PESTS, DISEASES AND APPEARANCE PROBLEMS

RED SPIDER MITE AND WHITEFLY

Particularly a problem under glass. I use a spray of a teaspoon of Neem oil and a teaspoon of soft soap in half a litre of warm water as a contact control. I add garlic extract as an antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial (one teaspoon).

GREEN CAPSID BUGS

These have usually gone by the time damage is evident. Leaves towards the growing tips look like lace. They’re very difficult to see/catch so I tolerate them.

CATERPILLARS

Will eat leaves. As leaves are produced in abundance, I tolerate them.

PALE LEAVES

On the whole plant – a sign of underfeeding.

CONVEX LEAVES

A sign of overfeeding (very rare!).

YELLOWING LOWER LEAVES

This is normal. Resist the temptation to snap them off and leave a raw wound at the base of the leaf stem. If you must tidy the plant up, use scissors to snip off the leaf blade but leave the stem to fall off naturally.

STEM WILT AND TWV

(tomato spo ed wilt virus)

Dark, sunken areas at the site of leaf scars, and which ultimately become corky. Shoots will wither and die. Vigour of the plant is seriously impaired. The diseases are transmissible and incurable so affected plants should be destroyed.

ROOT ROT

This is caused by giving too much water when the plant is not in full growth and the temperatures still low. The plant will look as though it’s short of water. You might save the plant by taking it out of its pot, breaking off the diseased part of the rootball and replanting in a fresh, just damp, 50/50 mix of Perlite and multi-purpose compost. Keep the compost just damp until you see new growth.