October. Does anyone have any other seed recommendations for Northern Outdoors?

Thanks again everyone for your posts. It does look like bugs. Hopefully the deformity and yellowing (pic 4) is also bug related. I'll keep on top of the little critters!

- Bert =)

p.s. The Pro-TeKt looks like just the thing for the veggie stage - thanks


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## 4u2sm0ke (Aug 27, 2011)

:ciao:  *Bert*


I made some covers for my containers na few years back due to heavy rains ..I too wanted to controle what was going into the container..I used some fiber board...the kind they use for signs..I made a cutt in the middle of the board for the stalk..worked well..hope this helps

take care and be safe


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## Bert (Aug 27, 2011)

Been thinking about that Protekt stuff..... I decided to switch my planned bloom
nutrients from Bio Bizz.... and go for something new from my local agricultural
store;

I'm going to try the Plant Magic Oldtimer Organic Bloom, with the Bio-Silicon. It
looks like an organic version of the Protekt stuff and can be used into week 5 of
the flower cycle - I'll give it a go and see if it helps at all....

Thanks! 

- Bert =)


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## 4u2sm0ke (Aug 27, 2011)

:aok:



:48:


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## ayeshaaakter (Feb 22, 2012)

For purposes of this Fact Sheet, we classify insects and mites as pests based on their ability to damage vegetable plants and reduce your harvest from the home garden. Many insects, and all spiders, found in home vegetable gardens are beneficial and control of these insects is not recommended.


 Monitoring Pest Insects in the Home Garden
 Insects and mites can move into your garden and then rapidly increase in numbers. You should examine plants in and around the garden throughout the season at least twice weekly. Use magnification to aid in identifying insects and mites. Examine a few plants of each cultivar thoroughly, searching under leaves, inside developing fruit, along stems and at the plant crown. Note feeding damage signs such as insect excrement, holes in leaves or fruit and/or twisted or deformed leaves. Make notes indicating the number or extent of damage from week to week to aid in determining whether insects and/or damage is increasing.


Identify the Insect
Color photos of the most common insect pests and descriptions of others are included in this fact sheet. You should be able to develop a general classification of the pest based on this information. Once you have identified the pest, you should classify the type and amount of damage it is causing.



 Controlling Pests
 The best control is prevention. Pest problems can often be prevented by developing and maintaining a healthy crop through soil fertility, proper irrigation, choosing crops suited to the climate and soil, and by removing small infestations before they become a problem. Once you have identified a pest problem based on the type and amount of damage and made a decision to control the pest, you should consider the following. There are numerous methods of controlling pests; the most effective control often is achieved by combining control techniques.


Cultural Control
Vigorous, rapidly growing plants often &#8216;outgrow&#8217; pest damage. You should plant recommended cultivars, maintain fertile soil with proper pH and moisture providing your garden a means to outgrow pest damage.

Sanitation - dispose of infested plant and trash materials that harbor pests and cultivate the soil to expose and destroy pests in the soil. 
Weed control - keep the garden border areas mowed and trimmed and cultivate the garden to control unwanted plants (weeds) that serve as hosts to insects that can move over to your vegetable plants. 
Time your plantings - many insect pests, including the corn earworm and squash bug, are less numerous early in the season and an early planting of vegetables will often &#8216;escape&#8217; with little to no damage. 
Traps are devices that collect or cause insects to con¬gregate, such as flat boards on top of the soil in the garden. Check the traps frequently and collect and destroy the insect pests in the traps. 
Barriers serve to exclude pests from the crop and include the use of paper collars around the stem collar of young transplants that prevents cutworms from attacking and destroying plants. Other barriers include row covers made of transparent or translucent covers of woven plastic that allow light to enter, but block insects. Typically, these row covers are supported above the plants with hoop frames although light weight woven covers can rest on the canopy. 
Mechanical removal by hand picking or washing with a directed stream of water is effective for large insects or eggs and for small, soft-bodied insects or mites.

Biological Control
Many insects and other arthropods feed on and destroy insects that are pests in gardens. Examples include the lady beetle and spiders that feed on insect eggs, larvae, aphids and mites. These BENEFICIAL arthropods are best used by preserving or augmenting their numbers. You can maintain a diverse and healthy garden by NOT spraying the garden unnecessarily with insecticides and by maintaining a diverse planting that provides alternate sources of prey, nectar and pollen. Beneficial insects can be purchased from suppliers and released in mass numbers but this practice has not proven reliable with the exception of release and management in greenhouses. (Refer to EPP-7307 Beneficial Insects). Many insects are attacked by pathogens that cause diseases that kill the insect pests. Most disease outbreaks occur during periods of wet and humid weather.
For more information, click here,
REMOVED


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## Maximlis (Feb 23, 2012)

I agree with ayesh. It may be caused due to insects and some other harmful animal. So you take care of it.


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