Over watering your plants. 3 Signs your plants are drowning.

Over watering is a huge issue for many new gardeners. Over watering comes from the idea that plants need lots of water to survive. And although this is true for some plants, it isn't the case every species. Sometimes that line of thinking will lead us to actually drowning our plants. So, the first thing you'll want to do is get informed about the kind of plant you have. If you purchase your plant at places like Home Depot or Lows (didn't they go out of business?) you'll find very clear instructions on your plants watering and sun light needs. If you buy your plants at a farmers market or outdoor nursery where perhaps the tags aren't so clear, make sure you ask the sell about the watering and sunlight needs of the plant. You shouldn't really wing it. You can wing it during salsa night at your high school reunion but you shouldn't wing your plants water needs. Hope that makes sense.

Another difficult part of knowing that you're over watering your plants is that over watering often resembles wilting or the plant not getting enough water. So you'll have to pay extra close attention to the signs your plants are showing.

Signs you're over watering your plants:  

1. The leaves are turning yellow. Yes. Leaves turn yellow when you are adding too much water. This is because you are choking your plant and the leaves are slowly dying which turn them yellow and eventually drown. The same happens when the leaves don't get enough water, they slowly die and wither. You will notice however, that when plants are over water, the withering of the leaf is much more damp and droopy. When plant leaves wither because of under watering, the leaves are brittle and crumble easily.

2.  Your plant has an order to it. I'm not talking about that great lavender or jasmine smell. I'm talking about an offensive order coming from your plant. This isn't actually an over watering issue. It's an issue to do with your pot! Far too many times, I've noticed that pots containing flowers or succulents (any kind of plant, really) do not have drainage holes. Drainage is so important to having a healthy plant. Your plant will die within weeks of your container does not have proper drainage. Check your pot.

3. Your plant develops brown spots. The brown spots are actually blisters that form because the cell wall of you plant has absorbed too much water and the cells begin to burst. This bursting of cells will lead to your plant having brown spots all over it. Make sure your plants are brown-spot free.


For more information on finding your particular type of plant, if you don't know what kind of plant you have, check out EasyBloom.com

The process by which plants develop brown spots is call Edema.

How compost works, why it’s important and how to get started today!

Compost is any organic material broken down to the point where plants are able to absorb its’ nutrients. It’s plant food in other words. Compost is probably one of the single most important factors in having healthy, large plants so make sure youre composting whenever possible.

So what is compost?

Compost can be almost any food item that hasn’t been cooked in animal fat. Such items include vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices and even egg shells. Each different item contains it’s unique set of nutrients and minerals that help keep your plants healthy.  

How can I compost?

Composing is easier than you may think. If youre a beginner you may want to start off small. I would recommend taking a small plastic container with a lid and setting it on your counter top where most of your food preparation is done. So. Once you have your container, I use an empty Foldgers coffee container, you’ll want to throw any unused vegetables, egg shells and any other plant based materials. Youre basically hording vegetable trash at this point. You’ll want to do this until your container if full. Personally, I don’t let the container stay any longer than 4-5 days because after that long, vegetables begin to smell. And no one likes a smelly kitchen. So after you’ve horded your scraps, you’ll want to empty them out in a bin outside your home. Your bin should be large enough to contain about 2-3 cubic feet of material. Once you’ve set up your outside bin and once your bin is filled, don’t worry, this will take a while, 3-4 months, you’ll want to let your scraps marinate for about 3 months. Yes. Composting is time consuming. But! It is very rewarding because what you’re left with after those 3 months is called black gold by most gardeners. This black gold is incredibly rich plant food that your plants will enjoy.

Side note. If you really want your plants to thrive you’ll want to make sure that you have worms breaking down the materials in your compost bins.

Finding The Elusive Air Plant

My first airplant. Hung under a yellow jasmine and chayote in my backyard. Will bring you updates at it grows!

This weekend I plan on going plant hunting for the very elusive, air plant. The air plant is unlike other plants which usually have deep root systems to absorb water and nutrients, the air plant however has no roots at all. In fact, they use their primordial roots for clinging to rocks, trees and other surfaces but actually absorb all of their water and nutrients through their leaves. Luckily for me, the air plant is a native of Southern California so finding it shouldn't be too difficult. According to Wikipedia there are over 730 different species of the plant. 

So for this little endevour I plan on going to Abalone Cove near Palos Verdes, which by the way has the most beautiful sunsets in California, in my humble opinion, in hopes of finding one of the 730 varieties. Once found, I plan to create an air plant terrarium. 

I will go ahead and link a how-to of the air plant terrarium once I have the plants. Since the plants are so versatile and easy to care for it is possible to create tones of different designs with your air plants. Some designs include building a rock wall, hanging them inside wine bottles and even adding them to your already existing fruit trees just to add an extra splash of life to your garden. 

Although the air plants are relatively easy to care for, they are not immortal. You can kill your plants so you will want to read up on how to care for airplants before your murder them all by leaving them in baking sun (guilty). 

The Flower Market in Los Angeles, on 8th and Julian, have a great selection of airplants ranging from $4 - $20. Check it out! They have tons of other plants and flowers, too.