Does anyone know what is wrong with my basil? The leaves are turning a brownish gray. It started at the bottom and is making its way up the entire plant. Very little of the plant is currently discoloration free. Do I scrap it and start over?
Daytime temperatures are in the mid to upper 90's now and my poor container garden is feeling the effects. The plants now need to be watered at least twice per day or they become dry and brittle. I'm going to spend some time next week trying to find an inexpensive self-watering system for my poor containers.
We are starting to harvest more. The Cherry Tomatoes are producing really well. We are harvesting a handful or so each day.
Parsley and oregano continue to grow well. We'll be harvesting a red bell pepper in a few weeks. We'll be harvesting figs in a few weeks, too. They are growing well and are already almost full size. The lemons are almost full size as well, but of course they are still green. The watermelon plant my son planted a month or so ago has not grown. It still looks like a seedling. I think its the soil it is planted in - mostly clay. The beans we planted are growing slowly, as are the Black Krim tomato seedlings.
I will probably add more basil, some blueberries, and more parsley at the beginning of next week. I'm also considering building a 8 or 12 inch tall raised 4X4 bed with a bottom and drainage holes that I can put on saw horses or some other "table" to make a "large" container for gardening. If I do this, I'll need more "soil" but I think it would be a better place to garden than the little containers and would still not dig up the owner's yard.
Our Farmer's Market opened last weekend. We were able to go to the mid-week market. I posted our haul here. I'm glad our market has so many farmer's selling cucumbers, squash, and zucchini, since we did not plant any. Saturday's market is much bigger than the mid week market. I can't wait to go this weekend :o)
Check out other garden updates at "How Does Your Garden Grow" hosted by A High And Noble Calling.
11 comments:
Thanks for particpating! I got Mr. Linky to work so I put your link in for you. Happy gardening!
Thanks, Stephanie :o)
Oh your poor basil! Hmmm, have you recently fertilized? Sometimes that'll do it...especially if you might have fertilized a little too much. I'm not familiar with growing basil though so I'm no help! :)
I don't know how y'all stand that kind of heat! Ugh! I thought I'd show you this link for making self-watering containers using milk jugs! Might be something to experiment with for the time being... http://www.instructables.com/id/Quick-and-easy-self-watering-garden-planters/ :)
Hi Lori,
Thanks for your thoughts. I have not fertilized. The basil is planted in compost. Could straight compost be too much?
Thanks for the link for milk jug self-waterer! I'll check it out as soon as I have a minute :o)
Lori
Yikes! I just planted my basil so I'm anxious to hear what might be causing it.
We're getting in the upper 80's and I feel your pain on the watering!
I wouldn't think straight compost would be a problem. Do you think you might be over-watering? Usually if a plant starts turning brownish like that from the bottom up...it's either over-fertilizing or over-watering. That's probably not always the case, but it's a good place to start. Like I said, I'm not basil expert by any means! LOL! I sure hope you find the problem.
I've never had that problem with basil, so I can't help. Mine usually goes to seed when the weather gets hot. Did yours flower already? If so, it might just be at the end of its life cycle. I hope not!
Lori,
It could be over watering. Because the temps are so hot here, if we don't water twice a day, everything shrivels. That may be too much, though.
Melissa,
It could also be that it is at the end of its life cycle. It has been trying to flower, but I keep removing anything that looks like it might be buds.
Thank you both for your help. I'm going to try to water less and see if that doesn't help. I really appreciate your thoughtful responses.
Lori
I second milk jug watering. I am going to use it this weekend to supplement are sprinkler system because I will be out of town. (Plus I have all of those leftover milk jugs - might as well get one more use out of them!)
Also, I stopped at a friends today and she was using the cheap plastic pools as large container gardens. I thought it was a pretty clever idea.
Alea,
Thanks for the tip about using a pool for a garden planter. A friend used to plant a garden in a plastic kiddy pool every year. I'd completely forgot about that. That would definitely be easier than building a container. :o)
Lori
Lori, I used coke bottles in two pots (large) in my veggie garden. I punched holes w/a needle and stick it 1/2 way into the dirt. This way it waters slowly.
Now, I just have to remember to fill the jug, which apparently, is difficult for my overworked brain to remember!
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