Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 212 5/24/17 12:21 PM
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 213 5/24/17 12:21 PM212 chapter 4their lower leaves is a way to protect the plant
from further moisture loss by protecting the
pores on the leaf surface. Some varieties are
more prone to leaf curl than others. If the leaves
are blemish-free, leaf curl on the older leaves
isn’t anything to worry about. But curling leaves
can also be a sign of root wilts such as fusarium
and verticillium wilt, though when these wilts
are involved, the entire plant is affected, with
every leaf curling and drooping, not just a few.
Mulch plants well at the beginning of the season
to even out soil moisture levels, and make sure
your containers are well watered.No flowers. A complete lack of flowers on
ornamental or vegetable plants could be due to
too much nitrogen in the soil. Excessive nitrogenencourages green shoot growth at the expense
of flower and fruit production. This typically
isn’t problematic in container gardens, as long
as you’re using a balanced fertilizer and a fresh
potting soil/compost blend to fill your containers
every season.Deformed fruits and veggies, or none at all. In
order to produce fruit, most flowers need to be
pollinated, and if there aren’t enough pollinating
insects around, fruit and veggie production may
not occur. Lack of pollination exhibits as the lack
of fruit formation, blossom drop, or deformed
fruits that are often puny and shriveled at one
end. It takes multiple visits from a pollinating
insect to form a cucumber or an eggplant,
not just one. Do not use pesticides on yourCracked tomatoes are the result of extreme fluctuations in soil moisture levels. Mulch plants well and keep them
evenly watered to avoid this problem.Text Black Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete#175 Dtp: 229 Page: 212^700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 212 5/24/17 1:07 PM
Troubleshooting 213containers, and encourage pollinators by planting
lots of flowering plants side by side with your
veggies. Peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes are
self-pollinating (meaning each flower pollinates
itself), but they need the wind or a bumblebee
to shake the flowers and knock the pollen loose
inside. If your tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers
aren’t setting fruit, you can use an electric
toothbrush to vibrate the pollen around and
fertilize the flower by turning it on and placing
it on the flower stem, just above the flower,
for a few seconds every morning. Vegetables
in the cucumber family, like melons, squash,
cucumbers, and pumpkins, have separate male
and female flowers and a pollinator is needed
to move the pollen from the male flowers to
the female flowers. If you aren’t getting fruits
on these crops, try using a paintbrush to move
pollen from the male flowers (those with a
straight stem) to the female flowers (those with
a bulbous base) anytime between morning and
mid-day.Blossom drop or fruit drop. Young, developing
fruits and/or blossoms are sometimes shed from
a plant for several different reasons. It may occur
due to a lack of proper pollination or because the
plant is stressed. Some plants do not produce fruit
when temperatures aren’t ideal. For example, bell
peppers will abort their blossoms or young fruits
when daytime temperatures rise above 90°F and
nights are warmer than 75°F. They may also drop
their blooms if temperatures are too cool. Daytime
temperatures over 90°F. or nighttime temps below
55°F will limit tomato production, too.Deformed cucumbers, such as this one, may have
contorted growth or a “stubby” malformed end. Such
growth is the result of poor pollination.All these troubleshooting tips make container
gardening seem like a battle, but I assure you it
isn’t. This advice is meant to arm you with the
knowledge to nip potential problems in the bud,
before they become discouraging.Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete#175 Dtp: 229 Page: 212 (^) Text Black Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete #175 Dtp: 229 Page: 213
700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 213 5/24/17 1:07 PM