Leaf Curl?

[inolan22]

I have been trying to get rid of the leaf curl on a few of the plants. I have tried epsom salts for Magnesium and egg shell bits for calcium over the past couple weeks and nothing appears to be working. The plants are not unhealthy by any means. They are nice and green. I am just curious as to what I may be doing wrong.

The plants are in ~3 gallon pots and get about 10 (ish) hours of sun each day. They are in some organic soil that seems to have fairly good drainage. There are a few plants in the garden even that show the same leaf curl. I water them every 2-4 days (depending on how hot it is). Any thoughts?

Pic:

 

[chillilover]

Have you checked for aphids or mites?

 

[Hotpeppa]

bad seed...

just like some sperm are bad, there are bad seeds with genetic damage..

may as well keep it and see what happens...

 

[lavish]

The leaf protecting itself from too much heat(light)? The leaves can get that look when trying to get less heat.

 

[RichardK]

Leaf Curling is a sign of a deficiency in Magnesium, Calcium or both. Also the lower leaves are yellowing, thats the plant cannibalizing the lower leaves to protect the top growth. I'd suggest applying some Dolomite lime to the soil, but you might want to check your pH first. Otherwise use Ground Eggshells, dry milk, or regular milk for the calcium and epsom salt in the soil and the leaves for the Magnesium, these shouldnt mess with the pH too much.

If the eggshells and epsom salt didnt work, there might be a pH problem, if the pH is in the 7+ range you need to mix a few tablespoons of plain vinegar in some water and water the plants with this. If the pH is lower than 6, you need to apply some dolomite lime to bring it back up to an ideal 6.5.

Also, when was the last time you applied fertilizer? What NPK and how much?

This can happen from overwatering, only water them when the first inch or so of topsoil is dry or the plant shows signs of wilting, and as alwayse with container plants, it's best to water deeply so that water comes out the bottom to prevent harmfull mineral buildup in the soil.

 

[inolan22]

Have you checked for aphids or mites?

Yes, I really do not see any sign of any aphids/mites.

bad seed...

just like some sperm are bad, there are bad seeds with genetic damage..

may as well keep it and see what happens...

Yeah, the plant is producing like normal. I guess we can see further down the road.

Leaf Curling is a sign of a deficiency in Magnesium, Calcium or both. Also the lower leaves are yellowing, thats the plant cannibalizing the lower leaves to protect the top growth. I'd suggest applying some Dolomite lime to the soil, but you might want to check your pH first. Otherwise use Ground Eggshells, dry milk, or regular milk for the calcium and epsom salt in the soil and the leaves for the Magnesium, these shouldnt mess with the pH too much.

If the eggshells and epsom salt didnt work, there might be a pH problem, if the pH is in the 7+ range you need to mix a few tablespoons of plain vinegar in some water and water the plants with this. If the pH is lower than 6, you need to apply some dolomite lime to bring it back up to an ideal 6.5.

Also, when was the last time you applied fertilizer? What NPK and how much?

This can happen from overwatering, only water them when the first inch or so of topsoil is dry or the plant shows signs of wilting, and as alwayse with container plants, it's best to water deeply so that water comes out the bottom to prevent harmfull mineral buildup in the soil.

I have not checked the pH yet. I will need to go get a pH meter first. I apply 10-15-10 fertilizer about every 2 weeks. I have not tried adding Epsom salts to the soil yet. I have just done a couple foliage sprays (with no change). There are crushed eggshells in the soil for about 1.5 weeks now, but also no change. I will try adding some Epsom salts to the soil first then go from there.

I may or may not be over watering. I usually water deep until it drips out the bottom of the pot. Next time I will water deep and not water until I see signs of wilting as you suggest.

 

[ThePepperGrowingMan]

I may or may not be over watering. I usually water deep until it drips out the bottom of the pot. Next time I will water deep and not water until I see signs of wilting as you suggest.

A few of my plants were doing the same thing and when I backed off on the watering (only watering at slight wilt) it seemed to do the trick.