problem with curtis cheek

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problem with curtis cheek

#1

Post: # 19270Unread post encore
Wed May 06, 2020 7:50 am

why are the leaves on the Curtis cheek turning purple and curling up? only 3 plants out of 100 doing that. thanks --tom

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#2

Post: # 19273Unread post encore
Wed May 06, 2020 8:04 am

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Labradors
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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#3

Post: # 19274Unread post Labradors
Wed May 06, 2020 8:10 am

Maybe they don't like that dry peat moss?

Linda

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#4

Post: # 19279Unread post encore
Wed May 06, 2020 8:55 am

I've been bottom watering and pretty much go by the weight of the container, so they do have moisture in bottoms. all plants are treated the same as far as light, water and fan blowing, just the Curtis cheek doing this. lol (something happened to Curtis cheek last year too, because I didn't get any to grow outlast year. don't want to lose these. lol---tom

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#5

Post: # 19293Unread post JosephineRose
Wed May 06, 2020 12:22 pm

Phosphorous. Try a seaweed fert. It made a huge difference with my seedlings this year, as I make my own starting mix.

Use a quarter strength of any fert with a higher P number on the N-P-K. I used neptune's harvest fish and seaweed and it perked my akward looking little purple babies right up. I do it once every two weeks.
Melissa
Zone: 10A
Climate: Warm Summer Mediterranean
Avg annual rainfall: 23.96"

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#6

Post: # 19307Unread post Shule
Wed May 06, 2020 3:59 pm

[mention]encore[/mention]

Yeah, as JosephineRose said, phosphorus. Low phosphorus can make leaves purple like that. Cold weather can do it, too (cold weather lowers phosphorus availability).

If your temperatures and fertilization are fine, the pH might be off. Peat moss is acidic; so, if it's off, and if you're using much peat moss, it's probably too low, unless there's something alkaline in with them. Adding a little wood ash (from quality untreated wood that wasn't grown in toxic soil) should raise it for you by adding extra calcium (and it would provide greening nutrients, too). Rockdust, eggshells, or lime should do the same thing (although they probably won't help plants to green up as much as wood ash would, since they're not potassium and phosphorus sources, and since they're not nearly as water soluble). Don't add too much of any of those, though, as it's easy to raise soil pH, and not so easy to lower it. Wood ash does contain some phosphorus (but not an ideal amount, although it is appreciable and readily available; the potassium content has a more noticeable impact, IME).

I'm guessing that part of your growing area is just colder than the rest, though. Extra phosphorus should help the plant vigor in that case, too. Leaves can still stay purple with extra phosphorus if it's cold, but they're less likely to do so, and they tend to grow faster with the phosphorus.

Some good synthetic phosphorus sources are monopotassium phosphate (also contains lots of potassium) and monoammonium phosphate (also contains a little nitrogen). Those help a lot for my unheated greenhouse, since it's generally a lot colder than indoors.

I add wood ash (and monoammonium phosphate) to my own mix even though I don't need to raise the pH, though, since the tomato plants like it and are a lot greener/stronger with it in the unheated greenhouse (I just sprinkle some on top once or so during the pre-transplant period, and water it in; it doesn't take much). But my mix should be neutral, rather than alkaline, to start with. I'm sure a lot of people would warn against using wood ash on account of the high calcium content, though (just make sure you could use the calcium if you use it). Wood ash is said to be 25-50% calcium (with a lot of carbon, too). Eggshells are said to be about 40% calcium, for comparison. If you see figures that say they have about twice as much calcium as that, it's probably because they're calculating calcium carbonate (which has carbonate in it, too) and/or other calcium salts, with other acids bound with them being factored into the percentage. Eggshells may or may not take more time to affect the pH than wood ash. If you're not sure how much to add, don't add much. It doesn't have a guaranteed analysis like synthetic fertilizers (so, you have use your best judgement/intuition and/or experiment to see for yourself how much is best).
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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#7

Post: # 19356Unread post encore
Thu May 07, 2020 8:01 am

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#8

Post: # 19357Unread post encore
Thu May 07, 2020 8:04 am

all the rest seem to be doing good, maybe Curtis cheek is just more sensitive, gave them some fert, and put them with some late pepper plants which are still on a heat mat. so we'll see. thanks all for the sugestions----tom

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#9

Post: # 19373Unread post JosephineRose
Thu May 07, 2020 12:21 pm

Question, are you using the heat mat to keep them warm? It might be stressing the roots.

Better to have environmental warmth than root warmth once the seedlings have germinated. Less stress, as leaving it on may spur rapid, lanky, weak growth or encourage fungal diseases at the soil level.

Your other babies do look great! I have had some "touchy" varieties too this year. It is interesting how some thrive and others are temperamental under the same conditions.
Melissa
Zone: 10A
Climate: Warm Summer Mediterranean
Avg annual rainfall: 23.96"

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#10

Post: # 19381Unread post encore
Thu May 07, 2020 2:56 pm

no the ones in latest pic, are not on heat mat. only had the Curtis cheek on heat mat for couple of hours. they are in the basement where I always do this with heater on and fan on low blowing heat towards the table. from about 7 feet away, just barely moving leaves on plants, so i'll see how the phosphorus does, --tom

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Re: problem with curtis cheek

#11

Post: # 19557Unread post MissS
Sun May 10, 2020 7:51 am

I intentionally leave my seedlings on the chilly side and they all have purple undersides to their leaves. The cold treatment (in my opinion) creates sturdier plants. Don't stress yourself over this as once it warms up and you plant them in the garden they will be just fine. I don't see it as a problem at all.
~ Patti ~

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