My pepper plants kept dying until I caught myself overwatering for 3 straight seasons

Honestly I thought I was just cursed with bad soil or something because every pepper plant I put on my balcony would get yellow leaves and eventually rot. Last summer I was out there with my watering can and my neighbor from 3C yelled over the railing asking why I was drowning them every single day. Tbh I had no idea you were supposed to let the soil dry out between waterings. I kept a little schedule and everything but it turned out I was basically giving them root rot on purpose. Now I only water my bell peppers and jalapenos when the top inch of soil feels dry and they actually survived the whole season. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized you were treating your plants totally wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

henry1011mo ago

Watering schedules are a total trap, I learned that the hard way too with my houseplants. Just sticking a finger in the soil to check before watering changed everything for me. It's wild how much easier plants are when you stop trying so hard.

wade_hall1mo ago

My ficus survived a whole year on a strict schedule before I even knew what I was doing @henry101. People act like missing a watering by one day kills the plant, but most of them are tougher than we give them credit for. Half the time when mine look sad, it's too much water not too little anyway.