Vegetables growing very slowly!

[rachaelstarr]

Hi all!

I'm new here! Have finally gotten my Square foot garden up and running after dreaming about having a vegetable garden since I was a kid and I would visit my Grandfather who grew just about every fruit and vegetable you could want!

I have 3 'gardens'. A 5x2, and 2 3x1's. I direct-sowed most of my seeds March 4th.

Everything sprouted in a timely manner and seemed to be doing well. But it's been a month now, and my cucumbers, beets, carrots and corn are still just seedling size. They haven't really grown much at all in the past 3 weeks.

I used the recommended 'Mel's Mix' of 1/3 each of vermiculite, organic compost (different kinds) and peat moss. They are in a spot where they are getting about 5-6 hours of sunlight a day. I've been watering everyday, a good 7-8 second soak with the hose on a 'shower' setting.

My seeds were purchased from Seeds of Change Organic seeds. Other seeds I purchased are doing just fine (radishes, peas, beans).

So... any ideas? I want healthy veggies!

Thanks!!

Rachael

[rainbowgardener]

5-6 hrs of sun is minimum to be considered full sun. In fact they usually say at least 6, so if it is actually 5 it is less than minimum. That would slow them down some, being in less than full sun.

What has your weather been like? I just looked up Anaheim (my home town! ) now and amazingly enough, we are ten degrees warmer here than you are. The beets and carrots are cool weather plants and should be fine with the temps you are having now. It's probably still a little cool for the corn and definitely too cold for the cucumber which is a warm weather plant that likes the soil to be all nice and warmed up before it goes out.

But unless you have been getting a good amount of rain, I'm thinking that the main thing may be "7 or 8 second soak." That does not sound like very much water. Frequent shallow watering encourages shallow rooting and then they don't do as well. You would be better off watering less often but deeper. Water until it starts puddling and then let it soak in well and then do it again and then one more time.

[rachaelstarr]

Thanks rainbowgardener, good advice!

The weather has been nice. It's been in the upper 60's most days, with a few days up to the mid 70's. I just moved the whole garden over a few feet (it's in a 12" deep box) where I think it will get about an hour more of sun a day. Hopefully that helps!

Thanks for the watering tip too. I always get scared of over-watering! The cucumber seedlings looked a bit yellow so I thought maybe I was over-watering everything. But I will try the less frequent but deeper soaks.

Thanks again!

Come on veggies!