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About three weeks ago I planted some starts in half-barrels on my patio. The lettuce and peas are doing great, but the chard's not growing. It's not dying, just not growing.

All the containers had previously been used and had lain empty for a year. I pulled the weeds, added a layer of fresh potting mix, compost and worm castings and planted the starts.

The barrel with the chard was a little different from the others in that it had grown a different weed (don't know what - sort of resembled asparagus fern) and had quite a few sowbugs. I've used some diatomaceous earth around the starts to help deal with the sowbugs, and I haven't seen any in there since, so I'm not sure that's the problem.

The chard gets sun from late morning on, with a little dappled shade in late afternoon, and it's been regularly watered.

Any thoughts on why my chard won't budge?

Chard prefers a bit more shade than it sounds like it is getting but you are not too far off; perhaps a bit more afternoon shade but I don't think that is the issue...

Sow bugs or woodlice, are sapprophitic creatures, eating decaying wood for the most part. Much as chard does well in poor soil, if there is a lot of decaying wood or high carbon plant material in your soil, it can rob nitrogen from the soil (the bacteria and fungii that break up the wood need nitrogen for body building and fuel), thus depriving plants...

A good shot of fish hydrolysate would provide a good deal more fertilizer for bacteria, fungii, and plants without danger of burning or polluting water. That's where I'd go...

HG

Thanks for the reply. I'll try giving the plants a snack and see if that helps.

Well, if it IS woodsy soil, you're giving microbes AND plants a snack, but it's all for the better...

HG

After fertilizing and adjusting their sun exposure a bit, there was still no progress with the chard, so today I pulled the plug.

I actually shoveled out the whole container and discovered I had a drainage problem (I guess the sowbugs were a clue). The existing holes were pretty blocked up and it was very wet and stinky at the bottom.

I drilled some new holes and then pondered my options for improved drainage. Rocks? Too heavy if I want to move the container. Styrofoam? I don't know if it'll leach bad things into my soil. Perlite? Don't have any, would have to go to the store.

In the end I did some improvising. I filled the bottom of the barrel with a few layers of folded up chicken wire and covered that with a piece of fabric to keep the soil from falling through. Then I filled the whole thing with fresh potting mix.

Now it's got a couple of red cabbages in it, plus a dwarf nasturtium. We'll see how they do.

Good problem-solving approach!

I've also heard (well, read ) of using empty soft-drink cans at the bottom of large containers to help with the weight.

Sorry about the chard; I had no ideas to offer, either.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9