This is only my second season gardening. Last year I started all my seeds in some left over potting mix (Expert gardeners brand from Walmart) and everything did well. I did the same this year because I still had some from last season. Everything germinated. I up potted them but I didn't have anymore potting mix so I bought a new bag of the same brand from Walmart. I noticed the next day everything was just sad. My peppers that I started before tomatoes are doing well. I'm only having issues with the plants that are up potted using the new bag of mix bag. 3 of my basil plants and one black krim plant actually died. Everything is supposed to go out memorial day weekend. I'm going to buy actual seed starting mix and start some things over. Hopefully it's not too late 😥
by GetItM0m
17 Comments
Its normal for plants to look a bit sad for a couple days when you pot them up. They may bounce back
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New gardener so I don’t have anything useful to contribute but just wanted to say I love your nails ♥️🐞
Are you sure its the potting mix? I zoomed in and all of those look kind of soggy. I would give them a few days to “dry down” before giving any more water. Especially since they are new transplants. When things get transplanted they are usually in “shock” and kinda sit there for a hot minute adjusting to the changes but not really growing. They also don’t drink very much after a transplant and if the water isn’t evaporating in a way that keeps up with the water you are adding, then the roots can start dying off from a lack of oxygen. Maybe I got it wrong and they have not been kept on the soggy side since the transplant. But, maybe they have been? I don’t know. I’m not there to diagnose it. But they look like they could use a dry down. And maybe, for the tomato, you could repot it all over again, in a slightly bigger pot, with kind of a medium moisture level and bury the stem about 2 or 3 inches deeper after you cut the two bottom leaves off. Then, don’t give it any more water till the soil looks kinda dry and the pot feels kinda light.
I am no expert but there is just no way it can be the potting mix.
Dill does not transplant well. If you can direct sow that one, you will have success
The tomato is probably a goner but herbs are pretty resilient. The chives look fine. Dill will probably bounce back. Like someone else said, let these dry out, and give them some sun and wind.
How cold has it been where you are?
You can use super thrive when you transplant to help reduce shock from transplanting.
The chives are perennial so they will be fine! Mine survived a hurricane and snow
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A sad option; but if everything WITHOUT the new soil looks good; and the stuff with the new soil looks like this; I’m afraid you are on the right track and this likely IS contaminated potting mix.
Sadly the “cupping” on the tomato plant leaf is pretty distinctive; it’s a sign of contamination with persistent herbicides of the “pyrolid” family.
This OSU Extension article has a lot of detailed info: [https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/em-9307-herbicide-contaminated-compost-soil-mix-what-you-should-know-what-you-can-do](https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/em-9307-herbicide-contaminated-compost-soil-mix-what-you-should-know-what-you-can-do)
Sadly – anything that has any hay, straw, manure, mushroom compost (which starts out as manure based) is currently at very high risk of containing these persistent herbicides. I saw a couple of my neighbors have their garden’s poisoned a couple years ago after using composted manure from a local farm. The farmer also had no idea. (Ultimatly, the hay the animals had been fed was sprayed with a pyrolid herbicide. The herbicide persisted through the animal eating the hay and the manure being composted for over a year. It’s terrifyingly scary stuff.). Gardners are starting to spread the alarm, but a lot of contaminated products have made it into the gardening market.
Nice nails love da lady bugz.
have you noticed any little fungus gnats flying around? this looks like 1 of 2 things to me based on my seedling experience, which is either overwatering (results in roots rotting, and then the plants cant uptake nutrients, and ironically water), or it could be fungus gnat larvae eating the roots 🙁
I’m so sorry, this is heartbreaking. I wish I was closer, I’d give you some of my baby plants 😢
Seems like over fertilized,maybe flush the soil before transplanting could be helpful.
Did you put fertilizer in the soil?