HELP!!! This is my very first garden and I have no idea what to do. My tomato and pepper plants were looking great but they are now yellowing and not really growing. I think the tomatoes look like early blight and I have already pruned most of the spotted leaves but I am lost as to what else I should do. Is there any coming back from this or should I just cut my losses and start over???
by Difficult-Dig9424
20 Comments
What’s the big idea?
There still may be hope
Get some fish fertilizer in there for nitrogen and also the peppers are looking a little too close together
Come on, have you never planted a thing? Have you followed this thread? I MEAN DAILY POSTS LIKE THIS!!!
They might need some nitrogen (did you add any fertilizer that provides a readily available source of nitrogen?), but I would diagnose this garden with a serious, grave case of doing well. Worst case scenario, you might have to make salsa! /s
You’re doing really well for your first time, don’t worry too much!
You haven’t given us information about watering or other care details.
How long have you had these in the ground? What’s your watering routine like? Tell us about your raised bed.
Generally speaking, since it is your first garden, I would let things play out. It’s useful to see what happens on its own and this will help you the next time around. As another mentioned, some of your peppers are a bit close, but nothing too concerning.
My first season gardening was a tomato failure. But by year 3 id figured out what works in my area. Tomatoes are finicky, you do often need to go with what works in your region. (Unless you have a highly controlled growing environment.)
Don’t give up, don’t be afraid to experiment, and figure there will be some failures. All learning lessons! (And the fruit is that much sweeter when you succeed!)
This is your first garden, and you’re diagnosing early blight?? The dramatics!! Lol, they’ll be fine after some fertilizer. Just make sure you’re not fertilizing plants in bone dry soil.
Rip those affronts to nature out of the earth as soon as possible how dare you.
Like a few other people have said, these most likely need nitrogen. I’m a fan of Neptune’s Harvest fish fertilizer because it has a good nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. Nitrogen is needed for vegetative (green) growth, and phosphorus is needed for flowering and fruiting. If you prefer a slow release, solid fertilizer to a liquid, Tomato-tone is pretty great.
you good mang, just space those peepers out, make sure the soil remains somewhat damp and put some dehydrated manure (black kow is a good brand) around the plants if you’re that worried about messing up fertilizing.
you’ll get there, these don’t look that bad
start over? bro no they just need some nutrients either that or your watering them a tad too much. one small adjustment and they will bounce right back u just have to figure out what your doing wrong. ithink u may be giving them a tad too much water. (or not enough) stick ur pinky in there and if its dry an inch down its too dry if the soil is wet to the touch it way too much water.
That boy looks hungry.
Did you recently transplant into full sun? If so put some shadecloth over them for 3-4 days. Just a white sheet and something to hold it off of the plants
Plants need time to adjust to full sun, I usually leave mine in a shady spot for 3-4 days
They honestly just look like store-bought plants that were taken right out of the pot and plopped into the dirt.
If so, they’re probably experiencing some mild transplant shock.
Tomatoes are awesome for transplanting because anywhere you bury the stem it usually churns out more roots. If you want to, you can dig up the tomatoes and plant them deeper and also horizontally — it’ll make them really strong and grow really large.
Peppers always look a.bit thin when starting. They need heat and little water to really take off.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong here though. When you plant your next bunch make sure the bottom of the hole is wet, mix in some granular fertilizer with the backfill soil you plop back in, and also make sure the roots of your transplant are nice and wet and also a little separated — you want them to have a chance to branch out and usually they’re all bunched up on each other when they come out of a pot.
You’re looking good!
You’re doing amazing, sweetie.
My peppers love the nitrogen rich water from my fish tank. You can fertilize your plants with it, if you happen to keep fish.
They don’t look bad to me. Agree with other comments here to give them some nitrogen fertilizer.
They don’t look too bad to me. I second what someone said about fish fertilizer. It’ll help them get the boost they need right now.
I also recommend mulching your soil. It helps keep it from drying out and getting too hot. I live in south Louisiana and would be watering two times a day in the summer if I didn’t add straw on top of my beds. Heavy mulching with straw has been such a game changer in my garden.
Hello “Diggie”
If this is your first time growing veggies way to go, the best way to learn is by doing ! Your plants aren’t in that rough of shape, they just need a little TLC. First thing I’d suggest is to put additional soil into the bed to fill it up, there’s not enough soil in there right now. I’d put one or two bags of compost in each of your beds and then cover the top and around your plants with a product called “smart hay”. You can purchase this at Tractor Supply and the best thing about the hay is it’s been tested for herbicides so it’s safe to use in your garden. It also has been treated with a natural product that causes it to stick together so it won’t go flying away in the first thunderstorm.
Second step is fertilizer, your bed or beds need a granular product so there’s always background nutrients available to your soil and plants. Once your tomatoes and peppers begin blossoming and then setting fruit, your plants go into overdrive to ensure the fruit will mature. I’ve listed two products below that will help your plants receive all the nutrients they need from start to finish. New soil whether purchased in bulk or bags is notorious for having low nutrient levels so please know you’ve done nothing wrong. Up until now, evening temperatures have stayed cooler which has slowed growth but with 90’s right around the corner your plants will begin to grow like crazy. At this point in the season it’s too late to start over, if you planted new seedlings it would be too hot and the plants would go into survival mode instead of producing tomatoes or peppers.
Once you purchase fertilizer, use 1/3cup of the dry product and side dress around each plant. Water your beds deeply so the fertilizer is activated. The next step is to apply the liquid fertilizer every two weeks to help make sure the plants have the “extra” they need. I apologize for the lengthy post but I don’t like recommending a method or product without any explanation.
Have a great weekend!!
1.) Dr. Earth Vegetable Fertilizer
NPK 4-6-3
2.) Alaska Brands “MoreBloom”
NPK 0-10-10
# this product contains extra
phosphorous and potassium which
helps with producing more
blossoms while the potassium helps
with moisture absorption and the
formation of carbohydrates.
Recommend putting some mulch down as well