Help- Failing veggie garden - Ask Extension
Hello,
I am not exactly new to gardening, having had two very successful ones in the past. The successful gardens were just tiled heavy clay earth w...
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Help- Failing veggie garden #871736
Asked June 05, 2024, 2:11 PM EDT
Hello,
I am not exactly new to gardening, having had two very successful ones in the past. The successful gardens were just tiled heavy clay earth with no amendments. This year is very different, almost all of my plants are failing. This garden is three raised beds that I used soil from an old garden spot mixed with general garden soil purchased from Lowes and a few buckets of sand to break up the native clay soil. I started many from direct sowing seeds, mid April. My spinach and lettuce sprouted to about 1 inch tall and then stopped growing, I removed them and planted starts purchased from Al Joes on Brookwood Ave, Hamilton, these are not growing either. I also planted tomatoes, zucchini, basal, cucumber and peppers purchased from Al Joes. All of the plants except for the peppers are starting to become sick. The tomatoes were in excellent condition when planted and now the leaf tips are turning brown and the centers are yellowing. The basal is not growing and starting to become pale in color. The cucumber and zucchini were a little pale in color when I bought them and have gotten worse and have brown spots on them. They almost look like they have blight. I don't have photos at the moment. The only plants that are doing well are potatoes, the peas and beans and onion are doing well just growing slower than expected. Also,the nasturtium direct sown mid April, are failing to grow.
I am very discouraged and don't know what to do. I am tempted to abandon the garden and try again next year but my children are excited about the garden.
Please advise.
Thank you so much!
Butler County Ohio
Expert Response
I'm sorry you're having such difficulty with your garden. It certainly seems like the soil is causing the problem, so I would be wary of eating anything grown in it until you know for sure.
The first thing I would suggest is a soil test of your garden from a certified location. You can get info about how to accomplish that from your local extension office (since I don't know what county you live in), which you can locate through this website: https://extension.osu.edu>lao. It will let you know if there's any problem with the soil and what remedies might help. Unfortunately this often takes a while.
This website gives you some information about what kind of soil should be used to fill raised beds: https://extension.umd.edu>resource>soil-fill-raised-beds.
Since you are having so much difficulty growing crops in the raised bed and your children are excited, you might want to plant seeds or starts in the areas where you have planted in the last two years and know that you got a good crop. If you discover that the soil in the raised bed is ok, you might want to start plants there that can be harvested in the fall like lettuce, kale or beets.
I certainly wish you well in your quest to grow vegetables at home.
The first thing I would suggest is a soil test of your garden from a certified location. You can get info about how to accomplish that from your local extension office (since I don't know what county you live in), which you can locate through this website: https://extension.osu.edu>lao. It will let you know if there's any problem with the soil and what remedies might help. Unfortunately this often takes a while.
This website gives you some information about what kind of soil should be used to fill raised beds: https://extension.umd.edu>resource>soil-fill-raised-beds.
Since you are having so much difficulty growing crops in the raised bed and your children are excited, you might want to plant seeds or starts in the areas where you have planted in the last two years and know that you got a good crop. If you discover that the soil in the raised bed is ok, you might want to start plants there that can be harvested in the fall like lettuce, kale or beets.
I certainly wish you well in your quest to grow vegetables at home.