Tomatillos in danger

[Romarin]

Hi from France,

I come to you with a heavy heart...

On April 20th, I sowed tomatillo seeds in seed trays, the wonderful Mexican husk tomatoes that are essential for making salsa verde.

The story started off well, with a good germination rate and beautiful little green sprouts! I moved them from the seed trays to individual pots, and there was no sign of distress due to the change in environment. They were happily thriving... until yesterday.

The leaves started to curl upward and contract.

At first, I thought it might be an issue with watering, possibly too much water. However, the soil isn't too wet or too dry. Could it be underwatering then? I tried watering one plant to see if there would be any change... but it didn't help at all!

During my research, I came across information suggesting that leaves curling upward could be a symptom of excessive sunlight. I found it surprising since this species requires 6 to 8 hours of sunlight, but perhaps they were too young to handle partial sun exposure?

Furthermore, I have been battling sciaridae at home, both on the balcony and indoors. I managed to control them using a combination of sand layering, yellow sticky traps, and BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). However, is it possible that the larvae are feeding on the roots of my tomatillo plants? I made sure to monitor them closely and keep them away from areas close to sciaridae.

I am really invested in growing my tomatillos, and I hope you could help me save some of them. Thank you in advance.

 

[Don Perry]

I'm a beginner, so take what I write with a grain of salt , maybe two.

The pics you posted seem dry and the starts are very young. I always let any starts grow to at least four true leaves before thinking of repotting. If you can set the little pots in a water bearing tray and let them soak up water from below, it might help.

 

[Romarin]

Hello Don Perry,

I watered one of the plants to see if it was really a matter of lack of water, but it didn't make any difference. In fact, its condition even worsened. In any case, I will water them again tonight, and I'll use BTI just in case, and see how the plants progress. Thank you for your input!

 

[Chuck]

First of all you should not have moved the newly sprouted seedlings into a different container until they had, at minimum 1 set of true leaves. Two or three sets would be infinetely better. These plants are extremely sensitive to heat and direct sunlight. If exposed to direct sunlight it should only be in the AM hours and then moved to a shaded or semi-shaded location. BTI is useless for plant insect control. It is used for water borne insects such as mosquitoes.

 

[Romarin]

Alright Chuck, thank you for the notice about newly sprouted. I will be more careful for the next one. About BTI, it's not useless for sciaridae according to this website https://laidbackgardener.blog/2020/02/27/bti-against-fungus-gnats/.

Thx for your help !

 

[Chuck]

Alright Chuck, thank you for the notice about newly sprouted. I will be more careful for the next one. About BTI, it's not useless for sciaridae according to this website https://laidbackgardener.blog/2020/02/27/bti-against-fungus-gnats/.

Thx for your help !

BTI does not kill fungus gnats but it does kill the larvae. If you have fungus gnats you are keeping your soil too wet and eventually will have fungal problems. The dangers of fungus gnat larvae to plants are minimal but if one feels the need to rid themselves of them a Neem Oil drench will kill the eggs, protect against fungal diseases and act as an insecticide.