Are your garden plants not growing well? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Gardening is enjoyable and rewarding, but it can be stressful when your plants aren’t thriving. I’ve faced this myself and learned from it over years of growing a garden and a food forest. Here are five common reasons plants struggle and how to solve them.
Reason 1: Poor Soil Health
Soil is the foundation of all terrestrial life. It has its own complex ecosystem that, depending on its health, is active, diverse, and resilient. For healthy, thriving plants, you need healthy, thriving soil.
How Nature Builds Soil
Of course, there are exceptions. Not all soil is well developed and fertile, and plenty of plants still survive and even thrive in these locations. Think of plants out in the wild, growing in cracks in exposed bedrock or disturbed areas where only “weeds” grow. These plants are called pioneer plants, and they thrive in young or disturbed landscapes. Pioneer plants are in fact soil builders themselves.
But most of our garden plants aren’t pioneer plants—though we can use pioneer plants to help improve our soils, just as they do in nature. Pioneer plants draw up nutrients from below and deposit them on the surface and root zone when they die. Their foliage and roots provide soil-building organic matter. They also provide shelter from sun and wind for other plants to get established.
Keep The Soil Covered
And that brings us to one way—the most important way—to improve soil health: keep the soil covered. This is a cardinal rule of permaculture. Say it again with me: keep the soil covered.
Yes, there are some exceptions to this rule, but in general, keeping the soil covered is the best thing you can do to improve soil health.
What do we cover the soil with? Mulch.
Benefits of Mulch:
- Shades the soil
- Regulates soil temperature
- Regulates moisture levels
- Conserves water
- Controls weeds
- Adds organic matter to soil
- Improves soil structure
- Controls soil erosion
- Reduces soil compaction
- Visualy marks garden beds
- Adds visual appeal
You can keep the soil covered in two main ways: living plants and organic mulch. Inorganic mulch (rock, crumb rubber, landscape fabric, etc) is also an option. However, I don’t recommend inorgnic mulches because they don’t integrate well into functional, living and evolving landscape ecosystems.
Living Mulch
For living mulch, use quick-spreading ground covers like wild strawberry, creeping phlox, creeping thyme, or even mint (if you don’t mind it taking over). Be sure to consider your climate and site conditions and choose an appropriate plant for the place (see Reason 4, Plant Choice Mismatch).
Non-Living Mulch
For non-living mulches, choose your material based on the type of plants you’re growing. For annual gardens, use lightweight mulch such as garden straw or finely ground wood chips (sold as soil pep). For perennial gardens, mixed annual and perennial gardens, food forests, or around fruit trees, use a heavier mulch such as arborists’ wood chips—they’re plentiful and often free or low-cost.
Another great mulch option is leaf mold or shredded fall leaves. Shred them by running over them with a lawnmower. Using these materials makes sense because it’s what nature does. Think of a fertile forest floor. That’s what we’re trying to emulate.
See my article The Best Mulch for Vegetable Gardens: Top 5 Materials for more on mulches.
Testing Your Soil
I couldn’t write about soil health and not mention soil testing. It’s not strictly necessary because if you’re using natural soil building techniques, nature takes care of the details–like mineral composition. But you might still want to test your soil, particularly if you’re concerned about deficencies or toxisities in your soil. (See Reason 3, Nutrient Defeciencies).
There are a few types of soil tests you can do. The first is the kind you send to a lab for analysis, usually for mineral composition, pH and a few other metrics. This test will highlight specific mineral deficiencies (or excesses) of your soil. You can use a DIY kit or go through your local university extension. I recommend going thorugh an extension office for this.
You can also do some tests yourself, right in your backyard:
- Soil Texture Test: Measures clay, sand, and silt content. Here’s the USDA Soil Texture Flowchart for this test.
- pH Test: Different plants have different pH preferences, but most prefer a slightly acidic to neutral pH. Use pH paper or a soil pH probe to test your soil’s pH.
- Soil Drainage Test: Dig a hole, fill it with water, and time how long it takes to drain. Fast drainage means low water holding capacity; slow drainage means poor drainage.
By understanding and improving your soil, you’ll create a healthier garden.
Reason 2: Improper Watering
Watering is crucial for your garden, but doing it wrong can cause problems. Overwatering can suffocate plant roots and lead to root rot, while under-watering can make your plants weak and wilted.
Know Your Plants
To water correctly, know your plants’ needs. Xeric, drought-tolerant, and drought-resistant plants can handle dry soil for longer. Aquatic plants prefer wet conditions. Most plants fall into the “mesic” category, meaning they like soil that’s consistently moist but not soaked. A good method is to water deeply but less often, encouraging roots to grow deeper and making plants more drought-resistant.
