Part of the problem seems to be a pest of some sort (slugs sound reasonable, but impossible to say for sure) as well as a gnat problem and then there also appears to be an overwatering problem (no growth, floppy stems).

First, I will explain how to post pictures:

Go to photobucket There are other free image hosting sites, but I use this one so can explain it better. It is free. With your account created there will be an upload images and video section. It will let you navigate on your computer to the file you want to upload. Once it is uploaded it provides 4 syntaxes for posting various places. Use the third from the top for html code. Copy/paste that code here in the message window, NOT below the message window where you see 'optional link URL'. Preview the post and the picture will show up.

The gnats and overwatering problem are probably related. To learn why you are likely having this problem and how to avoid it in the future see this thread.

Thank you justaguy for your help! Here are the pics:

Sage - all the other herbs in the same pot are perfect.
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Tomato plants paired with basil
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Lettuce - at first glance may look ok, but the ends of the leaves are all jagged and there are holes throughout.
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Radishes - my 3rd attempt at trying to grow this easy veggie. Something always chews them down to nubs.
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Basil - bottom leaf shows most damage
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My husband told me about an hour ago that he saw a bird sitting in my lettuce pot chowing away. I have netting I can put up around the tomatoes, but I'm not sure how to protect the plants that aren't staked or caged.

Many of the critters that feed on garden plants can be observed better in the evening hours. Take a flashlight out with you and do some serious inspecting.

Looks like rodent damage. Do you have rabbits in Bermuda?

I really can't imagine what kind of birds would eat vegetables in this way...but of course, I don't know what kind of birds you have in Bermuda. I think it's more likely though, that the bird was eating whatever pest is eating your garden. If the slug pellets were working, I'd try them again.

I was trying to grow spinach about a year ago and every morning I would find Doves lying in the containers. The plants were always chewed on. I do not know if it were the doves or what, but birds were definitely eating them.

Thank you all for your suggestions. Our patio is up about 15-20 feet from the ground (lending to very nice ocean views), so I don't think a rabbit or other rodent would scurry up there for a nibble. I could be wrong though! The birds here are nothing unusual and since I last wrote I've spied them in my containers, but they appear to be eating the dirt, not the food. Then again, I went out to visit my cucumber seedling today only to find it was completely gone - not a trace left. I don't think slugs would have demolished a good sized seedling overnight. Just in case it is slug damage I'm going to try the copper method and ammonia/water spray since the pellets turned moldy so quickly. And I'm going to net all of my containers to keep the birds away. Wish me luck!!

I vote bug too. Go with the flashlight idea at night. Take a magnifying glass too - NOT kidding. In fact, use the magnifier during the day too. Move the dirt around a little to see if something sleeps under there during the day.

I had a caterpiller last year, took me a week to find it! It looked exactly like a dead geranium stem and in daylight, it just hung (literally) down towards the bottom of the plant, unbelievable! Ugliest cat I've ever seen (some tobacco moth I think). Folks on here told me what it was so I kept looking, and looking, and looking . . .

I went out with a flashlight for a few nights straight and didn't see a single thing. I moved the pots to see if there was anything living underneath - nope. I have watched the birds more closely and noticed they definitely hang out in my pots, but they don't seem to be eating anything but the dirt.

Unfortunately, in the past few days my garden has gone from bad to worse. Most of my pots are teeming with some sort of jumpy little fly. Looks almost like a fruit fly or gnats. Every time I move my strawberries around they fly out dozens at a time. Any ideas as to what this is?

I've decided to dig up my tomatoes and lettuce and plant new ones in their place. Here's a total newbie question: can I use the same soil from my old plants or do I have to dispose of it and get new stuff? If those jumpy flies are pests, is it possible they've laid eggs in the soil?

Thanks in advance for any responses!!

Trash the potting mix.

The flies you see are probably fungus gnats and they like damp, decomposing organic matter. Their arrival often indicates the potting mix is holding too much water. They lay eggs in the mix and larvae hatch. The larvae feed on the decomposing organic matter and in high numbers may munch on roots.

If you look at my initial reply to you I included a link to a thread on potting mixes. If you haven't read it already I encourage you to do so now, before you choose another potting mix.

If you replace the potting mix and replant you can eliminate a lot of pest problems by covering the young plants with light weight row cover material. This will keep out most pests.

Once your plants take off and establish you can remove the cover and the plants will be better able to withstand a pest attack and still do well.

There is no harm in leaving the row cover on the entire season, but you may not care for the appearance.

Thanks again justaguy. I did read that article (had to stop and re-read several time as it's a bit wordy and involved). The tricky part for me will be finding some of the ingredients in the recommended soil recipe. Bermuda has a very limited supply of gardening materials and unfortunately it is all extremely expensive to purchase (such is everything on this island!). That said, you can imagine I was really hoping you'd say, "keep the soil, it's still good!". Over $200 spent on making a nice bug nest. Grrr. Ah well, live and learn.

Thanks again!!

Just out of curiosity what is the current mix made from?

And I totally understand having limited, expensive ingredients. I used to live in Hawaii. A tropical paradise to be sure, but very expensive and if the island didn't have what I wanted there was no inexpensive way to get it.

Thanks again justaguy. I did read that article (had to stop and re-read several time as it's a bit wordy and involved). The tricky part for me will be finding some of the ingredients in the recommended soil recipe. Bermuda has a very limited supply of gardening materials and unfortunately it is all extremely expensive to purchase (such is everything on this island!). That said, you can imagine I was really hoping you'd say, "keep the soil, it's still good!". Over $200 spent on making a nice bug nest. Grrr. Ah well, live and learn.

Thanks again!!

Oops - didn't mean to double post my response.

