Vegetable plants Not Growing? 15 Reasons for a Black Thumb Jenny Graham, April 24, 2024April 24, 2024 With the huge gap that a large portion of our society has had in gardening, it’s truly a skill that needs to be learned. During the growing season, new and seasoned gardeners, will come across many challenges in the garden that may leave them asking, why are my vegetable plants not growing? Why Are My Vegetable Plants Not Growing? Every gardener will come up against these common vegetable garden problems. Knowing what common problems cause vegetable gardens to fail can help you have a successful garden this growing season. Let’s take a look at the 15 most common problems that effect plant growth so we can have an abundant growing season. You think you have a black thumb and just give up. Planting the wrong varieties for your climate. Planting at the wrong time of year. Not planning out the garden in advance. Your garden is in a bad spot. Watering too much or not enough. The soil wasn’t amended well enough. Improper use of fertilizers. Building a garden that’s too big to keep up with Planting too intensely. Letting pest problems and disease take over. The weeds and grass took over. Not trellising crops that need a good trellis. Lack of pollination in the garden. Not harvesting food at the right time. Why Are My Vegetable Plants Not Growing: The #1 Reason More so than any other reason why vegetables gardens fail is believing you have a black thumb. Believing this is, hands down, the most common problem most new gardeners have. Believing You Have A Black Thumb I just can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say that they have a black thumb! The cause of their vegetable gardening failures are growing something maybe one or two times and not being successful for one of the reasons we will talk about here and never trying again. Enter the belief of the black thumb. The fact of the matter is, is that fruits and vegetables were created to grow. We just need to learn what to grow and how to steward it. Planting the Wrong Varieties for Your Climate Zone When it comes down to what vegetable plants to grow, variety matters. Your local, big box garden centers are famous for mass shipping a few varieties all over. Your best best is to find a small local nursery or local farm selling plant starts or seeds that have proven to have done well in your area. Do a little research and find some one who has been successfully gardening in your area to learn about the different plants and varieties that they have success with. Planting at the Wrong Time of Year Another reason why your garden may be failing is planting at the wrong time of year. It’s always a good idea to read the back of your seed packets, know your zone and frost dates, and do a little research on what to plant seasonally where you live. This is another area where the big box garden centers will fail you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, and cucumbers all on the same shelf at the same time. Where I live in Florida, I’d never be able to grow lettuce and broccoli at the same time as tomatoes and cucumbers. Just because the big box store is selling it doesn’t mean that its appropriate to grow. Not Planning the Garden Ahead of Time Planning my seasonal garden layout is a task I look forward to every season. It’s nothing fancy really but it does help keep me inspired and organized. It is also a great tool to help plan crop rotation from season to season. Throughout the growing season I will jot down the dates of when I seeded certain crops, when I transplanted out, which varieties did well or not, and any other information that I gleaned from the garden. One of my favorite things to do is to go back and read through the prior year’s notes and garden plan to help plan the current growing season. Again, knowing your frost dates, growing zone, and reading your seed packets are all tools that will help you get started with planning your garden. The Garden Isn’t in the Right Spot Putting your vegetable garden in well-drained soil with full sun is one of the most important things for success. To encourage optimal growth, most vegetable plants need full, direct sunlight to grow. While there are some instances where some partial shade may be needed, putting up a seasonal shade cloth will usually do the trick. It’s also important to put your garden close to a water spigot and in an area that you frequent. Out of sight, out of mind applies here. If you aren’t in the garden, you may find your vegetable plants not growing. You know the old saying, “the gardens best friend is the gardeners shadow.” Not Watering Enough or Watering Too Much Do a little research on the crops you are growing to learn how much water they need. Watering is one of the most common mistakes. Too much water can cause root rot and wash nutrients out of the soil too quickly. Too much water can be just as detrimental to plant growth, as not enough water. All crops are a little different, as some will need to be watered on a daily basis and some will thrive in drought conditions. How you water your crops is one of the most important things to consider. Some plants, like tomatoes and potatoes don’t do well with over head watering, but better with drip irrigation systems, due to fungal diseases. The Soil Wasn’t Amended with Organic Matter One of the most important things to know is that soil needs to be amended and fed with organic matter to keep building the structure of the soil. Adding organic matter also helps to feed the beneficial bacteria and microbes that are present in the soil. At the beginning of every growing season, I add at least a couple of inches of compost to my sandy soil in my vegetable garden beds. Learning to make compost and adding compost will help build soil structure, retain moisture, regulate soil temperatures, feed microbes, reduce erosion, and feed your vegetable plants. If you want to be even more thorough, you can do a soil test like Redmond’s Soil Test Kit. Not only will it tell you the ph, macro, and micronutrients