Controlling greenhouse diseases
Gardening in a greenhouse can be fun but if a disease hits, it can be worrying. First, what is wrong with your plants ? and secondly how do you cure it without having a detrimental effect on the balance of nature that you have created in your Greenhouse?.
Apart from the diseases specific to the plants you are growing in your greenhouse, there are six main diseases that are general.
Greenhouse supply companies, nurseries, and garden centers will always give advice about specific problems you may be having
Damping Off In The Greenhouse
Damping Off is the most likely problem to be faced by the new greenhouse gardener. It is a fungal disease affecting seedlings and shows as a blackened area at the base of the stem. However, you may never see this effect. Affected plant just topple over and die. The first thing you know about it is when your young healthy seedlings just keel over and die. The plants are already dead, so there can be no cure. You can, however, prevent the disease. Sometimes the disease is carried in the soil and you should steralize the soil by heating to kill it. Clean and steralise your trays and pots after use. Sow seeds more thinly, water less and raise the temperature of you greenhouse.If the disease seems to be spreading, try watering with copper fungicide.
Botrytis In The Greenhouse
Grey Mould is the more common name for this disease. Symptoms for this common Fungal disease are a grey-brown or dirty white mould on stems and leaves. You may have already met this disease since it also afects plants grown in the garden.Botrytis grows in low temperatures and poor ventilation. Affected leaves and stems wil not recover.Infected parts should be burned and never put on the compost. You should the improve the greenhouse ventilation, and turn up the heat.
Mildew In The Greenhouse
Mildew causes distotion of leaves, and shows as a powdery white coating. Affected leaves should be removed, and burned, since they will not recover. The disease will spread if you leave infected leaves in the greenhouse. Mildew is more common in very dry conditions, So keeping your plants well watered will help control it. Adding dispersible sulpfer or copper fungicide when watering will help to contain any widespread mildew infection.
Blight In The Greenhouse
Blight is shown as brown marks on fruit and leaves. These marks can spread and later turn black. Remove and burn affected parts of the plant immediately. If the disease persists, spray with copper fungicide.
Leaf Mould In The Greenhouse
Brown mould and yellow spots on leaves are indications of laef mould. Poor ventilation is the most likely caise. The answer is to space your plants out to give them more air, then adjust your greenhouse ventilation if necessary.
Virus Diseases In The Greenhouse
Many plants, such as cucumber and tomato can be affected by virus diseases. They can cause a number of symptoms among them yellow mottling of the leaves and a “ferny” appearance in your leaves. The leaves may also wilt badly, then appear to recover in the morning only to wilt again the next day. Affected plants will lose vigour and will crop poorly.
It is terminal! So dig up and burn affected plants. If you get virus attacks on plants set in the ground, then you should use growbags for a few years. Virus disease is spread by insects, garden tools and by hand, so be extra careful about hygene.
Diseases in the greenhouse can be devastating, and we all get them from time to time. However, if you look at your plants regularly, you will spot the symptoms early and will be able to take the measuires necessary to prevent widespread attacks. Good housekeeping, together with the right watering and ventilation routine will prevent most problems. So don’t be too concerned. Enjoy your greenhouse gardening and deal with problems as they come.