New Gardener - Overwhelmed! (Photos)

Hi there! Nice to meet you all. I just started gardening over here in the UK since the start of lockdown (November) and am feeling pretty overwhelmed. I have both some general and specific questions.

Context: I started growing plants indoors and by June had moved most plants out of doors. Seems they did not take to it kindly.

SPECIFIC (see photos):
-My tomatoes keep turning black. What is this and how can I diagnose it properly and stop it?

-My mint stem turned purple and a bit woody...is that bad?

-My chilli, thyme and strawberry plants keep turning yellow even though they have plenty of water. I'm aware I could be overwatering; but how can I ensure a reasonable watering schedule when weather is variable?


GENERAL:
I've been doing my best to Google around when I have problems with plants and read a few books about container gardening but feel overwhelmed by the lack of conclusive information on plants. One minute I read that the leaves are yellow because of overwatering, the next it could be something else. I try a new solution but it takes days to see an effect and I can't be sure if it was me or the weather or something else. One minute I read that baking soda is a good fungicide, the next that there's no evidence to suggest that that's true and it's an urban myth. Finally, it sometimes feels as if the answer is to spend more money. Buy specific sandy soil for rosemary. Buy specific tomato fertiliser for tomatoes. Who has the time/space/money for all of this??

How do more experience gardens cope with all this? Do I need a more scientific regime? Should I keep a journal? Is there a way to have a sane, low maintenance gardening routine and enjoy happy green plants?

Thanks and sorry for the long post!

 

A warm welcome to GC and no need to apologise for the long post, @EmFlu! You have done exactly the right thing by giving us good descriptions and images of the issues you are having with your plants.

Unfortunately I can't offer any advice as I don't grow fruit/veg/herbs but I'm sure someone will come along and offer some very useful information soon!

Nick

 

A few of those I can answer.
First of all some plants don't like it when they get moved outside too suddenly. The climate indoors is pretty different than outdoors. Glass windows tend to block a lot of radiation and temperature is more stable indoors. Also there is no wind indoors. So lots of them probably get a nasty sunburn. This is probably the main reason for the wilting. Happens to me more than I care to to admit.

It is best to move them outside bit by bit. First a few hours on a cloudy day, then a night in fair weather until they get used to the new conditions like wind, direct sunshine or lower temperatures at night.

Secondly, lots of tomatoes hate rain. Sounds crazy, but they start to rot if they get too much water on their leaves or splashing water from below. Those sorts grow best under a glass roof. Or you can look for specific sorts that grow outside ("DeBerao" for example).

Thirdly, It is normal for some mint types to get all woody. Cut them back every year, so the grow back soft and sweet.

And last but not least. Normally if your planting pots have holes in the bottom, you can't overwater them. But I suggest using fewer,but bigger pots overall for grown up plants. They store more water and are more "life-like". There are several plants that can be be paired into one pot, so this might improve your overall plant health

 

Hello EmFlu, welcome to GC. I'm an old gardener and trust me, we never stop learning and facing 'interesting' challenges :-) Don't panic, and don't be discouraged. Plants need light, warmth, air, water and food just like humans, but in the right quantities. A lot of plants for sale have been raised in highly-controlled, ideal conditions, so it's a bit of a shock for them when they're rehomed, and plants definitely don't like shocks. You can avoid over watering by making sure that containers have sufficient drainage holes, not leaving water in saucers, allow the compost to almost dry out between watering. (Check with a finger if all the compost is dry. A lot of compost on sale now dries on the surface but is still wet underneath). Start giving plants a liquid feed after 4-6 weeks. The N:P:K values signify nitrogen:phosphate:potassium. Nitrogen for healthy leaf growth, phosphate for healthy root growth and potassium for fruiting and flowering. Some plants, like tomatoes, are very greedy for potassium if they're to fruit well.
So...for your yellow-leaved plants, ease up on the watering but give them a weak liquid feed once a week until they start looking green and healthy. The mint is OK. It does become woody with age. You can chop it back, give it food and water and it will sprout lush new growth. As a general rule, all the effective chemicals have been banned now, but Bordeaux mixture might still be available. It's better than nothing :-)

 

Hello @noisette47 @Black Dog and @Nikolaos

I thought to give an update after a year so I could come and thank you for the advice and show the progress that has been made.