your soil needs but also what to add to your soil to make those corrections. Healthy, well balanced soil will give you healthy plants. Why Are My Vegetable Plants Not Growing? Improper Fertilizing Properly amended soil should not need a bunch of fertilizer. Often times, you can get away with side dressing plants with worm castings, compost, or watering with swamp water or fish emulsion every couple weeks. These organic fertilizers tend to be more gentle on plants. Using too much fertilizer or a fertilizer with too much nitrogen can burn plants and stunt their growth. There are some crops, like sweet corn and brussels sprouts, that are heavy feeders. They may benefit from a balanced fertilizer like a 10-10-10, which is not organic. It can be great for your heavy feeders or slow growing fruit trees. Just be sure to follow the directions. Vegetable Plants Not Growing & Going Too Big to Maintain While many new gardeners dream of having a large garden, going too big may lead to some struggles. Depending on what you plant, a garden can be a lot to keep up with. Starting with a smaller garden may help you along as you learn more about growing food. Besides, you can grow a ton of food in a small space if you plan it appropriately. Why Are My Vegetable Plants Not Growing? Overcrowded Beds Planting too intensely is another one of the most common mistakes why you may find your vegetable plants not growing well. We’ve all been tempted at transplanting time to fill those beds too full with new plants. However, you need to allow enough space for your vegetable plants to grow so they are not fighting for enough light, nutrients, and water. With proper spacing, young plants will fill in nicely and those beds will look healthy and full. Letting Pest Problems and Disease Get Out of Control This is one of the most common reasons why you may find your vegetable plants not growing. When pests and disease are left to get out of control it will stunt growth and put your vegetable plants at risk. Make it a habit when you are watering to look for signs of pests and disease. Controlling pests by hand picking or using an organic pest control, like Captain Jacks, or BT will help. Keeping the pests in check, along with proper watering techniques and pruning, for good air circulation, will also help keep fungal diseases at bay. Additionally, you can combat pests with good results by utilizing companion planting and beneficial insects. Companion Planting Ideas Plant tomatoes with basil and marigolds. Cucumbers with dill, cabbage with dill. Dill repels pickle worms and also attracts lady bugs, a beneficial insect. Plant sunflowers as a trap crop for squash bugs and with pole beans for a natural trellis. Nasturtiums planted throughout the garden as a trap crop for aphids and caterpillars. Plant sweet alyssum alongside bushy crops to attract predatory wasps, a beneficial insect. Garlic is a repellant of pests to many vegetable plants. The Weeds Got Out of Control Weeds are another reason why your vegetable plants may not be growing. Grasses and weeds creeping up on your vegetable plants will rob them of necessary nutrients and water. Make it a habit to keep weeds and grasses in check in your garden so they don’t take over by spreading weed seeds. A good scuffle hoe and some time spent in the garden will make a big difference, as well as covering your soil with a thick layer of mulch. This year I took it a step further and even got my own weed whacker just for my garden! Not Trellising Plants Properly Some plants, like indeterminate tomato plants need a trellis to grow to their fullest potential. Taking the time to build sturdy trellising will give your plants the support they need. It will also make harvesting much easier, giving easy access to your fruits and veggies. In my opinion, your best bet is a good cattle panel trellis. It will last for years to come. They are worth the time, money, and effort. Lack of Pollination in the Vegetable Garden A lack of pollination is another cause of vegetable plants not growing and producing fruit. Planting pollinators around your garden is not only beautiful but a way to attract those beneficial pollinators to your garden to increase your fruit production. However, If you are lacking pollinators, you can always hand pollinate by taking pollen from the male flower and putting it into the female flowers. Pollen can be transferred to female flowers by using a small paintbrush, q tip, or even using the male flower itself. Not Harvesting Crops at the Right Time Not harvesting at the right time is one of the reasons why gardens can be unsuccessful. Fruits and vegetables left on the plant can get moldy, dried out, or be full of bugs. Some vegetable plants, like okra, can become inedible if left one day too long. Stay on top of your harvesting so you can reap the benefits of all you hard work in the vegetable garden. The best time to harvest is usually first thing in the morning, when veggies are at their peak of crispness. Why Are My Vegetable Plants Not Growing? Gardening is one of those things that takes time and practice to learn. The good thing is, is that every season we get a new chance to start over in our gardens. If you had some failure and found your vegetable plants not growing, just take note and move on. Try again next season. I promise it’s not that you have a black thumb! Happy Homesteading & Gardening, Jenny @ The GrahamStead Family Farm Jenny and her family have been homesteading for over 20 years. They are currently farming on their 10 acre Florida farm, that they built from the ground up, 8 years ago, growing 100% of their meat and a lot of their vegetables. From their small herd of Aberdeen Angus Cattle, Pastured Poultry, Sheep, and seasonal pigs, they are able to raise enough meat for the family while selling extra to the community. All the while, striving to butcher at home, as much as possible, and use the bits and pieces of their harvest by preserving food, making bone broth, and (Jenny’s favorite) tanning all kinds of hides! Gardening Homesteading