Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - trying to find out what's wrong with my tomato plants (pics)

brian zimmerman · April 25, 2012

alright farnette i can tell you exactly whats happening since i was able to prove it on my own plants..

you my friend have thrips. they are a tiny little insect that sucks the life out of leaves. ( the shiny papper thin spots are proof positive that you have them ) the purple coloring on the undersides of your leaves are natural for most all tomato plants and will go away within a couple weeks after transplanting ( with propper fertilizing ).

i mixed a batch of my own insecticide and it has so far delt with the thrips swifty and harshly ( hehe thrip geniside

)

recipy

12 jalapeno peppers ( hotter peppers work better ) but for seedlings i wouldnt
3 whole onions
3 whole bulbs of garlic

mince them up realy well with a cheffs knife, put them in 1 gallon of water ( large cooking pot ) bring it to a rolling boil for 10 min, put it on low and cover it for 1 hour. filter out the solids and let it cool, when its cool enough to be put into a 1 gallon milk jug you should filter it again and put it in the jug, fill it to the top with water ( distilled if you can ).

this makes the CONCENTRATE, do not use this on your plants as it is now, dilute it in a 1:3 ratio. 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water ( i would use 1:6 ). take the DILUTE mixture and put it into a spray bottle ( any normal spray bottle will do ) add 1 teaspoon of light cooking oil and shake untill it is opake and the oil is well mixed. then spray on the plants untill the water is dripping of the leaves, cover the tops and bottoms of the leaves, shaking the bottle every 5 or 6 sprays.

some people add soap to the mix to keep the oil mixed, i however refuse to add any soap organic or not to a mix i spray on my plants.

a word of warning, this may or may not damage seedlings since insecticides or insect repelents of any kind are fairly harsh, a double diluted mixtrue of this SHOULD be ok, but i wont garantee anyting.

WARNING - do not under any cercomstances use this mixture in the morning or day time, the oil will magnify the sun and kill your plants, ONLY use this at night just after the sun goes down.

re-apply every 3 days, after rain or wattering.

April 25, 2012	#19
brian zimmerman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: south carolina Posts: 18	alright farnette i can tell you exactly whats happening since i was able to prove it on my own plants.. you my friend have thrips. they are a tiny little insect that sucks the life out of leaves. ( the shiny papper thin spots are proof positive that you have them ) the purple coloring on the undersides of your leaves are natural for most all tomato plants and will go away within a couple weeks after transplanting ( with propper fertilizing ). i mixed a batch of my own insecticide and it has so far delt with the thrips swifty and harshly ( hehe thrip geniside ) recipy 12 jalapeno peppers ( hotter peppers work better ) but for seedlings i wouldnt 3 whole onions 3 whole bulbs of garlic mince them up realy well with a cheffs knife, put them in 1 gallon of water ( large cooking pot ) bring it to a rolling boil for 10 min, put it on low and cover it for 1 hour. filter out the solids and let it cool, when its cool enough to be put into a 1 gallon milk jug you should filter it again and put it in the jug, fill it to the top with water ( distilled if you can ). this makes the CONCENTRATE, do not use this on your plants as it is now, dilute it in a 1:3 ratio. 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water ( i would use 1:6 ). take the DILUTE mixture and put it into a spray bottle ( any normal spray bottle will do ) add 1 teaspoon of light cooking oil and shake untill it is opake and the oil is well mixed. then spray on the plants untill the water is dripping of the leaves, cover the tops and bottoms of the leaves, shaking the bottle every 5 or 6 sprays. some people add soap to the mix to keep the oil mixed, i however refuse to add any soap organic or not to a mix i spray on my plants. a word of warning, this may or may not damage seedlings since insecticides or insect repelents of any kind are fairly harsh, a double diluted mixtrue of this SHOULD be ok, but i wont garantee anyting. WARNING - do not under any cercomstances use this mixture in the morning or day time, the oil will magnify the sun and kill your plants, ONLY use this at night just after the sun goes down. re-apply every 3 days, after rain or wattering. Last edited by brian zimmerman; April 25, 2012 at 12:18 PM.