A successful vegetable garden requires more than simply preparing the soil and planting your vegetable plants or seeds. You will need to respond to any number of issues that might arise, such as leggy plants, low yield, or insect damage. This is a page about troubleshooting your vegetable garden.
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Solutions
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If you grow edibles long enough, you're bound to run into some problems. Many these problems can be avoided (or at least overcome) with proper cultivation techniques. Unfortunately, once in a while problems crop up that are difficult to diagnose and not easily remedied. Whether one plant is having a problem, or a whole crop, here's a list of some common problems in the vegetable garden and what causes them.
General Crop Problems
Seed Not Germinating:
Caused by old seeds, washed away seeds, lack of moisture, temperatures being too cold or too hot, improper planting depth or seeds being stolen by animals.
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Plants Lack Vigor (spindly seedlings):
Usually due to tired soil (lack of organic nutrients), lack of proper light, and root damage caused by disease or transplanting.
Low Yields:
This could be due to a lack of water, using the wrong type of fertilizer (fruiting crops like tomatoes and peppers like high amounts of potassium, while leaf plants like cabbage like high amounts of nitrogen), or plants may be too crowded and unable to compete for nutrients.
Generally Slow Growth:
This could be due to improper pH, infertile soil, cool weather, low light conditions, poor drainage (poor soil structure) or too little or too much moisture.
Unsteady Supply of Crops:
This is primarily due to a lack of succession planting. Stagger crops like carrots, lettuce and green beans a few weeks apart so you have a continuous supply all season long.
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Pin Holes in Leaves:
The culprit here is usually the flea beetle, a small, black or silver insect that jumps when disturbed.
Standing Water:
This indicates a drainage problem caused by poor soil structure.
Crop Specific Problems
Artichokes
They Are Taking Over: Shoots (or fragments of shoots) left over in the ground after harvesting will form new plants the following season.
Beans
Failure to Develop Flowers: This is caused by elevated daytime temperatures (above 90ºF). The beans will usually resume flowering when temperatures drop.
Failure to Form Pods: The failure to develop pods is usually caused by one of three reasons. The first is due to inadequate moisture levels (beans are a thirsty crop). The second happens when bees fail to pollinate the bean flowers while raiding them of nectar. White-flowered varieties seem less susceptible to this. A third reason is flower damage caused by birds-usually indicated by a pile of shredded flowers on the ground around the bean plant.
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Carrots (radishes, etc.)
Forked or Deformed Roots: Usually caused by erratic watering, applying too much manure close to planting time, inadequate thinning or compact, stony soil.
Corn
Misshapen Ears or No Ears: This is usually due to improper pollination and happens when corn is planted in straight rows (instead of grids) or if corn is planted on an overly windy site.
Cucumbers
Mottled or Spotty Leaves & Wilted Fruit: The likely culprit is either the result of cucumber mosaic virus, or sudden swings in temperature and soil moisture.
Odd-shaped or Very Small Fruit: Caused by a lack of soil moisture, cool temperatures during development, or poor pollination due to a low numbers of bees and/or male flowers.
Eggplant
Failure to Set Fruit (blossom-drop): This can be caused by too cool (below 60ºF) or too warm (above 75ºF) nighttime temperatures.
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Blossom-end Rot: Usually caused by dry soil due to a lack of irrigation or erratic watering.
Lettuce & Spinach (also onions)
Bolting Early (going to seed): Caused by dry roots or low temperatures during certain stages of development. This can also happen during warm temperatures and long days. Early producing varieties are more susceptible to bolting.
Onions
Smaller Than Expected Onions: Usually caused by over-crowding, or a lack of moisture.
Onions Turn Soft During Storage: This is often happens after harvesting unripe fruits, failing to cure (dry ) the bulbs naturally before storage, or storing onions in poorly ventilated areas.
Peas
Flowering Ceases: This usually happens naturally once warm summer temperatures arrive.
Peppers
Failure to Set Fruit (blossom drop): This can be caused by too cool (below 60ºF) or too warm (above 75ºF) nighttime temperatures.
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Blossom-end Rot: This is usually a result of dry soil due to a lack of irrigation or erratic watering.
Potatoes
Green (sunburned): Potatoes turn green with exposure to light. This is caused by a failure to cover them with soil while they develop.
Radishes
Poor Root Development: The cause is usually warm temperatures. Roots develop best in cooler temperatures, while warmer temperatures tend to stimulate the growth of leaves.
Tomatoes
Split Fruit: This happens as a result of watering after a period of being overly dry.
Poor Growth & Small Fruit: Caused by using old, large or overly hardened transplants. Young transplants with 5-7 true leaves and just slightly hardened normally produce the best yields and fruit size.
Blossom-end Rot: Usually caused by dry soil due to a lack of irrigation or erratic watering.
Failure to Set Fruit (blossom drop): Often caused by too cool (below 60ºF) or too warm (above 75ºF) nighttime temperatures.
Slow Growth: Usually a results of failing to harden off plants properly before transplanting-often seen with purple-tinted foliage. Slow growth can also be an indicator of root rot due to tomatoes being grown on the same site for several years.
Zucchini
Turns Moldy: Usually caused by a fungus brought on by wet weather and further encouraged by over-head watering.
White or "Felted-looking" Leaves: This is powdery mildew caused by wet conditions and poor air circulation around leaves.
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
My garden is not doing so well. The leaves are dying or turning yellow. Some of the seeds I planted are not growing. I am not sure what to do. Can you help? This is my first garden. Thanks.
How did you prepare the soil? It may be a soil ph problem. If you can get the ph tested (there are kits available at garden centers), you can adjust the acidity or alkalinity with safe ingredients. If you add organic matter (compost), make sure it is fully "cooked" before adding it. Don't add sawdust. If you don't have access to compost, you can add some peat moss to the soil. Your local extension service may be able to help you know what typically needs to be added to the soil in your area. Yellowing leaves can also mean too much water. What part of the country do you live in?
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June 11, 20110 found this helpful
There are two things you need to do. Visit the local extension office and talk to your neighbors that garden. If your neighbors don't garden visit the neighbors of friends or relatives that have gardens. You need someone you can call when you need information that is willing to help you. You may even find someone that not only has a garden and can help you but they may can their veggies and will teach you that as well. And canning is an art that leads to savings.
I think we need more info...What were the plants? What was the temperature? How much water? Are they in sun or shade? Did you use any fertilizer? Could be you over watered them. Do they have good drainage? Are they in beds or in the ground?
My garden has been in the ground for five weeks now. All the new leaves on the plants are curled up. I have tomatoes, peppers, squash. and cucumbers. What is this?
My garden has been in the ground for five weeks now. All the new leaves on the plants are curled up. I have tomatoes, peppers, squash. and cucumbers. What is this?
