growers know
“ Checking on your garden can and should be fun as well as rewarding .”
Symptoms of an unhealthy plant will be visible changes in any or every aspect of its appearance . With many diseases and insects , these are most often found on only a single or few of the plants in your garden or crop . You may find one plant infested while one next to it is completely unaffected . When observing a plant for its health and vigor , it is important to look beyond the first sign of trouble and see if you can discover the reason that the disease or insect you found has attacked that plant . Signs are vital but must be interpreted with care . For example , a fungus growing on the surface of a plant might only be non-parasitic and not the actual cause of the disease symptom observed . An insect observed on the leaves of your plant may appear to be a pest , but may actually be beneficial , like the larvae of a ladybug . Among the other issues to check for are tracks on the soil , bite marks on leaves , chemical residue or honeydew , egg masses , frass , or other signs of a pest .
The following are some other examinations to make :
OVERALL PLANT ISSUES
• plant looks dead
❯ if it is dead , don ’ t just throw it out ; find out why it died
❯ if it is alive , reduce strong sunlight and provide moist , not wet , soil
• straggly growth
• slow growth
• erratic growth
❯ different sides / sections with very different type growth
SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS
• seed germination
❯ seeds are late to emerge ❯ seeds don ’ t germinate at all
• germination is good , but new growth is poor
• seedling normal but not growing
• seedlings look distorted or not natural
• seedlings have tip discoloration
• seedlings have discolored stems at soil line
132 grow cycle