Soil & nutrients
Hungry, overfed or locked out by the wrong pH: the leaf pattern tells you which.
Nutrient trouble reads like a map. Which leaves yellow first, old or new, and whether the veins stay green, points to the nutrient. Before you feed, check the pH: a nutrient locked up by the wrong pH looks exactly like one that is missing.
Start with what you see
Choose the symptom that looks most like your plant.
Soil & nutrients problems
7 problems
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Nutrient deficiency
Tomatoes, Lemon trees, Sweet corn Pale, yellowed or purpled leaves in a telling pattern. Read which leaves first, then feed. -
Nitrogen deficiency
Sweet corn, Cabbage, Kale Pale, small leaves and slow growth, with the oldest leaves yellowing first. -
Magnesium deficiency
Tomatoes, Grapes, Potatoes Yellow between the veins of older leaves, veins still green. Common on tomatoes. -
Iron deficiency (lime-induced chlorosis)
Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries The youngest leaves turn yellow with sharp green veins. Usually a sign the soil is too alkaline. -
Too much nitrogen
Chili peppers, Bell peppers, Tomatoes Lush, dark leaves and few flowers or fruit. Rich feeding pushes growth, not crop. -
Fertiliser burn
Monstera, Snake plant, Aloe vera Brown, crisp leaf tips and edges after feeding. Salts in the compost draw water from the roots. -
Wrong soil pH
Blueberries, Hydrangea, Lemon trees Yellowing and poor growth in soil too acid or too alkaline for the plant.
