When Veggie Plants Go Wrong
Plant problems got you down? Me too.
We’re a few months into the spring planting season here in the Northeast, and I’m just coming to terms with the fact that some of my transplants are not going to make it. I’m pretty sad about that but it’s life, some things just don’t make it. The main culprit, I think, has been the erratic weather we’ve been having. I transplanted my seedlings the week after Mother’s Day because the weather was nice and it seemed like we were past the frost danger zone, but the days and weeks that followed were full of chilly, windy weather and some of my vegetable plants are now permanently stunted, so what’s next for me?
At this point, I can start over and sow some warm weather veg seeds, like cucumber seeds, or I could purchase seedlings from my local nursery and not have to start over from scratch losing those 2+ months of plant growth. But since we are still in the midst of a pandemic, I know I won’t be running to a nursery any time soon, so I will be sowing seeds directly and taking the loss. In my area the first frost happens some time in early November, so I have time to start from scratch. You can check your frost dates to see how long your growing season is. I will be sowing seeds right next to the plants that are stunted just in case they recover; if they do, I will just pull the new seedlings.
My tomato and watermelon plants are all growing very slowly but they are putting on new leaves, so I am expecting them to catch up soon. The important thing is to keep watering and weeding them, even if I’m like wtf, why are you so puny?! It’s hard to keep motivated sometimes when your plants aren’t looking that great, but I keep tending and observing.
My apple tree had lots of baby apples on it last week, but today I noticed that a lot of them had fallen off. I found out that apple trees can sometimes drop fruit prematurely due to stress, but determining what the stressor is is not so simple. Could it be the crazy temperatures? Lack of water? Lack of nutrients?? Does it hate me? I had this soil test kit in a drawer, so I decided to give it a spin.
I took a sample from an area a foot away from the tree and about 4 inches deep. The results showed very low NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and Potash) so I grabbed some old Tre-pep fertilizer from the back of a drawer and applied it as instructed. I don’t normally use fertilizer on my plants, but I had this from many years ago when I planted the apple tree and I figured I would use it. There are many organic fertilizers available and compost can also be used as a fertilizer by mulching your plants with it, but I’m really worried about my apples right now, so I’m pulling out the big guns (and also using what I already have, which is my mantra). If I see a positive change, I will probably fertilize it again a few more times.
There are probably several high-tech, labor intensive strategies you can employ to correct plant decline, but if you’re a regular busy person like me, you should cover the basics first. Your best tools are your eyes: observe your plants! Is the soil puddling or bone dry? I would say most plant issues have to do with watering. Then there are temperature fluctuations. Have the temps been dipping below 55 at night? Yeah, your warm season plants don’t like that. Think of ways to cover your plants temporarily in the event of a cold snap. I use large plastic snack containers (peanut butter filled pretzels for the win!) to cover transplants and small plants during a cold snap. Consider getting your soil tested at your local extension office. Yeah, it sucks to have to gather soil samples and then drive all the way to the extension office, and then maybe even pay for the testing, but this will help you figure out if your soil is deficient or if the PH is too high/low for what you’re growing. Or you can do a home-soil test that is not as reliable but it can give you some idea of any soil deficiencies you may have.
Rest assured that even the most experienced gardener has plants go downhill from time to time. It happens, don’t panic. Watch and wait, and start over if necessary, but never give up!
