Compost vs fertilizer???

[rainbowgardener]

That would be why they are yellowing. Different plants have different requirements and you haven't really told us what plants we are talking about. But in general, you should wait until at least the top inch or two of soil is dry before adding more water. Every day watering is almost surely too frequent, unless your containers were filled with sand, instead of potting mix.

[applestar]

Two ways to tell when to water average plants --

Thoroughly water, then allow to drain completely, removing any water pooled in the catch tray after 15 minutes. Then heft the plant pot and learn how heavy it feels when fully watered.

When it needs to be watered again is variable depending on type of plant, how much it is growing or fruiting, type of potting medium, size of pot and root mass. Weather/climate conditions. Do NOT water on schedule especially if weather has changed, plant development has altered, etc.

The plant needs to be watered again when the pot feels lighter. Especially with plastic pots, it will feel somewhat top-heavy and there is weight missing from the bottom/soil. At that point, water thoroughly again.

Another way to tell is to feel the surface of the soil -- and a little way deeper. First press your fingers flat on the surface. If damp/moist and potting medium sticks to your fingers, no watering necessary. If surface feels dry, wiggle your fingers a little way down -- depth depends on size of plant and type of plant. I usually feel at least first knuckle down past fingernails for small containers. 2nd knuckle for big containers.

[Emmdemeester]

That would be why they are yellowing. Different plants have different requirements and you haven't really told us what plants we are talking about. But in general, you should wait until at least the top inch or two of soil is dry before adding more water. Every day watering is almost surely too frequent, unless your containers were filled with sand, instead of potting mix.

Sorry, I thought I had listed everything but now I see that I listed everything on a different post of mine.

From seed:
- carrots
- beans (purple pole, green and yellow bush)
- peas
- spinach
- kale
- beets

Transplants:
- Roma tomatoes
- rapunsel baby tomatoes
- spaghetti squash
- bell peppers
- pumpkin
- bush pickling cucumbers
- corn (I have read it doesn't transplant well but I wasn't going to plant it at all, I just saw them at the green house and decided to experiment. They seem to be doing the best of all my plants)

If it helps I live in Saskatchewan Canada and I planted 11 days ago.

I think this is everything. The tomatoes aren't really turning yellow, there's just maybe 3 leaves that were slightly yellowing but I started to let the dirt dry out between watering and they seem to be doing well. I was watering daily to keep the germinating seeds moist but now that everything has sprouted I've also let them dry out a bit between waterings.

Should I be fertilizing soon?

[imafan26]

Start fertilizing when the true leaves appear. Before them, the seed will provide for all the plant needs. I would suggest you use a water soluble fertilizer unless you want to go only organic. You can try fish emulsion and AACT,

[toxcrusadr]

Kind of off topic but it was mentioned that mushroom compost doesn't have a lot of nutrients. I wanted to chime in with ONE lousy data point that disproves this. :-]

I had a dozen locally available bagged compost products tested by a lab a few years back. One was a mushroom compost. The median NPK of the whole group was 0.8 - 0.2 - 0.2
The mushroom compost was 1.7 - 0.8 - 1.2

In fact, that particular bag of this product that year had the highest P and K of all the products tested, and it was beat on N only by my home made compost which was 2.7% N.

Products vary, but I would not hesitate to use mushroom compost if I could get my hands on it.

[imafan26]

Watering should always be as needed. Some plants like to dry out between watering like cactus and some of the gray leafed Meditteranean herbs. Other plants like even moisture. Different plants different needs.
What is important is for most plants is that you have a well drained soil, few plants like soggy feet

Some plants want an average to poor soil like lavender and sage
Other plants need a rich soil like most of your vegetables, fruits, and tropicals.
Plants that come from areas of the world where it is near desert conditions have evolved to conserve water so they need to be watered well, but allowed to dry between watering. These plants usually like a more neutral to alkaline sandy soil in full sun. They often will have dormant periods which coincide with the fact that where they come from will have a dry season. They will usually get through it by going dormant. During dormant times you don't want to feed and you should reduce watering.

Plants that come from the tropics usually don't have a lot of issues with fungus. They are designed to capture water and funnel it to the roots. In deep dark jungles leaves are big to maximize light capture. Soil is rich with humus and the air is humid. Plants are used to getting a lot of water Jungles are crowded so there is a lot of root competition for water and only the top few inches have most of the nutrients from the fallen leaves so roots are close to the surface. These plants will only bloom rarely so need more nitrogen but not a lot of phosphorus.

Vegetables for the most part want a rich well drained soil with at least six hours of full sun. Since herbs and vegetables come from all over the world, the soil conditions they like vary.
Leafy greens like lettuce like a lot of nitrogen but moderate users of phosphorus
fruits like papaya and banana are rich sources of potassium, so the plants need to get more potassium
root crops need less nitrogen, otherwise they make more leaves and less roots. They need a low nitrogen, higher phosphate fertilizer and do better is the soil is more neutral and less acidic
Most other vegetables like a slightly acidic soil. Nitrogen should be given in divided doses, not all at once

The way nitrogen works, it is very volatile, nitrogen fixing bacteria will fix nitrogen from the air when they associate with a legume plant. However, other bacteria in the soil are denitrifying and release nitrogen that is not held in their bodies or the plants back to the air. That is why most soil test do not give you nitrogen results, because it changes too fast. It is also why even if your soil is high in just about everything, there will still be a nitrogen recommendation. If you have lush green leaves, you have a lot of nitrogen. If the plants are small and pale, you don't. Nitrogen is usually the primary limiting factor of growt

When you prepare a garden bed it is important to incorporate all the immobile elements. This is when you add your complete starter fertilizers, organic fertilizers, and add sulfur or lime to correct pH. You should ideally do this 4-6 weeks before you plant, but most people don't plan that far ahead. Aim for at least 2 weeks ahead. Seeds have all the nutrients they need to get the young plants through the first couple of weeks of life. They need to be fed once the true leaves appear.

Too much nitrogen in the seed bed can lead to failure of the seeds to sprout and dampening off. The first nitrogen feeding should come after the true leaves have come out. 1/2 of the nitrogen allotment shoulc be scratched into the soil and watered in. Be careful not to get fertilizer on the leaves. Nitrogen left on the surface will be lost sooner. When the plants are about 4 weeks old the next 1/4-1/2 of the nitrogen should be given. I usually give 1/4 and give the rest in monthly doses. The largest nitrogen demand is in early growth when the plant is putting on leaves, the next is when the plants have reached full size and start to flower or bulb up. After that some nitrogen is still needed to produce fruit, but not a lot.

It really would take the guesswork out of what kind of fertilizer and how much to use if you just do a soil test. Every persons soil will be different. New gardens especially, have not had the time to build up organic matter (it takes about 3 years), and you may have to amend the pH of your soil or be very selective about what you grow.

Watering also depends on not only the plants, but on what kind of soil you have and how fast it drains and dries. That is why the best advice you can get is not to water on a schedule but as needed. If you have a hard time figuring that out, get a moisture meter, it helps, but it would be cheaper just to use your finger and poke the soil and see how moist it is and look at your plant. If it isn't wilting yet, it can go a little longer. If it is really wet and your plant is sickly and yellow, you may be watering too much.

[toxcrusadr]

The idea is to not have them soaking wet all the time, but don't let them dry out so much that they wilt. Happy medium.