Keep the Soil Covered
I’ve already mentioned the importance of keeping the soil covered, but it’s worth repeating here because it helps maintain consistent soil moisture. Use organic mulch like straw, wood chips, or leaves to reduce evaporation and keep the soil moist longer. Living ground covers can also conserve soil moisture.
Monitor Moisture Levels
Know when to water. If you water your garden on a strict schedule, you risk over or under watering. Check soil moisture by feeling it yourself. Push your finger into the soil up to your second knuckle. If it’s dry, water. If it’s moist, wait a day or two.
Irrigation Schedule
Time of day matters too. Early morning is best for watering since it lets water soak in before the day’s heat causes evaporation. Avoid midday watering, as much of the water may evaporate before it enters the soil. If you water in the evening, be cautious, as wet leaves overnight can promote fungal diseases suchas powdery mildew.
Using a timer can be helpful, especially if you’re forgetful like me, but make sure to continue monitoring soil moisture and adjust the timer as necessary.
Water at Ground Level
Using a drip irrigation system or soaker hoses can help provide consistent moisture directly to the soil, reducing water waste and the risk of disease. These systems deliver water slowly and evenly, getting it right to the roots. Overhead watering midday can also burn leaves, because water droplets act as magnifying glass, intensifying sunlight. Some gardeners call this effect a myth, but I’ve seen evidence that it is a real occurance.
Reason 3: Nutrient Deficiencies
Nutrient deficiencies are a common reason garden plants don’t thrive. Plants need a balanced diet of essential nutrients to grow strong and healthy. When key nutrients are missing or imbalanced, plants can exhibit a variety of symptoms, from yellowing leaves to stunted growth and poor yields.
Excess nutrients can cause toxicity, although that is a less common problem than nutrient deficencies.
Plant Nutrients
Macronutrients
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the primary macronutrients plants require in larger amounts. Nitrogen is crucial for leaf growth, phosphorus supports root development and flowering, and potassium is essential for overall plant health and disease resistance. Deficiencies in any of these can significantly impact your plants’ vitality.
Micronutrients
Other essential nutrients, called micronutrients, are needed in smaller quantities but are still vital for plant health. These include boron, chloride, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, and zinc. Symptoms of micronutrient deficiencies can be more subtle, but are just as detrimental to plant growth.
How to Address Nutrient Defficiencies in Plants
Many garden experts will tell you to use a balanced fertilizer on your plants several times a year, and that’s that.
But if you’re growing a garden or food forest with a permaculture mindset, there’s so much more you can do to nourish your garden and create a balanced ecosystem. Think of comercial fertilizer as a multivitamin for the garden. It’s supplemnental to a balanced and varied diet, and sholdn’t be the main source of nutrition for your plants.
So how do you feed your plants beyond using fertilizer? The answer is, other plants.
Nitrogen Fixing Plants
Nitrogen-fixing plants, such as legumes and clover, naturally replenish soil nitrogen. These plants work with root bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form plants can use. Nodules form on the roots, and when the roots die back (as they do when the foliage is cut) plant available nitrogen is released into the soil. Planting nitrogen fixing plants throughout your garden or as a cover crop can significantly improve soil health and reduce the need for commercial fertilizers over time.
Dynamic Nutrient Accumulator Plants
Dynamic nutrient accumulator plants, such as comfrey, yarrow, and dandelion, are excellent choices for enriching your soil. Their deep root systems draw up nutrients from the subsoil and store them in their leaves. When you cut back these plants and use the leaves as mulch or compost, the nutrients are released back into the topsoil, providing a natural fertilizer for other plants.
Different species accumulate different arrays of nutrients, so using a variety of nutrient accumulating plants will provide a wider range of nutrients.
This process not only boosts soil fertility but also improves soil structure and promotes a healthier garden ecosystem.
DIY Garden Amendments
To take it a step beyond simply growing plants that nourish the soil, look into making your own natural garden amendments from resources available locally or even on site.
For example, you can ferment the leaves of certain plants, such as comfrey and dandelion, to create shelf stable extracts that can be diluted and used as fertilizer. To learn more about this fascinating subject, read the book, The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments (affiliate link).
Commercially Prepared Fertilizers
If your garden is young, or you are just starting, you may wish to use commercial organic fertilizers to feed your plants. But eventually, as your garden ecosystem grows, you might not need these products, or may not need to rely on them as heavily. Instead, rely on regular compost application, mulches, and other plants you’ve carefully selected that give back to the soil (see the previous sections).
