Screwed Up Again--Drowned Plants

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm sorry if I was a little testy, I've got pandemic fatigue and with all the stuff I have going on I'm exhausted, which is of course how I overlooked the watering situation with this group of plants in the first place. I just don't have the mental energy to deal with this differently than how I have, I transplanted them on April 28th, so at this point, if they die, they die, I still have 35-40 other plants of various types I'm trying to take care of, leaf blight, suckers, insects, support, water...etc.

So a couple of statements and a couple of questions...first of all, it's possible I was overwatering these plants a bit in the days up to the tropical storm, because it was hot and they seemed to be taking up the water pretty fast. Also, I did spray Actinovate, Serenade, and Bt early in the day I had this problem, so it's possible there is some phytotoxicity issue, but none of my other plants were affected. Which leads me to the questions:

1. This overwatered condition I created, that destroys the roots? In one or a few days? Hence the idea of chopping the plant off at the base and rerooting it?

2. I'd still like some thoughts on whether I should leave the green fruit on or take it off.

[Nan6b]

It does seem a bit strange to me that overwatering for a couple days should take out the roots. As someone said, it may have been wilt that hit your plants just at that time.

You have a lot of other plants, so it makes sense you're just going with those.

Green tomatoes on dead plants: if they look full size, I'd pull them off, bring them in, and try to ripen them inside. I don't see any advantage to leaving them outside.

[Setec Astronomy]

It does seem a bit strange to me that overwatering for a couple days should take out the roots. As someone said, it may have been wilt that hit your plants just at that time.

What do you mean by "wilt" exactly? Is that a disease? One of these did have some leaf problems prior, I think I mentioned it in one of my blight threads, that instead of the yellow/brown blight, some plants just seemed to have gray shrivel on the leaves, and at least one of these two plants certainly had that.

[Ginger2778]

It does seem a bit strange to me that overwatering for a couple days should take out the roots. As someone said, it may have been wilt that hit your plants just at that time.

What do you mean by "wilt" exactly? Is that a disease? One of these did have some leaf problems prior, I think I mentioned it in one of my blight threads, that instead of the yellow/brown blight, some plants just seemed to have gray shrivel on the leaves, and at least one of these two plants certainly had that.

Yes, there are several types of wilts, all are diseases. Grey shrivel is most likely grey mold.

[MissS]

Yes there are 'wilt' diseases. That is why I asked you to cut the stem and place it in water in a clear container. If it seeped a milky substance that would indicate one disease. If you cut the stem vertically and found it brownish and hallow that would also indicate another disease.

[Setec Astronomy]

Yes there are 'wilt' diseases. That is why I asked you to cut the stem and place it in water in a clear container. If it seeped a milky substance that would indicate one disease. If you cut the stem vertically and found it brownish and hallow that would also indicate another disease.

Thanks Miss S, I'm sorry, I guess that didn't sink in when you first posted it. I just cut off a leaf branch and it looked fine (not brown on the end), and hasn't seeped anything yet, although there is a dark line on the bottom of the branch.

However, after looking up wilt diseases...when my blight problems started I think this was the only planter that had this dark discoloration on the leaves, rather than yellow/brown:

IMG_2499.JPG

(That's a picture from this morning on the 3rd plant in that planter that is still hanging on a bit) This is a new planter with new potting soil, so it does seem to make sense there was some wilt contamination in the soil in this planter. Which actually makes me feel better that perhaps this wasn't negligence on my part. Now I just have to get it sterilized before next year.

[Ginger2778]

Yes there are 'wilt' diseases. That is why I asked you to cut the stem and place it in water in a clear container. If it seeped a milky substance that would indicate one disease. If you cut the stem vertically and found it brownish and hallow that would also indicate another disease.

Thanks Miss S, I'm sorry, I guess that didn't sink in when you first posted it. I just cut off a leaf branch and it looked fine (not brown on the end), and hasn't seeped anything yet, although there is a dark line on the bottom of the branch.

