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Tried growing tomatoes in straight compost last season, biggest gardening mistake I made
Ngl, I thought more organic matter would just make everything grow better. I filled three raised beds with pure compost from the city recycling center in Austin instead of mixing it with soil. By June, half my tomato plants had blossom end rot and the leaves were yellowing like crazy. Turns out compost holds too much moisture and lacks proper drainage for root crops. A master gardener at the local nursery told me I basically drowned my plants in nutrients. I learned you need at least 40% topsoil mixed in for container gardens. Has anyone else gotten bad results from going overboard on compost amendments?
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nancyd851mo ago
It's the same thing with houseplants, everybody thinks more love means more water and food but plants actually need that tough gritty reality check to grow roots deep.
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mary61410d ago
My philodendron almost died because I kept moving it around the house looking for the perfect spot. I read somewhere that plants like stability so I picked a corner and left it alone for like three months and it went from looking sad to actually putting out new leaves. It's funny how we think we're helping by fussing over stuff but sometimes the best thing is to just back off and let them figure it out. My mom used to water her plants every single day and they always looked terrible. I told her to chill out and now she only checks soil before watering and her place looks like a jungle lol. There's definitely something to just letting nature do its thing without us interfering all the time.
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logan_white591mo ago
Ngl I gotta push back on that a little. Sure, underwatering can make roots dig deeper for water, but that's not the same as "tough gritty reality check" being good for them. Overwatering kills plants because roots rot, not because they're coddled. I've seen people starve their succulents for months thinking they're making them "tough" when really they're just slowly killing them with neglect. A plant needs consistent care, not a boot camp. The whole "tough love" thing sounds like a excuse for bad watering habits.
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