Fertilizers that I do use include the following (links provided are affiliate links):
- Fish emulsion for seedlings,
- Kelp meal for indoor salad greens
- Vegetable garden blend for certain transplants,
- and a blend for acid loving plants which I use on my blueberries a couple of times a year.
Reason 4: Plant Choice Mismatch
Choosing the right plants for your garden’s specific conditions is an important consideration, often overlooked by beginning gardeners. When plants are mismatched with their environment, they struggle and often fail to thrive. Factors of climate, soil type, and sunlight exposure play a huge role in plant health.
Understand Your Garden
Start by understanding your garden’s conditions. Is your soil sandy or clay-heavy? (See Reason 1.) Does your garden get full sun, partial shade, or full shade? How much precipitation does your garden get, and at what time of year? Knowing these details helps you select plants that will naturally thrive in your space. Also remember that some guidelines are relative. For example, a plant that likes full sun in Oregon, might need some protection from mid-afternoon sun in Arizona.
Understand Native Species in Your Area
Researching and choosing plants native to your region can be helpful. Native plants are already adapted to your local conditions and typically require less maintenance and are more resistant to local pests and diseases, making them a good choice for a low-maintenance garden.
Plant Native or Ecological Analog Species
Choosing native plants is great, and I reccommend it if you can find native species to meet your needs.
However, if you don’t necessarily want native plants, then consider planting ecological analog species that fill the same niche and have similar growing preferences. This strategy allows you to choose plants that are well suited for your climate but with superior qualities, such as better flavor or larger fruits.
Reason 5: Pests and Diseases
Visible pests, holes in leaves, discolored patches, bumps, or galls—these are telltale signs your plants are under attack. Despite your best care, pests and diseases can sometimes become out of balance, causing your garden to struggle.
Identify Pests & Diseases
Regularly inspect your plants for signs of common issues like aphids, caterpillars, and fungal infections. A small number of pests is nothing to worry about, and expected in organic gardening, but when pest populations or diseased plants get out of balance, intervention is important.
Once identified, research specific remedies for these problems to address them effectively. Because there are so many pests and diseases out there, covering them in this article is not feasible.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do across the board to make your garden more resilient and resistant to pest and disease pressure.
Use Nature as a Model
Once again, in permaculture we learn from what nature has to teach. The following strategies use nature as a guide to improve plant resiliance and resistance to pests and diseases.
Encourage Beneficial Insects
Beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings help control pests naturally. Encourage beneficial insects to visit your garden by planting food sources for them, such as alyssum, coriander, dill, fennel, and oregano.
Encourage Natural Predators
Birds and other natural predators can help keep pest populations in check. Invite them to your garden by planting shrubs and trees that provide habitat and food.
Use Companion Plants
Plant companion plants that repel or confuse pests, such as nasturtium, alliums, and daffodils. Pests either don’t like the smell of these plants or the smell is so strong that it masks the smell of the target plant.
Maintain Healthy Soil
Healthy soil is the foundation of resilient plants. Regularly add compost and carbon rich organic mulch material. (See Reason 1)
Encourage Biodiversity
A diverse garden is a healthy garden. By planting a variety of species, you can create a balanced ecosystem that naturally controls pests and diseases. This not only benefits your plants but also supports local wildlife.
Conclusion
To sum up, your garden’s success hinges on addressing five main factors: soil health, proper watering, nutrient balance, plant selection, and pest management.
- Soil Health: Healthy soil supports robust plant life. Keep soil covered with living plants or organic mulch to conserve moisture, regulate temperature, and improve soil structure.
- Proper Watering: Water deeply but less often to encourage deep root growth. Use organic mulch to maintain soil moisture and check soil moisture manually. Drip irrigation and morning watering is best to minimize evaporation and fungal diseases.
- Nutrient Balance: Ensure plants get the right nutrients. Use nitrogen-fixing plants and dynamic nutrient accumulators to enrich soil naturally. When needed, apply organic fertilizers.
- Plant Selection: Choose plants suited to your garden’s specific conditions. Consider native species or ecological analogs to match your environment and reduce maintenance.
- Pest Management: Regularly inspect plants for pests and diseases. Encourage beneficial insects and natural predators, use companion planting, and maintain healthy soil to create a resilient garden ecosystem.
By focusing on these areas, you can create a thriving, healthy garden.
Happy Growing!
Leave a Reply