bottom leaves on all plants

[FILMNET]

I have this on each plant, on the bottom leaves, the plants are 2 feet tall.

[WVTomatoMan]

Had any storms or heavy down pours in your area? Looks like splash back damage to me. If so, nothing to worry about. You can check for flea beetles, but my first guess would be splash back.

Good luck.

Randy

[Timmah!]

That's flea beetle damage IMO.

[chalstonsc]

Looks like what flea beetles do to my plants

[Timmah!]

Yessir, that's what my ground cherry looks like; as if someone took birdshot to it.

[Duh_Vinci]

Flea beetles! Every year, and no matter what I try - nothing can get rid of them! Fortunately, mostly the lower leafs are affected, and really, no effect on the plant growth/production I've ever noticed.

Eggplants on the other hand - I'm forced to grow them on the deck that is 10' up in the air, otherwise 100% Swiss Cheese and death shortly after, favorite food for those little monsters!

Regards,
D

[FILMNET]

yes, heavy downpours here for the last 2 weeks, not much sun either, only some ants around the plants.

[chalstonsc]

D,
I have a huge population and have found dusting with food grade diatomaceous earth works well...on my eggplant too. Beware...I think it also kills beneficials too

[WVTomatoMan]

I was hoping FILMNET would have responded, so I'll ask directly.

FILNET do you have flea beetles? Did you have flea beetles at the time the pictures were taken? I assume you know what the look like and when to look for, but just in case... Flea beetles are small black insects. They are most easily viewed/found in the evenings. If you try touch one they'll hop away like a flea, hence the name. If you already knew that please don't be offended.

It can be very tricky to distinguish between flea beetle damage and splash back damage. My gut call on this one was splash back, but I put in the disclaimer that it could be flea beetles. But, I would like to know for sure for my own education.

Thanks,
Randy

[FILMNET]

Hi, This was flea beetles after all, we saw one , i put some garden dust on the plants and now they are not around.
Thanks, this is more first year with Heirloom tomatoes plants.

[Timmah!]

Got to see this one first hand with the ground cherry; funny enough, they didn't bother the 15 other varieties I had in close proximity.

[habitat_gardener]

I usually remove any leaves that are touching the ground when I start seeing flea beetle damage, assuming the plants are a few feet tall by then. Of course, some plants have escaped from their cages and are trailing branches along the ground, so I can't do it with every plant this year. Not having leaves touching the ground seems to keep the rest of the plant looking healthier.

For eggplant, this year I've planted them in 5-gallon containers and wrapped the cages with bubble wrap. I can do that because "summer" here means most days in the 70s and most nights in the 50s, except for the rare heat wave. The eggplants are the healthiest I've ever grown and some of them have started setting fruit! I'm seeing a little bit of flea beetle damage on one or two plants, but nothing like in previous years, when the poor plants hardly got a foot high before the leaves were turned to lace.

[WVTomatoMan]

Want to know how to get flea beetles off your tomato plants? Plant an eggplant nearby. That's a bit of a joke, but it's also true. Of course if left untreated they'll decimate the eggplant.

Randy