- Beardie name(s)
- Taco
Soil (I use from the hardware store), missing microbes, lack of insects (that otherwise would also transmit useful microbes).I think it might be the soil and water.
Succulents don't need either to grow. A succulent leaf roots in the air, so it doesn't need as many minerals as garden plants.
Have you tried using mineral supplements? For example, concentrates for hydroponics systems, I think they might work for you as supplements to your water for watering your plants. They should be available at your hardware store.
I will not buy these special supplements as they are very expensive here, if available at all (I would have to order these for a steep price; gardening just isn't a thing here despite for succulents). As much as I would like to grow things, I just have to confess it is more rational and cheaper for me to buy a basil, oregano... plant and use it up within 1 - 2 weeks instead of buying supplies and trying around. It is just very unlikely I could achieve here a "blooming garden of leafy plants". Never seen such here. Also the leafy plants in the garden center (which is supplied from a different region of the country) often look bad, with the same signs I see with plants at home... and I see they throw away a lot. Here are small "mom and pop"-style plant stores, and I guess for a good reason they only carry (beautiful!) succulents.
I guess here was a misunderstanding as succulents for sure need water and minerals. But these are better adapted to desert conditions and for sure can cope better with lack of microbes and (in the case of being outdoors where the herbs perform worse than indoors) high UV.Succulents don't need either to grow. A succulent leaf roots in the air, so it doesn't need as many minerals as garden plants.