I need help with keeping a bell pepper and sweet mint healthy and alive

Question

Recently I got two plants from a store; they were a bell pepper and a sweet mint but the bell peppers leaves are drooping and the some of the mint plants leaves are dry and a bit brown. I'm in an RV so they dont get too much real sun but I made sure to get a plant growing light.

I don't know why they are dying; I make sure to keep the plant light on all day until night and I water them every 2-3 days when the soil seems a bit dry with some plant food mixed in I'm not very used to growing plants.

For a bit more info, when I got them at the store they were just fine green and healthy. I have not repotted them as they were just fine in said pots at the store

Answer 1

I can't see the size of the pots, though from the appearance of the thick stem at the base of the mint, it definitely needs a bigger pot, something that's at least 6 inches deep and wider than its current pot appears judging by the rim. The same is likely true of the bell pepper plant - when you first buy plants, yes they should look green and healthy, but as they grow, they need more root room, because it's the roots that are the most critical part of the plant. If they don't have enough room, they can't function correctly to keep your plant growing and healthy. One other thing re the pepper plant - I can see something on the edge of one of the leaves at top right. It may be an insect or something else, but check to see its not an aphid of some sort, make sure there isn't an infestation of them starting.

In respect of water, water when the surface of the soil feels dry to the touch and water well. I don't know what the recommended dosage and timing of the fertiliser you're using is, but it sounds like you're using it too often, so check the package. If you repot both plants using fresh potting soil around them and water thoroughly, allowing excess to flow away freely, if there is too much fertiliser present, it will be partially washed out and diluted. EDIT You say you've only been using the fertiliser for three days,so this isn't likely a fertiliser problem, but stop using it and follow the instructions that came with it.

Answer 2

I think your plants may be over fertilized. Too much fertilizer can look like the yellowing/scorched leaves on the mint, or general drooping like your pepper plant.

Dr. Earth Pump and Grow Organic Natural Vegetable Food recommends two pumps of fertilizer per plant every 2 weeks. If you've been applying more than that for a while, it can build up in the soil and become too much for the plants.

You can 'rinse' the fertilizer out of the soil. You can do that by watering them, and watering them, and watering them some more while the water flows through the pot, taking some of that excess fertilizer with it. I do this in a sink with the tap on very slowly. Another way is to set the pot in a tub of water that is just higher than the soil and let the fertilizer slowing diffuse out. In either case, do it once and then let the soil dry normally.