The Messed Up Gardener

🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode
Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes
Your garden bed looks beautiful.
Fresh mulch covers the soil. The weeds are hidden. Everything looks tidy and protected.
But what is actually happening underneath?
Is the soil staying too wet? Are slugs sheltering beside your seedlings? Or is the mulch absorbing water before it ever reaches the roots?
In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams explores how mulch affects your garden soil, when it helps, and when it can create problems you might not even realise are there.
Because mulch is not automatically beneficial simply because it covers the soil.
In this episode you’ll discover:
🌱 How mulch affects soil moisture, temperature and root health
🌱 Why too much mulch can cause waterlogging, delayed soil warming and poor plant growth
🌱 The advantages and disadvantages of different mulching materials
🌱 Why mulch depth matters and why stems, crowns and trunks need breathing space
🌱 How mulch can shelter slugs, snails and persistent weeds
🌱 Why wet mulch doesn't always mean wet soil
🌱 How mulch can conceal compaction, poor drainage and unhealthy root conditions
🌱 A simple mulch diagnosis to help you identify problems before adding another layer
If your plants are struggling despite regular watering and careful garden maintenance, it might be time to look beneath the surface.
Because a beautifully mulched garden bed is not necessarily a healthy one.
Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is pull the mulch aside and see what is actually happening underneath.
🎧 Press play above to listen.
🍄 A Little Gift for NZ Podcast Listeners
Many of you know that growing food is a big part of my world. Alongside the vegetable garden, I also grow gourmet mushrooms through Mushrooms By The Sea.
If you’ve ever wanted to try growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home, I’d love to give you 10% off your first full-priced order.
Simply use the code:
🍄 SHROOM10
at checkout.
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
Discount applies to full-priced items only and cannot be used on products already on sale, discounted products or bundles.
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with another gardener or leaving a review. Every share and every review helps more people discover the show.
I’d also love to hear...
What are you using to mulch your garden right now – and have you ever checked what is happening underneath?
📩 themessedupgardener@gmail.com
🌐 www.themessedupgardener.com
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
🌿 Follow the Journey
Facebook / Instagram
🌿 The Messed-Up Gardener
🍄 Mushrooms By The Sea
🌱 Helpful Garden Resources
If you’d like to keep learning, you can explore some of my practical gardening resources:
🌱 Create Your Own DIY Self-Watering Planters
A step-by-step guide to building simple systems that help your garden thrive.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/create-your-own-diy-self-watering-garden-planters
🌿 Free Gardening Resources
🌱 12 Essential Tips for a Thriving Garden
Practical guidance from planning through to harvest.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Organic Gardening Cheat Sheet
Simple natural methods for chemical-free growing.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Garden Goals Planning Worksheet
A practical worksheet to help you design your garden with purpose and intention.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/get-my-garden-goals-planning-worksheet-now
Until next time, remember...
Gardening can happen in any space, in any place, and on any budget.
Have an incredibly abundant week, and I'll buzz you later!
The Messed-Up Gardener is brought to you by Mushrooms by the Sea.
Want to grow your own gourmet mushrooms at home? Visit Mushrooms by the Sea and use code SHROOM10 at checkout to receive 10% off your first full-priced order.
Discount applies to full-priced products only and does not apply to already discounted products or bundles.
 
The Messed-Up Gardener is brought to you by Mushrooms by the Sea.
Want to grow your own gourmet mushrooms at home? Visit Mushrooms by the Sea and use code SHROOM10 at checkout to receive 10% off your first full-priced order.
Discount applies to full-priced products only and does not apply to already discounted products or bundles.

🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode
Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes
Your plant is covered in flowers.
The bees are visiting.
Everything looks as though a bumper harvest should be just around the corner.
Then the flowers fall off...
...and nothing follows.
No tomatoes.
No courgettes.
No pumpkins.
No fruit at all.
So what has gone wrong?
In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams takes a closer look at what actually has to happen between a flower opening and a fruit beginning to grow - and the surprisingly large number of places where that process can stop.
Because flowers are only the beginning.
Pollination still has to happen.
Fertilisation has to succeed.
The right kind of flower needs to be present.
The weather has to cooperate.
And the plant needs enough water, energy and healthy root function to support the developing fruit.
In this episode you’ll discover:
🌱 Why seeing flowers doesn’t necessarily mean fruit will follow
🌱 The important difference between pollination and fertilisation
🌱 How to tell male and female flowers apart on courgettes, pumpkins, cucumbers and squash
🌱 Why bees visiting your flowers doesn’t always mean successful fruit set
🌱 How heat, cold, rain and wind can interfere with pollination and fertilisation
🌱 Why inconsistent watering can cause flowers and young fruit to drop
🌱 Why adding more fertiliser may not solve the problem - and can sometimes make it worse
🌱 How incomplete pollination can lead to misshapen strawberries, poorly filled corn cobs and courgettes that begin growing before stopping
🌱 Why some fruit trees need a compatible pollinator flowering at the same time
🌱 A simple flower-to-fruit check to help you work out where the process may be failing
If your garden is producing plenty of flowers but very little fruit, this episode will help you stop guessing and start looking at what is actually happening.
Because a fallen flower is only the visible result.
The real cause may have happened hours - or even days - earlier.
🎧 Press play above to listen.
🍄 A Little Gift for NZ Podcast Listeners
Many of you know that growing food is a big part of my world. Alongside the vegetable garden, I also grow gourmet mushrooms through Mushrooms By The Sea.
If you’ve ever wanted to try growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home, I’d love to give you 10% off your first order.
Simply use the code:
🍄 SHROOM10
at checkout.
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
Discount applies to full-priced items only and cannot be used on products already on sale or discounted.
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with another gardener or leaving a review. Every share and every review helps more people discover the show.
I’d also love to hear...
What is flowering in your garden right now - and is the fruit actually following?
📩 themessedupgardener@gmail.com
🌐 www.themessedupgardener.com
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
🌿 Follow the Journey
Facebook / Instagram
🌿 The Messed-Up Gardener
🍄 Mushrooms By The Sea
🌱 Helpful Garden Resources
If you’d like to keep learning, you can explore some of my practical gardening resources:
🌱 Create Your Own DIY Self-Watering Planters
A step-by-step guide to building simple systems that help your garden thrive.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/create-your-own-diy-self-watering-garden-planters
🌿 Free Gardening Resources
🌱 12 Essential Tips for a Thriving Garden
Practical guidance from planning through to harvest.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Organic Gardening Cheat Sheet
Simple natural methods for chemical-free growing.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Garden Goals Planning Worksheet
A practical worksheet to help you design your garden with purpose and intention.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/get-my-garden-goals-planning-worksheet-now
Until next time, remember...
The Messed-Up Gardener is brought to you by Mushrooms by the Sea.
Want to grow your own gourmet mushrooms at home? Visit Mushrooms by the Sea and use code SHROOM10 at checkout to receive 10% off your first full-priced order.
Discount applies to full-priced products only and does not apply to already discounted products or bundles.

🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode
Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes
Your compost pile is full.
You’ve added kitchen scraps, grass clippings, dry leaves and cardboard.
But weeks later...
...not much seems to be happening.
The pile is cold. The cardboard is still cardboard. Or worse, everything has become wet, slimy and smelly.
So what has gone wrong?
In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams takes a closer look at what is actually happening inside a compost pile — and why decomposition sometimes slows down or seems to stop altogether.
Because composting is a living process.
And when the organisms doing the work are missing the right balance of food, moisture, oxygen or time, the pile will tell you.
In this episode you’ll discover:
🌱 Why some compost piles break down faster than others
🌱 How to balance carbon-rich browns and nitrogen-rich greens
🌱 How to tell whether your compost is too wet or too dry
🌱 What bad smells can reveal about conditions inside the pile
🌱 When turning your compost helps — and when it doesn’t
🌱 Why a cold or slow compost pile is not necessarily a failed one
🌱 A simple way to diagnose what your compost actually needs
If your compost has been sitting there doing very little, this episode will help you stop guessing and start reading the clues.
Because sometimes your compost doesn’t need another activator, ingredient or quick fix.
It simply needs the right conditions to get back to work.
🎧 Press play above to listen.
🍄 A Little Gift for NZ Podcast Listeners
Many of you know that growing food is a big part of my world. Alongside the vegetable garden, I also grow gourmet oyster mushrooms through Mushrooms By The Sea.
If you’ve ever wanted to try growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home, I’d love to give you 10% off your first order.
Simply use the code:
🍄 SHROOM10
at checkout.
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
Discount applies to full-priced items only and cannot be used on products already on sale or discounted.
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with another gardener or leaving a review. Every share and every review helps more people discover the show.
I’d also love to hear...
What is happening in your compost pile right now: too dry, too wet, smelly, cold—or simply very slow?
📩 themessedupgardener@gmail.com
🌐 www.themessedupgardener.com
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz

🌿 Follow the Journey
Facebook / Instagram
🌿 The Messed-Up Gardener
🍄 Mushrooms By The Sea

🌱 Helpful Garden Resources
If you’d like to keep learning, you can explore some of my practical gardening resources:
🌱 Create Your Own DIY Self-Watering Planters
A step-by-step guide to building simple systems that help your garden thrive.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/create-your-own-diy-self-watering-garden-planters
🌿 Free Gardening Resources
🌱 12 Essential Tips for a Thriving Garden
Practical guidance from planning through to harvest.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Organic Gardening Cheat Sheet
Simple natural methods for chemical-free growing.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Garden Goals Planning Worksheet
A practical worksheet to help you design your garden with purpose and intention.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/get-my-garden-goals-planning-worksheet-now
Until next time, remember...
The Messed-Up Gardener is brought to you by Mushrooms by the Sea.
Want to grow your own gourmet mushrooms at home? Visit Mushrooms by the Sea and use code SHROOM10 at checkout to receive 10% off your first full-priced order.
Discount applies to full-priced products only and does not apply to already discounted products or bundles.

A wilted plant can make us reach for the hose before checking anything else.
But wilting does not always mean the soil is dry.
A plant can wilt in wet soil, after transplanting, during hot weather, in cold conditions, or when damaged roots cannot move water properly.
In this episode of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams takes a slightly more technical look at what wilting really means and why very different problems can create the same drooping leaves.
In this episode you’ll discover:
🌱 What turgor pressure is and why plants lose their firmness
🌱 How both dry soil and waterlogged roots can cause wilting
🌱 Why some plants droop during the hottest part of the day and recover later
🌱 How transplant shock, root-bound pots, wind and cold soil affect water movement
🌱 Why water can run through a pot while the root ball remains dry
🌱 How the timing of the wilt can help reveal the cause
🌱 A simple diagnosis process to use before reaching for the hose
If you have ever looked at a drooping plant and assumed it needed water...
This episode will help you slow down and check what is really happening.
Because watering a thirsty plant may save it.
But watering a plant with damaged, oxygen-starved roots may make the problem worse.
The symptom may look the same.
The response should not be.
🎧 Press play above to listen.
🍄 A Little Gift for NZ Podcast Listeners
Many of you know that growing food is a big part of my world. Alongside the vegetable garden, I also grow gourmet oyster mushrooms through Mushrooms By The Sea.
If you’ve ever wanted to try growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home, I’d love to give you 10% off your first order.
Simply use the code:
🍄 SHROOM10
at checkout.
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
Discount applies to full-priced items only and cannot be used on products already on sale or discounted.
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with another gardener or leaving a review. Every share and every review helps more people discover the show.
I’d also love to hear...
What is the first thing you usually do when one of your plants begins to wilt?
📩 themessedupgardener@gmail.com
🌐 www.themessedupgardener.com
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
🌿 Follow the Journey
Facebook / Instagram
🌿 The Messed-Up Gardener
🍄 Mushrooms By The Sea
🌱 Helpful Garden Resources
If you’d like to keep learning, you can explore some of my practical gardening resources:
🌱 Create Your Own DIY Self-Watering Planters
A step-by-step guide to building simple systems that help your garden thrive.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/create-your-own-diy-self-watering-garden-planters
🌿 Free Gardening Resources
🌱 12 Essential Tips for a Thriving Garden
Practical guidance from planning through to harvest.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Organic Gardening Cheat Sheet
Simple natural methods for chemical-free growing.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Garden Goals Planning Worksheet
A practical worksheet to help you design your garden with purpose and intention.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/get-my-garden-goals-planning-worksheet-now
Until next time, remember...
The Messed-Up Gardener is brought to you by Mushrooms by the Sea.
Want to grow your own gourmet mushrooms at home? Visit Mushrooms by the Sea and use code SHROOM10 at checkout to receive 10% off your first full-priced order.
Discount applies to full-priced products only and does not apply to already discounted products or bundles.

