We have been living in wildfire smoke since July 3. There are 4 fires, 2 south and 2 north, less than 100 miles from Reno. The Air Quality Index (AQI), a scale going from 0 - 500 measuring the quality of the air. Our AQI has been over 500 - completely off the scale - several times! Its hard to breathe, even with an N95 mask.
Needless to say, my plants are suffering. But from what? The reasonable answer is lack of sun. Here is a picture of the full moon last night - look hard, just right of center.
But I'm beginning to wonder if plants suffer from air quality too. Here are two tomato plants, one lives in my greenhouse and the other outside. The greenhouse air is surprisingly good, even though windows open and close on their own. Apparently, if they are enough plants, they do purify the air.lol
The cucumbers, squash and green beans are dead. The tomatoes are going fast. The only plants looking good are the peppers (go figure). Perennial slow growers seem to be less affected by I have lost a dwarf weeping cherry and a very old azalea. I think the azalea is still alive but the cherry is definitely dead.
Any thoughts on air vs light quality and affects on plants?