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jamesnc

Lighter spots on leaves, fruit growth

JamesNC
10 years ago

Pictures here, along with a chart showing our high rainfall:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98752477@N04/sets/72157634596553974/

From southeastern North Carolina. I am growing for the first time. I have two plants - Best Boy (BB) and Mountain Pride (MP) - that I've grown up first in containers, then planted in my yard about two weeks ago. I have included pictures above; all of the pictures of a single plant are the Mountain Pride except for the final picture, which is the Best Boy.

Since planting, some of the leaves have curled a little and many have developed brighter green/yellowish spots on them. This happens more on lower leaves, and on the northern side of the plants. It is especially more prevalent with the MP plant which is a shorter determinate plant. What could be causing this? Is it okay?

Also, I am having limited fruit growing, especially on the much larger BB. MP has five fruit growing at the moment, one of which will be ripening soon. BB has just two, and finally three buds which look to be starting. I am not sure what yield to expect or how old the plants are. I have had them since mid-May when they were each 8 (MP) and 10 (BB) inches tall. I have been gently swaying them every few days to help with pollination, but I see a lot of blooms drying up and falling off.

We've had highs from the mid 80s to 91, but it's been raining almost every day for over two months. In the photo album above, there's a chart showing how much more rain we've had (twice the usual).

There are a lot of ants around the plants and my yard in general, but I don't see them on the plant (nor any other pests).

I potted and planted them with Miracle Gro potting and garden soils, respectively. The soil here is rather sandy. While potted, I fed them once a week with Bonnie Herb & Vegetable Food (8-4-4). Since planting, I have fed twice, nine days apart, with half a gallon each of Miracle Gro Tomato Plant Food (18-18-21). Should I be soaking the soil with more than that?

What can I do to help my plants? Thanks in advance!

Here is a link that might be useful: Flickr album of my plants

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