Vegetable Problems - Nonliving

Sometimes vegetable crops, especially cucumbers, can taste bitter or have an off-flavor.

Leaves may turn yellow and die if sufficient nutrients are not available to plant roots. Nitrogen, in particular, may be in short supply early in the growing season. The leaves of lettuce, cabbage, spinach, and other vegetable plants may appear light green or yellow as a result.

Gardeners sometimes are taken by surprise that changing vegetable coloration is normal or that leaves sometimes have patterns.

Factors such as low soil fertility and hot, dry weather can result in small vegetable growth and poor yields.

A number of weather-related issues, diseases, nutritional and physiological disorders may cause the internal tissues of fruits to become discolored and rot.

Herbicides are products designed to kill undesirable weeds; however, misapplied herbicides can cause injury to vegetable plants.

Sometimes on large-fruited tomato cultivars, the top of the tomato remains green and doesn't entirely ripen.

Damage to vegetable plants from excess fertilizer or from a pesticide application can mimic a disease or insect pest problem in the backyard garden.

An issue in the summer vegetable garden on certain crops is bolting or when crops develop flowers and set seed before the vegetables are ready for harvest.

Sometimes root crops like carrots become deformed as they grow in the backyard garden.