Taking care of your vegetable garden is a demanding task, especially if you want your vegetables to grow in good shape. Remember that an unhealthy vegetable plant can deliver rotten vegetables that may not be efficient for consumption.

One of the most common problems that you may experience with your vegetable plants is yellowing. You may have looked at your garden and noticed that some of your vegetable plants have turned into a slight yellow color. While that doesn’t mean that your vegetables are lost forever, you need to take care of the issue as soon as you can.

However, vegetable plants turned yellow can happen for several reasons. Every garden is unique, so not every problem is due to the same reasons. On this page, we’re going to give you eight common reasons why your vegetable plants may have turned yellow, as well as some things that you can do to fix the problem.

1. Temperature

While this issue is more common in landscape plants, it can also happen in house plants. You may expect drastic temperature changes at the beginning of each new season. In these cases, these temperature changes can make the tip of your vegetable plants look slightly burned.

For example, in cold temperatures, tropical plants (Cucumber, eggplant, or sweet potato) may cause the plant to turn fully yellow. However, if the temperature change is more like a draft, the leaves are going to have the “burned” look we’ve mentioned before.

If your vegetable plants were affected by temperature changes, you can trim off the burned leaves to make room for new growth. It can also help to take your plants to warmer temperatures.

2. Overwatering

Some people believe that the key to growing healthy vegetables is using as much water as possible. While water is needed to grow healthy plants, using too much can cause your roots to drown, killing them; if this happens, your vegetable plant’s leaves are going to turn yellow or fall off. On the other hand, you can cause your vegetables to rot or grow improperly.

To make sure that you’re watering your vegetable plants correctly, water your plant and wait until the soil starts to dry before watering it again. Additionally, you must ensure that your plant container has enough drainage holes for the water to go through.

Another thing that you should keep into account is the plant’s roots while you’re repotting it. If the plant has white roots, then it’s healthy; on the other hand, if it has black roots, make sure to trim the black parts to let it recover.

3. Underwatering/ Dehydration

Logically, vegetable plants that don’t receive enough water can eventually die. A clear sign of this issue is the plant turning yellow. Even if you believe you’re watering your plant properly, there may be some issues causing the water not to reach the plant’s root.

In these cases, your best choice is to check your soil drainage. Put some water on the plant and let the soil dry for a bit before you water the plant again; this way, you ensure that the root is getting enough moisture to grow healthily.

4. Light Problems

Remember that all plants need light to live. If you keep your vegetable plants in low light conditions, your vegetables are not going to grow to their full extent. In some cases, your plant can turn yellow due to a lack of light.

To assess the situation, check your vegetable plant’s leaves; if the yellowing starts on the part of the plant that’s not receiving as much light, your problem is lack of light in these areas. On the other hand, some vegetable plants have different light requirements than others. We suggest that you research your plant so that you know what it needs to grow healthy.

5. Pest Problems

Vegetable plants tend to suffer from pest issues; these are fairly easy to identify since pests leave small yellow spots on the leaves instead of completely yellowing the plant. If this is your case, identify the pest/insect that’s affecting your plant so that you can create a treatment plan to take care of it.

Typically, mites, mealybugs, whiteflies, thrips, or aphids are the responsible agents for wearing down your plant. Keep in mind that pests can also eat the vegetables you’re growing, so assess the situation before it gets worse.

After you treat the pest problem in your garden, consider washing your vegetables and plants repeatedly to avoid future issues.

6. Physical Damage and Disease

People who treat their vegetable plants poorly can end up in root disease and general plant wear. In severe cases of damage, your vegetable plant can die entirely. Remember that any damage to your plant’s roots can cause them not to take moisture and nutrients efficiently.

Some vegetable plants, such as eggplants, are extremely delicate to grow, so they need special care. If they’re affected by the slightest problem, they may die promptly. A clear sign of damage and disease is the yellowing of the plant, so keep your plant’s needs in mind so that you take care of them correctly.

7. Age

As with every living organism, plants can die after they’ve lived for a particular amount of time. If your vegetable plant is getting yellow, and you cannot identify any particular reason, it may be due to the plant’s age.

Keep in mind that the yellowing may start to show itself in older leaves; in these cases, you may try trimming the old leaves to make room for new growth.

8. Lack of Nutrients

Nutrients are – by far – the most important aspect of a vegetable plant’s growth. If your plant’s leaves have been turning yellow, it may be due to a lack of some of the nutrients. A great way of noticing this issue is by looking at the plant closely; if the leaves’ veins are green but the body is yellow, it’s likely a nutrient problem.

It’s important to note that there are several nutrients that vegetable plants are continually receiving throughout their growth cycle. Here’s an overview of how each nutrient’s deficiency may affect the plant:

• Nitrogen – The plant’s leaves start turning yellow from the back of the plant and start moving outward.
• Magnesium – The older leaves get yellow patches around the leaf’s veins. The last part of the leave to turn yellow is the edge of the leaf.
• Potassium – The leaf’s edges turn yellow first, and they slowly start to get to a brown color as the leaf gets older.
• Sulfur – As opposed to the other nutrients; a sulfur problem affects the new leaves first, turning them yellow entirely as time passes.
• Iron – An iron problem affects branch tips and plant tops in new leaves before getting to the older ones.

Conclusion

If you want to grow healthy, delicious vegetables in your garden, you need to pay attention to how they’re growing as time passes. Make sure that each plant gets proper growing conditions at all times, and be ready to take care of them if any of them gets yellow eventually.