Grr! So frustrated! Am I not destined to be a gardener?!

look_after_the_pennies

Just wanted a bit of a whinge really about my gardening exploits. Only started this year and only my strawberries have been a success. I bought a raspberry plant and it started to bloom in our conversatory. I repotted it and moved it outside and all the leaves fell off.
After no success from growing chillis from seed, I bought a chilli plant. I've got around 5 green chillis on it at the moment but the leaves are wilting and I've noticed it has been attacked by white fly.
Decided to grow some peppers and bought a pepper plant. Have kept it in the conservatory and it was doing well until that got attacked by aphids. I try to keep rinsing the leaves with water and also spray with a fairy liquid/water solution. Came home yesterday after a night a way to find some of the leaves and flowers have dropped off.
Feel like I'm having a run of bad luck at the moment and I'm not blessed with green fingers !!

elsien

Disheartening when it all goes wrong, isn't it? Can't help with any of your problems, but I've given up on trying to grow any plants indoors now as I have black thumbs as far as they are concerned. I always either over or under water - can't seem to get the balance right, and all my indoor plants get white fly. I do better with my outside veggy pots, although it might be because I've chosen idiot proof crops to start with.
Have you got enough drainage - if the pepper plant leaves are dropping off, could it be overwatering? Perhaps you could try an organic bug killer rather than the washing up liquid, although it's not as money saving?
And strawberries is good - you can never have too many puds.

Nikki

Hmmm, not sure about the raspberry, I bought 5 canes in a pot and only 3 took when I replanted them. I do know that raspberries do not really like containers as they are shallow rooted and like long root runs, I am not ready to put mine in the ground yet as our garden needs alot of work so I planted mine in an old abandoned bath an they are growing well and fruiting. Could be over watering with peppers and chillies, this happened to us the first year we grew them - they do recover if I remember rightly. Yep aphids do love chillies and peppers, the best remedy I have found so far is companion planting. We put marigolds and basil in our greenhouse and have had no probs with any type of aphid. Growing fruit and veg has it's sucesses and disasters every year no matter how experienced you are, we just learn from it and hope the disasters will be sucesses next year:)

alanobrien

If its any consolation i can grow most things but always find strawberries a pain in the rear to grow and this year was no exception with a miserable crop :mad:

You can't be good at everything, persevere and try new things next year, it works for me

look_after_the_pennies

Thanks for the tips. I particularly like the companion planting one. Must do some research into it for next year. I may have overwatered the pepper plant perhaps but only whilst trying to rinse the bugs off. I guess it is a learning curve and I'll try to not give up!

annie123

look_after_the_pennies wrote: »

Just wanted a bit of a whinge really about my gardening exploits. Only started this year and only my strawberries have been a success. Thats a good start
I bought a raspberry plant and it started to bloom in our conversatory. I repotted it and moved it outside and all the leaves fell off. Only move them when they are dormant in the winter time
After no success from growing chillis from seed,they can be difficult and takes weeks to germinate I bought a chilli plant. I've got around 5 green chillis on it at the moment but the leaves are wilting and I've noticed it has been attacked by white fly.spray with water with a little bit of washing up liquid in it, you can over winter indoors:)
Decided to grow some peppers and bought a pepper plant. Have kept it in the conservatory and it was doing well until that got attacked by aphids. Soapy water will get rid of them I try to keep rinsing the leaves with water and also spray with a fairy liquid/water solution. Came home yesterday after a night a way to find some of the leaves and flowers have dropped off. Too much soap in the water, it stops the leaves breathing, rather than spraying use a cloth or small sponge dipped in the soapy water and rub over the stem and leaves, leave till the next day and shower with fresh water to rinse it off the leaves
Feel like I'm having a run of bad luck at the moment and I'm not blessed with green fingers !!not true, except for the raspberry problem I've had the lot and I've been gardening since before you were born probably so dont worry

My thoughts in red above, you've made a good start and not started with the easiest of plants anyway so well done for what you have achieved and keep trying, all of us started off knowing nothing

look_after_the_pennies

Thanks for your advice annie123. I didn't realise too much soap could suffocate the leaves. I thought it would only harm the aphids so I admit I went overboard with the spray as I desperately wanted to save the plant! Looks like it has had the opposite effect! Thanks for the advice so far. I've learnt a lot so far and no doubt will still have a lot to learn!

annie123

The plant may survive and grow new leaves.
Bring any chili and peppers you want to keep indoors in the autumn. They will often start producing flowers again, so pollinate them with a dry paint brush and you will be picking them in January.
My chili's drop all their leaves around February and start growing new ones. This is a good time to re pot if needed. They then get a head start on the year.
I've had some of mine for many years, but this year I lost my oldest.
Whilst it was dropping it leaves as usual it got attacked by red spider mite :mad: but I spotted it too late.
Loses can happen to any of us;)
good luck

beverleyhills

If you don't do it already, start to keep a gardening diary. Record what works and what is unsucessful in your indoor/outdoor gardening space.