Hey everybody,
I'm really struggling with the garden this year. The problem: the leaves on nearly every plant are yellowing and nothing is growing well (squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, pumpkins). Everything is struggling! I'm in Chicago zone 5b.
Here are a few things that may be relevant:
1. This is the second year I've put dye-free cedar mulch down in a long-term attempt to loosen up the hard clay soil we have a bit. However, where I've planted I've cleared out the mulch and put new garden soil trying to keep a buffer between the plants and the mulch.
2. I dug out a hops vine and a bushy tree that used to be in the middle of my garden last fall, so the amount of sun my garden is getting has increased significantly.
3. I had a very lush garden six years ago, but it's steadily gotten worse and seems to have cratered this year (it was getting worse before I started mulching with cedar).
4. I've been watering once daily, usually in the evening for 45 minutes to an hour. The weather here has been on the hot and dry side but nothing too different from previous years. I have no idea if I'm giving it too much or too little water.
I've hit the wall. I'm at the point where I need real guidance what to do next from somebody who knows what they are doing!
Thanks!
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bmurphy1976
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rainbowgardener
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bmurphy1976
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I've used a combination of spray/pellet fertilizer and purchased garden soil, but I haven't gone crazy with that for fear of overdoing it. Given how sunny it has been here I'd be shocked if I was over-watering, but the fertilizer is another area I've struggled to get my head wrapped around the right technique.
I imagine it's too late to put down a layer of compost/manure, I could do that for next season. Any recommendation what I can do this year to try and make the best of what I've got? Should I do that anyway?
I imagine it's too late to put down a layer of compost/manure, I could do that for next season. Any recommendation what I can do this year to try and make the best of what I've got? Should I do that anyway?
First thing I'd do if I were you would be to get a soil test done by the agricultural agent or other entity in your area to see just how good, or bad your soil is and what it may be lacking. It is relatively inexpensive to have done by a proper lab and far better than those little soil test kits you can get from the big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes.
Edited to add this:
As far as putting down compost or manure, just make sure, if using manure that it is well decomposed and not fresh as that will do more harm than good. With fertilizer, there are guidelines on the packaging as to how much to use for X amount of Sq. Ft. of garden area. But get a soil test done first since adding what is not needed is not a good thing either.
Edited to add this:
As far as putting down compost or manure, just make sure, if using manure that it is well decomposed and not fresh as that will do more harm than good. With fertilizer, there are guidelines on the packaging as to how much to use for X amount of Sq. Ft. of garden area. But get a soil test done first since adding what is not needed is not a good thing either.
Just an idea: The pellet fertilizers are great in that they give you a big push of growth. However, sustained use of these fertizers over years can increase the salts in the soil and builds over time resulting in what you describe. This is of course one possibility but a soil sample would let you know for sure. In the case of these fertilizers more is not always better. It could be a nutrient deficiency however since it is impacting the entire garden I would look for a systemic cause.
Nutrient deficiencies are often plant specific and would not necessarily affect all the plants at once.
Nutrient deficiencies are often plant specific and would not necessarily affect all the plants at once.
Well, I agree if the garden has declined over the years, it is time for a soil test. As to everything yellowing. This time of the year, is the worst for pests that like to suck and chew on plants. If your soil is unbalanced and your plants are stressed from the weather and poor growth they make easy targets. If you have been planting the same thing in the same place in the garden year after year, you deplete nutrients unevenly. Some may be too high while other are depleted and by planting the same things over and over, you just set up the buffet for the bugs that will be waiting for you to plant.
After you get the soil test and you amend the soil, I suggest you add to your garden plan some plants somewhere in your yard to attract beneficial insects to boost your garden patrol. I also suggest you rotate high feeders with low feeders. Most of your plants, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, cucumber, pumpkin are heavy feeders but also in related families the solanaaceae and cucurbits which tend to attract the same pests and diseases and use up the same set of nutrients.
Rotate heavy feeders with legumes. Like planting beans or peas after tomatoes. beets, cabbage, lettuce or herbs between or in succession so you don't have plants in the same family following each other. Even in a small garden you can divide it into areas and rotate plants between those areas.
https://bonnieplants.com/2014/11/crop-r ... made-easy/
The other contributing factor has been the weather. It has changed a lot in the last six years. I have wetter summers and drier winters. It is warming up earlier than expected. I plant more by what my daily temperature is averaging than by dates now. This year everything bloomed early and I planted peas late and beans early. You changed your environment by taking out the tree and that would not only have provided shade but also cooled the house and garden. Most of the things you planted should actually have been happy with more sun as long as they were planted after the tree was cut down.
If you have been adding organics to clay soil, it should be moisture retentive. Check your soil with your finger. Use a trowel and dig down a few inches. if it is damp 3-4 inches down in the root zone you have enough water. If it is almost dry it is time to water again. Mulching will increase water holding capacity. You may not have to water 45 minutes a day, especially if your plants are not showing signs of wilting.
After you get the soil test and you amend the soil, I suggest you add to your garden plan some plants somewhere in your yard to attract beneficial insects to boost your garden patrol. I also suggest you rotate high feeders with low feeders. Most of your plants, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, cucumber, pumpkin are heavy feeders but also in related families the solanaaceae and cucurbits which tend to attract the same pests and diseases and use up the same set of nutrients.
