Notes from the meadow
What went wrong, what we learned, and how to stay a step ahead of your plants instead of a week behind them.
Overwatering vs underwatering: how to tell the difference
An overwatered plant shows every symptom of drought, because roots damaged by waterlogging cannot absorb water even when it is right there. Here is the one-minute test that tells the two apart, and what to do for each.
Read more →Why you're always a step behind your plants
It is not carelessness. The cause starts in the roots or under a leaf, the plant covers for it out of its reserves, and the symptom you finally spot is the slow end of the process. Here is roughly how far behind that puts you, problem by problem.
Read more →Why are my plant's leaves turning yellow?
Yellow leaves are a symptom, not a diagnosis. The useful question isn't "why is it yellow" but "which leaves went yellow, and in what order" — that narrows four common causes down to one.
Read more →I built a gardening app because I was always one step behind my plants
I learned to garden building a greenhouse in Henley-on-Thames during lockdown. Then I spent years finding out what my plants needed about a week after they needed it — and missing the part I actually loved. This is what I did about it.
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