Damage to plants! Maybe frost?
1:54 pm in Uncategorized by Thomas Verheijden
Hi guys!
I’ve recently build my first windowfarm, it’s a 4 column airlift type and its functioning well in the sense that the water gets pumped up and comes down and all that. The problem is that my plants, not all of them, but some, are damaged and might be getting worse (not sure). I was hoping it would be frost damage, which would be very explainable since i’ve accidentally left my window open all weekend and its still pretty cold in Holland. Anyways I was hoping it someone could tell me whether it’s frost damage or something else and if it is something else, what to do about it. There’s a picture of a damaged tomato plant and below, my connection is very slow at the moment so I couldn’t upload any more, I will when my connection is better!
Thanks in advance!
More then likely that is what it is, especially if its cold and you left the window open.
Here is a page with pics of frost damage on a tomato plant:
http://myflowerland.com/2010/04/may-gardening-tips/
it looks like it could be a root problem. Dial back your water schedule in the cooler months, more frequent in the summer. But I have seen similar issues with overwatering, roots drown or become anaerobic and bad things happen, are your roots white and furry?
clear image would be better
But ya, it could also be cold damage…
White and furry is good right?
Yes, white and furry is ideal.
If they turn brown or get sludgy you have a problem.
Air can darken them, so older roots will darken over time.
Thanks, problem is, I think you’re right and I might have been overwatering them, but the only way to find out what the roots look like is pulling out the plants, which might destroy their roots. Do you know if watering thm less might still save them or do you think that once the damage is done there’s no chance left for them?
Oh, are they not in net pots? If there is not a space for air in the root system it could lead to rot and stagnant air
Nope, they aren’t in net pots. Do you thinks that’s essential to root health? because I don’t really see how a net pot would increase the amount of airflow around the roots. But I might be wrong!
The net pots don’t make the spaces, the growing medium does. If you just put the growing medium directly into the bottles, that should be fine – its just difficult to move the plants in and out of the farm for cleaning and maintenance.
Lots of things can cause the signs you are showing on your plant: nutrient burn, over watering, underwatering, frost, shock, etc…
Its a trial and error thing.