However, after looking up wilt diseases...when my blight problems started I think this was the only planter that had this dark discoloration on the leaves, rather than yellow/brown:

IMG_2499.JPG

(That's a picture from this morning on the 3rd plant in that planter that is still hanging on a bit) This is a new planter with new potting soil, so it does seem to make sense there was some wilt contamination in the soil in this planter. Which actually makes me feel better that perhaps this wasn't negligence on my part. Now I just have to get it sterilized before next year.

This is grey mold. Its an airborn fungus.Easily handled by copper fungicide.

[Setec Astronomy]

Well, then I guess I'm back to not knowing what went on with these plants.

[worth1]

They could have been too wet to begin with.
The extra water put them over the top.
Every thing I saw in those leaves showed lack of water uptake due to root or stem problems.

[Setec Astronomy]

They could have been too wet to begin with.
The extra water put them over the top.
Every thing I saw in those leaves showed lack of water uptake due to root or stem problems.

I have a lot of different containers, including some 16" self-watering from Home Depot...those tend to dry out fast when it's hot and you have a big tomato plant in them, which also makes them want to fall over, so I always try to keep them wet and full. I think that thought process bleeds out into some of these larger containers which have a lot more soil in them and are more stable, where I really don't need to keep them so wet. I thought I learned this lesson previously, but apparently not.

[MissS]

Well, then I guess I'm back to not knowing what went on with these plants.

Were all of these plants the same variety? Some plants have a genetic resistance to wilt diseases. Watering to some degree was part of the issue. I think that most of us agree on that. Don't beat yourself up about this, we all have lost plants at one time or another. This is how we learn to grow things better.

[Setec Astronomy]

No, not all the same variety, they are 3 Artisan varieties, a Lucky Tiger, an Orange Caprese, and a Purple Bumblebee that's still hanging on. The ground is slightly sloped, so the ones at the back of the planter theoretically had more water, the Purple Bumblebee is at the front. Or it could just be coincidence.

[worth1]

I lost about 40 pepper plants due to my drip being on to much

[Hoosier]

I've had the same thing happen with plants that were in the ground. Flooding rain and part of the plants in standing water and the the next day blazing hot. The plants in the standing water laid down in a day. I have since planted in hills to avoid that unless I thought there was a very good possibility of drought. I think probably the thing to do might be to never shut off the drainage.

[Setec Astronomy]

I think probably the thing to do might be to never shut off the drainage.

Yes, that's what I did--last year. As I think I alluded to earlier in the thread, I apparently unlearned that lesson.

[Hoosier]

I think probably the thing to do might be to never shut off the drainage.

Yes, that's what I did--last year. As I think I alluded to earlier in the thread, I apparently unlearned that lesson.

Sorry if that sounded preachy, I had more to my post that I got rid of because it was getting long. I have unlearned several lessons and continue to unlearn them. Also I sometime take chances because of lack of time to do what I know to be the right thing to do. Believe me, I know how these things happen. What i wanted to convey was that if the plants were water logged and then subjected to hot and sunny weather it will kill them even in the absence of any other problems IMO.

[Setec Astronomy]

Sorry if that sounded preachy

Oh, not at all. If I had finished my drip irrigation project, I probably wouldn't have dumped so much water in these planters in the first place, out of worry that they would dry out.

What i wanted to convey was that if the plants were water logged and then subjected to hot and sunny weather it will kill them even in the absence of any other problems IMO.

Thanks, I guess it was that coupled with perhaps some gray mold or other blight...I grew a lot more plants this year than I had originally planned to and these are jammed quite close together even though I have them pruned to double-leader, I think I should have just had 2 plants instead of 3 in this planter. I've cut back everything that looked diseased on the surviving (Purple Bumblebee) plant, and cut off anything that was touching from the other plants, so we'll see what happens.