🎧 Press Play to Listen to Today’s Episode
Free Gardening Resources at the bottom of the show notes
Yellow leaves have a remarkable ability to make gardeners panic.
One day the plant looks fine.
The next, two leaves have turned pale.
Before long, you are wondering whether it needs more water, less water, fertiliser, better soil, pest treatment...
...or a respectful burial.
But yellow leaves are not a diagnosis.
They are a symptom.
And the position, pattern and timing of that yellowing can tell you far more than the colour alone.
In Episode 189 of The Messed-Up Gardener, Esther Williams takes a slightly more technical look at what yellow leaves may really be trying to tell you.
Because yellowing can be connected to nutrient shortages...
But it can also be caused by waterlogged roots, dry soil, cold conditions, low light, pests, disease, transplant stress or natural ageing.
In this episode you’ll discover:
🌱 What chlorosis means and why it describes a symptom rather than the cause
🌱 Why yellowing on older leaves may tell a different story from yellowing on new growth
🌱 How the pattern inside the leaf can help narrow down the problem
🌱 Why nutrients can be present in the soil but still unavailable to the plant
🌱 How root stress, waterlogging and compaction can cause leaves to turn yellow
🌱 Why adding more fertiliser can sometimes make the problem worse
🌱 How both overwatering and underwatering can create similar symptoms
🌱 When low light, pests, disease or physical damage may be involved
🌱 Why some yellow leaves are completely normal
🌱 A simple yellow-leaf diagnosis process you can use in your own garden
If you have ever looked at a yellowing plant and wondered whether to water it, feed it, spray it or leave it alone...
This episode will help you slow down, read the clues and make one measured decision at a time.
Because the most useful question is not simply:
“Why is this leaf yellow?”
It is:
“Where did the yellowing begin... and what else changed?”
🎧 Press play above to listen.
🍄 A Little Gift for NZ Podcast Listeners
Many of you know that growing food is a big part of my world. Alongside the vegetable garden, I also grow gourmet oyster mushrooms through Mushrooms By The Sea.
If you’ve ever wanted to try growing your own gourmet mushrooms at home, I’d love to give you 10% off your first order.
Simply use the code:
🍄 SHROOM10
at checkout.
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
Discount applies to full-priced items only and cannot be used on products already on sale or discounted.
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with another gardener or leaving a review. Every share and every review helps more people discover the show.
I’d also love to hear...
What plant in your garden is showing yellow leaves at the moment?
📩 themessedupgardener@gmail.com
🌐 www.themessedupgardener.com
🌐 www.mushroomsbythesea.co.nz
🌿 Follow the Journey
Facebook / Instagram
🌿 The Messed-Up Gardener
🍄 Mushrooms By The Sea
🌱 Helpful Garden Resources
If you’d like to keep learning, you can explore some of my practical gardening resources:
🌱 Create Your Own DIY Self-Watering Planters
A step-by-step guide to building simple systems that help your garden thrive.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/create-your-own-diy-self-watering-garden-planters
🌿 Free Gardening Resources
🌱 12 Essential Tips for a Thriving Garden
Practical guidance from planning through to harvest.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Organic Gardening Cheat Sheet
Simple natural methods for chemical-free growing.
https://stan.store/EstherA
🌿 Garden Goals Planning Worksheet
A practical worksheet to help you design your garden with purpose and intention.
https://stan.store/EstherA/p/get-my-garden-goals-planning-worksheet-now
Until next time, remember...
The Messed-Up Gardener is brought to you by Mushrooms by the Sea.
Want to grow your own gourmet mushrooms at home? Visit Mushrooms by the Sea and use code SHROOM10 at checkout to receive 10% off your first full-priced order.
Discount applies to full-priced products only and does not apply to already discounted products or bundles.