Justaguy, my soil mix was mainly organic potting mix (whatever brand they have here - it wasn't Miracle Gro), some manure compost and Perlite. The guy at the garden center said that's all I'd need. Every couple weeks I'd add some organic fertilizer.

I just got back from the store and $150 later I found all of the ingredients in Al's Mix with the exception of the lime. The people at the store had no clue what I was talking about and since I've never used it myself I wasn't sure what it would even look like. Hope it's not absolutely essential to the recipe. I noticed Al's Mix doesn't call for any type of dirt or pre-made soil. Could that be right? Seems to me it would be a very rough mixture without it. Or is it assumed that you add it along with the other materials?

Justaguy, my soil mix was mainly organic potting mix (whatever brand they have here - it wasn't Miracle Gro), some manure compost and Perlite. The guy at the garden center said that's all I'd need. Every couple weeks I'd add some organic fertilizer.

Sounds fine except the manure part. Of course I have no idea what was in the mix itself. The fungus gnats love decaying, moist organic matter and roots do not :) If you have a serious problem with gnats that is a good indication the potting mix is holding too much water and the manure by virtue of it's small particle size will do this as well as feed the gnat larvae. I recommend leaving it out of containers. I just got back from the store and $150 later I found all of the ingredients in Al's Mix with the exception of the lime.

That is really unusual. Usually people have trouble finding the pine bark fines or perlite in bulk or something like that. Lime, at least in the US, is nearly ubiquitous. Does the island tend to have ground soils of high pH? If so that would explain why locals haven't heard of lime, it would probably never get used.

Ask for dolomite lime and if you just get blank stares maybe order it online, you won't need much. Bite the bullet and buy a 5lb bag plus shipping and you should have enough to last several seasons. I feel for you if you actually have to mail order it as in the states we can just buy 50 pounds of it for a couple bucks. You really do need it to counter the pH of the bark/peat acidity and supply calcium to the mix so some is available to the plants. If you can't find some locally click on my username and email me, I will ship you some. I noticed Al's Mix doesn't call for any type of dirt or pre-made soil. Could that be right?

Yes, and the reason is all about particle size. If you use dirt it will always be super small particles and in containers they hold way too much water. Holding water is good, but the problem is that small particles will hold water in the spaces between particles that would otherwise hold air which roots are going to need. It's a balancing act between those spaces holding water and air and soil/dirt will hold all water and no air in containers.

Al's 5-1-1 mix is well tested by forum folks and I have yet to hear from anyone who thought it resulted in poor plant performance. I know you might be reading this with some doubts, but if you read through the water/air movement threads on this forum you will find so many testimonials as to it's success that your concerns will be laid to rest.

I did a little googling and apparently Bermuda is basically made of limestone with a thin layer of soil on top. In other words lime should be naturally abundant, but probably not packaged and sold as nobody would actually use it on the ground. That probably explains why nobody on the island has ever heard of it. It likely just isn't used there.

Where do you get your water from? Is it desalinated or from ground water supplies? If from ground water supplies do you have extremely hard water?

Justaguy you are my hero. I thank my lucky stars that you're out there somewhere helping me! Thank you for taking the time to respond to me (and so quickly - much appreciated since I'm set to re-pot this week!) and for even going to extra step to google about Bermuda's soil. I couldn't have answered that for you myself. pH is a foreign thing to this newbie. I can answer your water question though - our water comes from rain and is collected in a cistern.

As for the materials I found, I should note that the closest thing to pine bark fines I found was pine bark mulch. I'm hoping that'll work because when I asked for the fines I got the same blank stare I got when I asked about the lime (btw I did ask for dolomite). I will look online for a source to buy lime from, but I wonder if I'll have much luck finding anyone who will ship here. Appreciate your offer to send it, but I would really hate to put you out! The Perlite didn't come in bulk, but in 8 qt. bags. I have no clue how to covert that into cubic feet, so I really don't know how many bags I needed to buy. Any idea?

Oh boy, perlite is only available in 8 qt bags? A cubic foot is roughly 30 quarts. That may be the common size (as it is here), but by asking around at nurseries you should be able to find it in bulk which will save you a lot of money.

How big is the pine bark mulch? It will likely work, but if it is large pieces you will be watering more often.

If you can't find the lime, email me. It isn't putting me out at all, I understand what it is like to live in an area where the net if full of sources of stuff... for people who live elsewhere, but won't ship it where I lived and those who would wanted highway robbery prices.

The pine bark mulch pieces are anywhere from 2-4 inches. Is that considered large or small?

Bummer about the perlite conversion. Ugh - that could be A LOT of $$. I just realized Al's Mix is asking for 5 gallons of perlite and peat. I tried to find a metric conversion calculator to help me figure out how many bags of each I need, but I ended up even more confused. Also, I have no clue how much Al's "big batch" makes - that is, how many pots it'll fill.

I'll call around to our nurserys on Monday to see if I can find lime and perlite in bulk.

If the bark is measured in inches it is too large. Much too large. The pieces should ideally be under US dime size and if they are larger you just have to water a lot more often.

In looking at the surface of the potting mix in your pictures it looks like good stuff. How old is it? There are wood pieces in it that are on the large side of what you want.

If your mix is years old you could probably improve things greatly by just buying more and not reusing it as long.

The potting mix I was using is just a couple months old - this is only my second season ever of gardening, so when I say I'm a newbie I mean it! :) It's that organic soil mix I mentioned in a previous post. It's mainly dirt with lots of wood chips. According to Al's Mix don't I want to avoid using dirt?

Yes, avoid dirt in containers at all costs. Some of the mixes on the market are intended for use in containers, others are more for ground use such as raised beds.

Dirt is too small a particle size and will hold a lot of water that won't drain from the container and can suffucate the plant roots. Not overwatering is virtually impossible in containers if dirt is used.