Dis-ease in the garden.

Here is an exampe of what the leaves of my Mint looks like, growing in the soil in my outside garden.




After doing research on the internet, I've come to te conclusion that they might be spider mites. But looking on the underside, I don't see anything at all. No little spiders, no eggs. Maybe the occasional walking small bug, but nothing seems to indicate I'm dealing with an infestation. Other plants in my garden have the same symtoms. Mainly my basil, my sage, and my other mint plants spreaded throughout the garden.


I've been using a home-made garlic spray to make it less attractive for passersby for a couple of days now.

My garden does have a fair amount of spiders walking around though. I'd say 1 in every 3 bugs I see crawling around in the garden is a spider. They are all the same species. White colored-long legged spiders that seem to love my soil, they walk around there often. I see them on the ground WAY more often then I see them on my plants. Yet... I have spotted leaves on my herbs... Do I need to get rid of these spiders? Are they the cause of my herbs not looking at their best?

 

Hi,

That might no be a disease, might be sun scorch. Have you sprayed them while the sun was out ?

 

I'm inclined to agree with Ziggy. Mint likes to grow in the shade. Your mint looks a bit scorched and dried up. The situation would be made worse if the sun was shining while the leaves were wet.
You could try lifting a bit and transplanting it to a shady spot and see what happens.

 

Thanks for your replies.

Sunscorch could be the case, but its a bit unlikely as my other mint plants, who are sitting in the shade, seem to be having the same problem, aswell as my basil (which has never been thriving and I'm growing new ones from hopefully better seeds). Today I saw a small web in one of the plants, so it's looking like spider-mites.

I might try to lift it and transplant it.. or maybe just remove it alltogether and turn it into a hydrosol or something.

Thanks for checking it out for me, It's nice to have a place to share my garden-related issues.

-Nath


edit:
If my plants are infected with spidermites, are they still OK to use? They might look pooey, but if the scent is fine, I'm guessing it's just looks.