As someone wise rightly said "collection of mistakes is called experience". Gardening is no exception for this. No one is born with green thumb gardening skills. Gardening involves a gradual process of efforts, experiments, failures and learning from these failures. Hey green enthusiasts!!! Let's know what mistakes I made and what I learnt from them, so that you could avoid them for a happy gardening experience.
The golden rule in gardening is to always remember "excess causes harm". Excess amount of water can kill your plant. Initially like a crazy plant parent I bought some plants like nerve plant, monstera and roses. That time I didn't have any idea on how to choose the right plants which fit me.
I immediately started taking care of my plant babies. I used to read a lot of plant care guides back then. I used to water my plants regularly without missing a day and fertilized my plants once every two weeks. But all these efforts went in vain when my plants started dying one by one.
After trying multiple things and getting hands on experience, here is what I found.
- You don't need to water your plants on a daily basis.
- Excessive use of fertilizers causes more harm to your plants than good
- Yellowing doesn't always mean your plants need nutrients.
You don't need to water your plants on a daily basis
Yes, the thumb rule is watering plants only when it is necessary. Okay!!! I understand you might be thinking "how do you know if your plants need water or not?". All you have to do is a simple test.
Just poke your finger a few inches into your pot. If you remove your finger, your finger comes out muddy and sticky with mud, it means your soil has sufficient moisture and you better not to water your plants.
Your finger comes clean but still you feel the wetness, give little water to your plants without over watering them.
You find it difficult to poke your finger into the pot or the top soil feels dry, then your plant needs immediate watering and water your plant generously.
Remember your plants need more water during blooming periods.
Excessive use of fertilizers causes more harm than good
I got to know the right way of using fertilizers after a series of failed experiments. If you are a new plant parent it is always advised to opt for organics initially. Organic fertilizers for plants cause no to less harm if used in excessive quantities by mistake.
It's always good to start with water soluble fertilizers. Always remember to apply any inorganic or chemical fertilizers slightly away from the base of the stem (collar region). Make sure no part of the plant is in contact with the chemical fertilizers as it may result in burnt leaves.
Yellowing doesn't always mean nutrient deficiency
If you are observing your plant leaves turning yellow, don't quickly come to the conclusion that your plant needs nutrients. Yellowing might be the indicator of nutrient deficiency, but not in all cases.
Your plant leaves tell you a lot about their condition (we will discuss it on another blog). As far as watering is concerned, crunchy brown premature leaves indicate that your plant is thirsty and you should increase the irrigation and yellow, mushy and misshapen leaves indicate over watering and you need to water less.
Remember you can be a successful plant parent only by hands-on experience. You might fail sometimeswhile taking care ofyour favourite gardening plants, just remember that you're gonna be a pro soon!!! Have a happy time gardening.
