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[Kamadeva]

Hello STS!

First time indoor gardener here...

A few of my plants are experiencing yellow leaves, ripped leaves, and some other odd purply discoloration on a few of them. They were re-potted 2 weeks ago in 1gal pots with organic soil and organic dry fert, a little sand and perlite, and some compost. Possibly they are getting burned from all the nutes?

I'm just not sure what's going on with my little guys and I don't want to give them anything before I have a better idea of what's going on. Any information or advice is well received!

I will post pictures later if that helps as well!

Thanks!

-Kama

[Psylocke]

How long have they been inside? Under what type of lighting?

Check very carefully for bugs. Especially on the underside of leaves. Some of the little buggers can be very tiny. Also look for webs. Could be an indication of spider mites.

[Kamadeva]

I started them inside under T5's 2 months ago tomorrow, and the ones that were ready I moved into a 4x4 tent under 2x  "Total Grow" Broad Spectrum LED's. Temp remains around 70-75 F with 30% humidity. I have a 400cfm fan pulling in air from the air in the basement the tent is in (too cold outside to pull in fresh air) with a pantyhose cover attached to where the fan blowing; passive vent near top of tent.

I checked for bugs and there are some small gnat like flies flying around, but i don't see any bugs on the foliage anywhere. Maybe they are in the soil?

I've attached some photos.

The plants are definitely stressed, many of them are producing bud sites.. I'm just not sure what to do 

[Skink]

The little flying bugs are probably fungus gnats. The adults are harmless but the larvae which live in the soil can nibble on the roots and compromise the root system.Totally destroyed my salvia plant. My suggestion would be to allow the soil to dry out completely before watering again. Stick your finger on the soil about an inch or two deep and if it still feels dry youre probably good. The larvae can't live in dry soil so that should take care of them. Just in case, you can give the soil a hydrogen peroxide wash (use one part peroxide to three parts water) that should take care of any stragglers. If after you do this you still see adult flies buzzing around you can repeat the process and also dust the surface of the soil with food grade diatomaceous earth, so that any adults emerging from the soil just dry up and die before they can lay eggs. Thats what it finally took to get rid of mine,  but by then it was too late. Hope this helps.

[Kamadeva]

Thank you for the reply and the advice! Your poor Sally..... 

I've applied powdered egg shells around the base of each plant and scattered them over top of the leaves; hopefully this will aid in slicing those little fungus gnats...

But are the gnats causing the abnormalities in my plants or something else?

[Skink]

More than likely yes. But it COULD also be spider mites. My plants all got a double whammy of both of these common pests and that's what has caused mine to be unhappy. Spider MItes are a freaking PAIN.

[Kamadeva]

Okay thank you so much. I'll do a more thorough check of mites...

Do you think adding a predator such as ladybugs is most effective? How are you dealing with the mites?

[Skink]

Hmm so far I haven't been able to completely get rid of mine. Been oil spray seems to work for a bit but then they come back. Mites are resistant to most treatments. Lady bugs might help but then it's up to you if you want a bunch of lady bugs flying around your house lol. I've heard Spinosad (algae spray) works but I haven't tried it myyself.

[Kamadeva]

Hopefully it's just from the gnats and overwatering. I'll let them dry out a bit and keep a close eye.

Thank you for the advice, and good luck eliminating mites from your garden as well!!

[Skink]

For the record that was supposed to say 'neem' oil. Stupid autocorrect. And no problem. Good luck getting rid of those bugs! They're such a pain in the arse lol.

[FewTrueSeed]

Soap and water in a spray bottle. Bleach your grow area. Put your plants in the shower cold water run for up to fifteen minutes. Clean. Clean. I use organic materials directly from my compost. As long as there is biodiversity below your plants, including fungi, the mites are never a problem. They just cant compete. The problem with sterile medium is there is to much opportunity for bugs like that to flourish. The only time i have ever had mites is in sterile soil. Now if i could only get rid of the damn scales on the orange tree.

2 Likes Skink and Kamadeva like this.

[FlamingBabies]

Thank you for the reply and the advice! Your poor Sally..... 

I've applied powdered egg shells around the base of each plant and scattered them over top of the leaves; hopefully this will aid in slicing those little fungus gnats...

But are the gnats causing the abnormalities in my plants or something else?

I would be careful about the calcium from the eggshells leaching into the soil and causing nutrient lockout by raising the pH. Pepper plants are a very finicky plant indoors, I've never had success fruiting them under artificial lights. The intensity isn't an issue in my case, as my lophs flower readily beside the peppers. Aphids have always been a real problem for me, causing yellowing leaves and leaf drop. A raise in humidity would discourage spider mites, and a heating pad underneath your plants will stimulate more rapid root growth and allow them to bounce back more quickly if the problem is shock from transplant.

From your pictures, it doesn't look quite like damage I've seen from aphids or fungus gnats. Similar to aphid damage, so don't discount it. Some pictures look like nutrient burn to me. It would be helpful to see the plants in ordinary light, I'm not accustomed to determining leaf colouration under LED lighting.

[Kamadeva]

Thank you for the advice, FB. The eggshells didn't seem to do much anyways, neither does the soapy water spray, so today I'll be introducing some ladybugs into my tent to get rid of those nasty gnats...

The plants are doing much better and I think I will invest in a nice big heat mat for them, I know the peppers like hot roots!