dying container plants

tjg911 · August 23, 2008

not only has this season negatively effected my tomato plants now i see my eggplants are dying. if this was sept 23 and they looked like this that would be normal but this is peak season for them.

i have 2 5 gallon pails on my driveway in full sun. there is 1 eggplant in each pail. i have done this for a few years and they do very well, i know how to do this in containers so that is not the problem. at this time of the season these plants should be very large and filled with lots of large, very large, healthy green leaves cranking out a lot of eggplants.

my plants are the right height but have about 1/2 the normal amount of leaves and they are smaller than normal. in the past week just about all the leaves have started to dry up and curl. many have dropped in the past 2 weeks. i have picked just 3 or 4 fruits from each plant, that's nothing. i have almost no flowers perhaps 1 on each plant and perhaps 1 fruit on both, 1 plant has 1 fruit for sure.

last week was cold, day time temps were in the upper 60's to low 70's. humidity was low and it was full sun. but, at night the temps were down into the mid to upper 40's. a warm night was lower 50's.

now the cool season, way way too much rain and hardly any sun until 2 weeks ago has hurt them just like it has hurt the tomato plants. i think this is why the leaves are so small and now added to that the cold weather at night has started to shut the eggplant plants down. like i said, these plants look like it is 9/23 not 8/23. they are dying and i doubt they'll live to labor day, 10 days from now.

tom

Tomstrees · August 28, 2008

The flea beetles have been brutal this season - they really have taken their toll on my eggplants ... I think we only have had 2 fruits off 3 plants ! I'm not sure if ladybugs eat them, but I have been putting them in my garden as a green way to control pests ...

You guys up there in CT have been hit hard by disease problems - you're def. not the first person I've heard this from - hope things turn around T.

~ Tom

tjg911 · August 29, 2008

not sure but i would think that lady bugs do not eat flea beetles assuming they have a hard shell but larvae yes i'd think they'd prey on larvae. yeah it has been a dreadful season for heat loving eggplants. tomatoes performed but way below normal. that's how it goes i guess. too bad i'm not down in the tropics of nj!

August 23, 2008	#1
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	dying container plants not only has this season negatively effected my tomato plants now i see my eggplants are dying. if this was sept 23 and they looked like this that would be normal but this is peak season for them. i have 2 5 gallon pails on my driveway in full sun. there is 1 eggplant in each pail. i have done this for a few years and they do very well, i know how to do this in containers so that is not the problem. at this time of the season these plants should be very large and filled with lots of large, very large, healthy green leaves cranking out a lot of eggplants. my plants are the right height but have about 1/2 the normal amount of leaves and they are smaller than normal. in the past week just about all the leaves have started to dry up and curl. many have dropped in the past 2 weeks. i have picked just 3 or 4 fruits from each plant, that's nothing. i have almost no flowers perhaps 1 on each plant and perhaps 1 fruit on both, 1 plant has 1 fruit for sure. last week was cold, day time temps were in the upper 60's to low 70's. humidity was low and it was full sun. but, at night the temps were down into the mid to upper 40's. a warm night was lower 50's. now the cool season, way way too much rain and hardly any sun until 2 weeks ago has hurt them just like it has hurt the tomato plants. i think this is why the leaves are so small and now added to that the cold weather at night has started to shut the eggplant plants down. like i said, these plants look like it is 9/23 not 8/23. they are dying and i doubt they'll live to labor day, 10 days from now. tom

August 28, 2008	#2
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	The flea beetles have been brutal this season - they really have taken their toll on my eggplants ... I think we only have had 2 fruits off 3 plants ! I'm not sure if ladybugs eat them, but I have been putting them in my garden as a green way to control pests ... You guys up there in CT have been hit hard by disease problems - you're def. not the first person I've heard this from - hope things turn around T. ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

August 29, 2008	#3
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	not sure but i would think that lady bugs do not eat flea beetles assuming they have a hard shell but larvae yes i'd think they'd prey on larvae. yeah it has been a dreadful season for heat loving eggplants. tomatoes performed but way below normal. that's how it goes i guess. too bad i'm not down in the tropics of nj!