I've taken a "survival of the fittest" approach to gardening; some plants were just not meant to be with me! So the tomatoes died an undignified death and the mint burned up.

But, the chilli survived and fruited several times! I've gotten maybe five chilis out of this thing. Not bad for a grocery store experiment.


I've found ivy to be low maintenance and attractive. (small scale bug infestation, but I'm combatting with neem oil and patience)


Pinched a rose from a garden last year and it bloomed this year!


Lots of fruit from these alpine strawberries! (Although a little unhappy that I repotted in the middle of the fruiting, oops)


Lessons learned:

1. If it dies, it wasn't meant to be, for me
2. It helps to get cuttings of plants from London gardens, because you know they'll survive in any condition in your apartment
3. Bigger pots help make the water manageable
4. Moving to indoor plants helped me to keep a closer eye on plants
5. Don't repot when fruiting

Lessons I'm still learning:
1. I got a liquid feed, but it doesn't seem to help any of the plants when I add it. (Liquid seaweed). So still figuring out what's right there.

Thanks for being a part of this small London flat renter's journey/dream to have a garden!

Cheers.

 

Lesson 6: Watering based on how hefty the pots feel has really worked for me! (over the finger test approach)

 

You seem to be well on your way, youtube is another source of information if you want to browse, books still work, I have loads as I can't remember everything.

 

Hello EmFlu, well done!

 

Brilliant @EmFlu , what a success! Well done

Balcony can be great place to grow almost anything. Calling the expert... yoo-hooo, @Balc

 

Hi @EmFlu Welcome to Gardener's Corner! I've just seen this thread but I will try & get back tomorrow.

 

Another lesson. Be careful when selecting your sources of information. Only today I saw some complete rubbish on Facebook that was being portrayed as scientific fact.

Even credible sources should be taking in context. There's an Australian guy on YouTube I watch, mostly just for entertainment because I love what he's doing with his garden. But I wouldn't take much advice from him because where he is, he has completely different weather, different local bugs, different pretty much everything.

Something I'm only just starting to realise, despite trying to develop and maintain my own gardens for 30 years, and helping my dad for about 15 years before that, is that I think you've got to relax into an almost meditative level of patience. Like a Buddhist monk. It's easier when you accept what nature does, that plants don't make it, that a sudden change of weather ruins a load of hard work, that the design in your head didn't work out in practice and needs to be redone, that sometimes a plant that's always done well for you chooses one year to be an absolute failure, or that a plant that struggled before suddenly finds it feet after you've given up on it and made other plans for its space. But also patience in the other sense. I've always treat my least favourite jobs as a necessary chore, but I've fairly recently figured out that if I slow down, pay more attention to everything, and just observe with a completely open mind, it seems to make a lot more sense.

For me it's taken many years to figure this out. For others I guess it comes much quicker. It doesn't matter, as long as you're enjoying yourself and learning at whatever pace suits you.

Good luck with it. You'll do great.

 

Some quite good advice there, @Clueless 1 v2

 

I've experienced ALL of the above on our balcony these last 2 years! The wind is often my worst "enemy"; it sometimes ruins many plants.

Last year I went for a bold display of white Petunias in pots on top of the balcony railing. At first everything seemed to be going as I imagined but then amongst them some purple ones with a black throat appeared as well as some yellow ones & even a shocking pink! Bye, bye bold statement!

Or my tomatoes - this year with the high temps should be a bumper year for them - but I'm having probably the worst year in the 20 I've been growing them on our balcony! Have a look at the tomato thread to see some pictures. Other years, even in a "bad" year, I've been able to get a crop but not this year!

So as you can see patience is required & one just has to get back up, dust oneself off & start all over again!

 

Hi again, @EmFlu, I do all my gardening on a balcony & have done so for 40 years+! So far you have been given some very good advice from other members of the forum. I don't really know what else I can advice you on but do, please, post any problems you have on here & I'm sure we will all do our best to help you.

We are more or less experienced gardeners, but like you, we are a bunch of amateurs! We can only help others based on our own experiences in our own gardens/balconies/allotments, etc. But we are always willing to lend a hand in any way we can.

 

Thanks for that thoughtful comment, @Clueless 1 v2 . Mindfulness is another hobby of mine and it never ceases to amaze me how relevant it is to everything.