White crystal looking dots on birds eye chili leafes (indoor)

sinderyt151R93x17HK · April 2021

ive spotted some crystal white looking dots on my bird eye chili plants i grow indoors, is this normal, if not how do i fix it? some of the leafes have more then others but mostly all of it have a bit of it on it. It's been growing for about a month now with 16 hours light and 8 hours off.

The temp in the room is about 22-24C all the time with humidity to about 40-60% it changes depending on weather outside because of the ventilation. but usually stays at 40-50%

i wait until the dirt gets dry before i water it, so dont think it would be over watered.

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BobTheGardener · April 2021

I'm 100% certain that's oedema (aka edema in American English) and is a cultural issue, so I would cut down on watering and increase ventilation.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=637

sinderyt151R93x17HK · April 2021

BobTheGardener said:

I'm 100% certain that's oedema (aka edema in American English) and is a cultural issue, so I would cut down on watering and increase ventilation.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=637

the room im growing in have better ventilation then any other rooms in my house other then open windows, it have direct ventilation to the outside like open hole in the wall.

or do you mean ventilation as in a fan? i can put a fan pointing on the chili plant, how long would that be needed to get edema away from it if thats the issue?

its to cold to put em outside, we had snow last week so outdoor is not an option yet.

Im watering maybe like 1-2 times a week, should i water it even less then that?

How do i see if chili plant is about to die from not getting enough water? i know from basil that the leafs start to look down will the chili leafes be the same if its not getting enough water?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/ae/q4dz24edt8t6.jpg

BobTheGardener · April 2021

Yes, like basil, the leaves will start to wilt slightly when the plants need watering. You can also push a finger into the compost and only water if it feels dry 2 inches down.

If you could place a small fan so that air gets gently blown towards the plants, that will help too.

The good news is oedema won't really affect the plants significantly, and they will recover when you can eventually harden them off and move them outside. Good luck with them!

sinderyt151R93x17HK · April 2021

BobTheGardener said:

Yes, like basil, the leaves will start to wilt slightly when the plants need watering. You can also push a finger into the compost and only water if it feels dry 2 inches down.
If you could place a small fan so that air gets gently blown towards the plants, that will help too.
The good news is oedema won't really affect the plants significantly, and they will recover when you can eventually harden them off and move them outside. Good luck with them!

ive placed a small fan so it gets gently blown air on it now, but since its thai birds eye chili, what is the lowest temprature it can handle, if i place it outside when its sunny and about 10-17C outside would that be to cold for it or can it handle that and then take it in during night. on a lucky day we might get 17C max right now, most likely around 10-15C until about end of may

BobTheGardener · April 2021

I would wait a few weeks before you start moving them outside during the day. They don't like temps below 15C for any length of time. Between 10C and 5C they'll live but will stop growing for a few weeks, below 5C and they'll most likely die.

sinderyt151R93x17HK · April 2021

BobTheGardener said:

I would wait a few weeks before you start moving them outside during the day. They don't like temps below 15C for any length of time. Between 10C and 5C they'll live but will stop growing for a few weeks, below 5C and they'll most likely die.

Thanks, the chili plant seem to be doing ok. the Edema is not getting worse, but the old edema is still on the leafes i guess it will stay there until the plant change leafes?

One leaf with Edema on it dropped earlier, the plant still got alot of other leafes but could find one leaf in the dirt in flower pot.

But those on picture is that the chili starting to come out

?