All my plants die after they start growing and I don’t know why. I’ve tried controlling every factor that I can although without a thermometer, higrometer, pH measuring etc. I even have a shitty microscope that I try to analyse the sick parts, but I can’t find any reliable resources on how to actually interpret what I’m seeing. I want to know how to use this kind of data so that I can raise my plants right.
Where can I learn about this? I mean diagnosing problems, monitoring variables, finding solutions to each situation etc. google obviously sucks and gives nothing of substance
I will say that I recently got a new substrate, maybe the old one was the problem. But then there’s my mother-in-law, who raises beautiful lavenders and all that using the exact same soil I’m getting shitty results with. I’m literally not doing anything different to her, so maybe it’s the water? I really don’t know.
Edit: in fact, the lush lavender 🪻 she is currently flexing is a piece of the one my partner bought. Same plant, same soil.
Edit 2: also, the roots always look alright when I dig their cadavers to analyze. No parasites, insects, obvious fungi etc in any part of any plant so far.
In my original message that I lost I actually went in to how I get your approach on some level because I have a STEM background and like to measure things. And that’s why I like (less intense) indoor gardening because it lets me practice something differently than most of my other hobbies.
It’s a hobby that is easy to make “zen”, or whatever other word you think fits here, and so that’s my approach. It’s sorta meditative in its own ways.
But, I also wanted to mention that I appreciate that gardening is not like politics where different philosophies can feel personal, so if this style doesn’t vibe with you then it’s no sweat.
If I knew how to collect data on my plants I would have done it ;) and I’ve definitely mapped out the light intensity for each square foot across my room before and taken data on when I water. But I never regularly kept it up.
Regardless of the style, learning the basics with a snake plant is the easiest way to get started imo. Then once you can reliably have a control you can get all cybernetic with it. If you do please share because I do think it’d be cool to see!