Hi fellow window-gardeners!

this is my first post, as i always found my needed answers before, but now, it looks like, i really need help from more experienced gardeners if i want to save my babies.

so… and again, my plants are dying…! im starting to get a little frustrated, because im killing all my plants, and its always something new.

so here is quickly the information about my last failure if it helps: i had lemon grass, the chilli which is still there, and cherry tomatoes. although tomatoe seems to be a beginners-plant, it was my problem child from the beginning. it seemed to be growing, but as fast as it grew up, the lower leaves started to get brown and fall of. so in the end it was just a looooong weed looking stem, becoming thinner and thinner to the top, completely naked with only just a few new leaves at the top, already starting to decay as the new ones came.my lemon-grass was healthy and growing for about a month if not longer, untill it suddenly died! the leaves became brown all of a sudden and yesterday i found out the roots were completely mouldy. is this a result of overwatering? so only my chilli survived, and lives on happily, growing a lot of new leaves since ive transplanted it. there is no sign of fruits, but as far as i know, i could only expect them in autumn, but i dont care for the fruits this year, as long as it happily makes it through his first year…. i admit, that i never added any nutritions, and always just watered them with normal tap water.

so, now here is my new setup after the last ones didnt make it, from top to bottom row: (chocolate) mint, sorrel, (the old) chili and basil. all of these were transplanted by me yesterday with an exception of the chili of course. i washed the soil off (tryed to be as gentle as i can). and transplanted them into the clay pots.

i got 3 bio nutritions: grow, bloom and root. i use a 1,5 ml bottle as a tank, and added all nutritions together with the intention of a good, new start. basically, as the nutritions basically dont have any instructions and the seller told me to best just add a cap of each to my 1,5l tank… thats what i did. so i left my plants over night, and today in the morning – this! my mint is basically dying in front of my eyes, the sorrel isnt doing all to well either, and the basil (from the new plants) seems to be doing best, although i also cant say that its really happy nor healthy. only my chilli is as happy as it was before.

i did rinse the system now completely through with fresh water, but i fear every spare drop of water after what happened to my lemon-grass as i guess it comes from the over-watering. so now…. i dont know further! i so want to save my plants especially the mint and the sorrel, as i see them literarilly dying in front of my eyes, but i cant seem to do anything against it…. at least i dont know what to do! can it be that the nutrients were a shock to them? or should i have waited with the nutrients untill they have recovered from the transplanting?

also, i dont have any lights for now, as im a bit on a budget atm, and i dont have the money to buy the lighting system for the big amount of money that seems to be needed…. although its summer, and very hot atm, but they are always in the shade… (im planning to install lights anyways, just not at this very moment, but i dont think that has to do anything with the rapid dying… ) and yes, the ph-level of my water is very high of what i have tested. its ph 8 so i think i will have to buy a ph down today (although i wish i could add something natural(?)) as i now fear doing anything(!) that might do my plants ever worse!…

here are a few pictures, so you can make your own impression on what my plants look like at the moment.

i know i sound like a newbie (and i am), and im sorry for asking any “duh”-questions, its just that i have no sorts of experience with gardening what-so ever, and before my window farm, i could barely even keep a pot-plant alive… so this is really something new for me, and i see them as my children, but i have no parenting experience at all… )) and i would be very greatful to get answers to my questions, as now i see that seeking for help is the only thing that can now help me keep my plants alive (if there is any chance of that at all… especially for the mint)

mint

sorrel

basil

chili

the nutritions i used…

thanks in advance