I need to do a complete gardening update soon. Everything is getting so big! This post, however, is more of a cry for help. (No...not my normal "don't-let-me-buy-another-plant" cry for help. A real one.)I have a few plants that are not doing so well and I'm not sure what to do to help them.
First of all, I have my poor carrots. I've thinned them. Twice. But they still look so...compacted. Should I then them again or will they start to grow together properly? Anyone know?
Then there are the onions. Some are still rather small. Others are as tall as my tomato cages with a stalk circumference the size of a quarter. Everything I've read says to wait for the leaves to turn brown. A few of the leaves are turning brown, but am I supposed to wait until all the leaves turn brown? (Although other resources suggest "barreling" them or digging them part-way up to speed up the process.) My biggest concern is missing the harvesting window and having them bolt. Does it look like the ones that are this size are ready to harvest?
Next we have my poor, beleaguered blackberry. Compared to the raspberry in the space next to it, it's just not doing very well. You can see how sad the little leaves are. They're almost...moldy? It doesn't seem like they're getting too much water and I don't think they're getting too little. The leaves on top look fine and there is new growth around the bottom, but those front leaves are droopy and black. Could it be the soil, sun exposure, my black thumb? Inquiring mind wants to know.
And then there are the tomatoes. I planted ten of them, six from the same two pony packs that I split with my mom. The ones in this row are almost a third the height of the others that are located on the same side of the house, in the same soil and, again, are from the same pack. The second picture is of the tomato plant not even ten feet away. Does it look like it's a soil issue, a water issue, an exposure issue? Any suggestions as to what would cause those yellow leaves? I've been dumping coffee grounds and crushed eggs shells around them, hoping that will help.
And finally, my poor, doomed basil. If anyone can figure out how to make basil grow at my house, I will name my first born for them. Oh wait. Too late for that one. But I will be eternally grateful. So far, my basil success rate for this year is 66% - but rapidly falling. The plants haven't grown an inch in more than two months.Okay...that's it for this edition of Gardening Issues in Mandyland. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
3 comments:
1. Blackberries ar more of a fall crop or late summer. So it is doing fine. Onions tend to grow in different spurts. Pull the larger ones and let the little ones grow. Carrots thin them out continuously, that is the way you grow carrots, you don't harvest all at once. It is pull eat grow. The soil for your tomoatoes is different (the soil below your added soil) add coffee grounds. Don't know what to tell you about your basil, not enough sun.....Here is your help and since my gardens usually did well, I hope this helps.
I believe blackberries like acidic soil (at least that's what my dad told me), have you been checking the soil?
With your tomatoes - as someone that grows these every year, the ones in the photos almost look like two different types (which could be why one is a smaller plant). I would also clip off the flowers - as soon as plants flower they stop growing. If you want larger plants remove the flowers and don't let them fruit yet.
Basil is a pain to grow - I almost killed four plants last summer, and didn't realize until the end of the summer that you have to remove the flowers off these, just like tomatoes to get the plants to grow. Hope that helps! Happy Gardening!
The only problem, Mom, is that your garden did well in Washington. I think it would be impossible NOT to grow things up there. :D
So when are you going to come over and help me thin those poor carrots??
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