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pests Attack of the aphids???

N

newhotstuff

I've put quite a few veggie seedlings outside and see them falling over every so often and it would appear the middle of the stem has been sucked out? It's all witted in the middle. Is this the work of aphids? I'm into organic gardening as see a hot pepper can work as a deterrent? Can I just get any old pepper at the grocery store or would a hab work better?

Thanks
 
How big/old are the seedlings? If they're small and have not yet developed thick stems, then I'm going to venture a guess and say it's "damping off". This can be caused by a number of different fungi under extremely moist and humid conditions. Give it a quick google and see if the pictures you find look like any of your plants.
 
Couple weeks now. They don't look like google pics the bottom and top look good, middle looks like the life was sucked out of it.
 
I have seen plants like that come into our lab at work before. In fact, a few peppers came in last week. They almost looked like they'd been pinched right in the middle of the stem. Turned out to be Alternaria, a fungus that can be both pathogenic and secondary. If it's been really wet lately, it could be fungal. Any way you could post some pics?
 
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These are Cucumbers

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Tomatoes
 
I'm gonna put my money on damping off/collar rot. Especially in the second pic, you can see how there's browning on the stem right at the soil line. That definitely looks fungal to me.
 
FiveStar said:
I'm gonna put my money on damping off/collar rot. Especially in the second pic, you can see how there's browning on the stem right at the soil line. That definitely looks fungal to me.
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Seconded.
 
newhotstuff said:
So how do I pervent/fix it?
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Well the ones that have got it are not going to make it. Damping off is usually caused by moist conditions with a lack of air flow. Try bottom watering until the plants get larger.
 
I'd try using a looser, well drained soil or "soil-less" mixture and water less frequently. Often regular potting soil is heavy and not well drained. I personally have success with peat based mixes such as Pro-mix, Lambert, Fafard, etc.
 
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