Hello!

I live in NYC and have a container garden on my deck. Some of my plants are thriving but a lot of them are struggling this year. It has been extremely hard to grow things from seed - seeds will germinate but then stop growing. I've also planted a ton of seedlings that I purchased from my local plant store or online and the same thing happens - they stop growing. I initially thought the culprit was the relatively odd weather we've been having - tons of rain followed by extreme heat and humidity, but I recently noticed bugs in my potting soil as well.

I've done a lot of research to try to ID the bugs, but I'm not getting anywhere. They are very small, grayish in color, have 2 antennas, either 6 or 8 legs (it's hard to tell) and they move very quickly. I've seen them on top of the soil, deep in the soil and crawling on the containers. They are different sizes which leads me to believe the smaller ones are babies. They do NOT jump when I blow on them so aren't springtails. I've tried soaking soil with neem oil but that hasn't fixed the problem.

Any help in identifying these bugs would be really helpful! Also, open to any other suggestions as to why my plants aren't growing this year. Please let me know if you need any further info.

Thanks so much!
Shannon

Welcome to NGA @SWALSH26

Although you specifically asked about the bugs in your potting soil, I somewhat doubt they are the cause of your problem. What type of potting soil is in your containers? What type of containers are you using? And what type of plants are you attempting to grow? (And a photo of the "bugs" that you are seeing would also be helpful.)

Thank you, Sandy! Answers below.

- I mostly use plastic containers (I've used them for several years and have never had an issue).
- I mostly use espoma potting soil that I get from my local hardware/plant store. I've also tried coast of maine potting soil which maybe seems to work a little better?
- The plants that haven't done so well this year are: tomatoes, basil (although it just started growing a bit but still small), rosemary, orange mint, peppers, cucumber and a series of flowers (lenten rose, marigolds, moonflower, etc.).
- The plants that seem to be thriving this year are: strawberries, morning glory, lemon tree, mulberry tree, balloon flowers, garlic chive, etc.

Just to reiterate, it has been a VERY rainy and moist season. I've barely had to actually water my plants and the soil has never fully dried out before the next rain. Not sure if that has anything to do with the issue?

It's really hard to take a photo of the bugs since they are so tiny and move quickly, but I was able to post a video on vimeo. It looks like I'm unable to post the link since I'm a new member but that restriction will be lifted in a few days and then I'll add it.

Thanks so much for your help!

Hi Swalsh26,
Still having problems with your plants? What I understood from your post is... You have some bugs in the potting soil, you've had a lot of rain and some of your plants aren't thriving. Correct? Sounds like pretty typical problems we all face from time to time. Sometimes we figure it out and sometimes we don't. But I can at least make some observations and suggestions.
Too many bugs in the soil can be a real issue. You might want to try a soil drench to get rid of them. Shouldn't hurt the plants and might help a lot. You can use a variety of things. I have used permethrins at times and neem oil at times and hydrogen peroxide on occasion. Do some research, choose one and follow the instructions. Dilute them with plenty of water according to the label and see what happens. I would try one on one plant and then check the soil a day or two later.
Too much rain. Boy I wish I had that problem. However, if the roots aren't drying out enough then they aren't getting enough oxygen and can severely stunt your plants. I would find a way to cover the tops of the pots to keep some of the water out. Because eventually the roots will rot and the plant will die.
And plants not thriving. That's more complicated. If you've been growing plants on your deck for several years and they have mostly done well then we can assume they have plenty of sunlight and great temps to grow. Then my focus would be on the soil. If you get rid of the bugs and dry them out some that might solve the problem. But plants need lots of good minerals to grow and good fungus and good bacteria. Lots of potting soils just don't have what it takes so you might want to amend them with some good fertilizer or compost or worm castings. Hope this helps. Please let us know how you're doing.