Rotate heavy feeders with legumes. Like planting beans or peas after tomatoes. beets, cabbage, lettuce or herbs between or in succession so you don't have plants in the same family following each other. Even in a small garden you can divide it into areas and rotate plants between those areas.
https://bonnieplants.com/2014/11/crop-r ... made-easy/
The other contributing factor has been the weather. It has changed a lot in the last six years. I have wetter summers and drier winters. It is warming up earlier than expected. I plant more by what my daily temperature is averaging than by dates now. This year everything bloomed early and I planted peas late and beans early. You changed your environment by taking out the tree and that would not only have provided shade but also cooled the house and garden. Most of the things you planted should actually have been happy with more sun as long as they were planted after the tree was cut down.
If you have been adding organics to clay soil, it should be moisture retentive. Check your soil with your finger. Use a trowel and dig down a few inches. if it is damp 3-4 inches down in the root zone you have enough water. If it is almost dry it is time to water again. Mulching will increase water holding capacity. You may not have to water 45 minutes a day, especially if your plants are not showing signs of wilting.
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bmurphy1976
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I've grown a different variety of plants and put them in a different layout each year, that of course doesn't guarantee I'm doing it properly but at least I tried!
The tree was more of a crazy growing bush that I pruned to look like tree. I'm not even sure where it came from, it was about 3 foot tall when I moved in 6 years ago. I let it grow and pruned it to look like a tree, but it was threatening to take over everything. It was as tall as the power lines and the roots were squirreling around all over the garden. I pulled it not just because it was causing too much shade, but also because I suspected it was sucking up a lot of the nutrients with it's ridiculously large root system.
Anyway, thanks, this is all good info. Looks like getting my soil tested is #1 priority, only way I'll know for sure. I'll plan my next steps after having that done.
The tree was more of a crazy growing bush that I pruned to look like tree. I'm not even sure where it came from, it was about 3 foot tall when I moved in 6 years ago. I let it grow and pruned it to look like a tree, but it was threatening to take over everything. It was as tall as the power lines and the roots were squirreling around all over the garden. I pulled it not just because it was causing too much shade, but also because I suspected it was sucking up a lot of the nutrients with it's ridiculously large root system.
Anyway, thanks, this is all good info. Looks like getting my soil tested is #1 priority, only way I'll know for sure. I'll plan my next steps after having that done.
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jal_ut
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The tree? It needs to go if you want a garden. The roots go out in all directions and far as the tree is tall. It will suck up water and nutrients.
You say, "I've put dye-free cedar mulch" Not sure just what this is, but if it is wood chips of some sort, that is a no-no. Wood chips, sawdust, twigs etc, take a long time to break down. In the meantime they use up the nitrogen in the decomposition process.
You say, "I've put dye-free cedar mulch" Not sure just what this is, but if it is wood chips of some sort, that is a no-no. Wood chips, sawdust, twigs etc, take a long time to break down. In the meantime they use up the nitrogen in the decomposition process.
I cut down my tree in the front yard that had outgrown the space and the roots were heading for the house. The grass there actually did poorer for a couple of years. It is recovering now. My ground started sinking in spots where the tree roots were. I think part of the problem was that as the tree roots were decomposing, they were sucking up a lot of the nutrients and the heavy feeding grass which I did not fertilize was wanting. Now that it has been a couple of years and I have filled in most of the low spots the grass is coming back and I still have not fertilized it.
How can adding organic matter trigger nitrogen deficiency?
"Plants depend on microbes to break down organic matter and make the nutrients available to them. Most microbes get energy from carbon compounds such as sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and other substances. Mixing organic material into the soil triggers a feeding frenzy and a burst in microbial growth. To grow, microbes need carbon for energy and nitrogen to build proteins. For every twenty to thirty carbon atoms they consume, they use about one nitrogen atom. If that nitrogen is not available from the newly-added organic material, microbes will take it from the soil, and deprive growing plants of nitrogen."
https://www.extension.umn.edu/agricultu ... anagement/
How can adding organic matter trigger nitrogen deficiency?
"Plants depend on microbes to break down organic matter and make the nutrients available to them. Most microbes get energy from carbon compounds such as sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and other substances. Mixing organic material into the soil triggers a feeding frenzy and a burst in microbial growth. To grow, microbes need carbon for energy and nitrogen to build proteins. For every twenty to thirty carbon atoms they consume, they use about one nitrogen atom. If that nitrogen is not available from the newly-added organic material, microbes will take it from the soil, and deprive growing plants of nitrogen."
https://www.extension.umn.edu/agricultu ... anagement/
jal-ut is right... wod based compost is probably sucking the nitrogen out of the soil
if it was me....you decide for yourself....I would apply a heavy dose of 13-13-13 fertilizer. if it doesn't help this year, the added nitrogen will speed up the decomposition of your mulch, and the other nutriants will be available next year.
till that mulch under both this fall and next spring. I am a believer in fall cover crops, and oats is cheap, easy, available, and first aid for the soil.
keep at it, things will get better
if it was me....you decide for yourself....I would apply a heavy dose of 13-13-13 fertilizer. if it doesn't help this year, the added nitrogen will speed up the decomposition of your mulch, and the other nutriants will be available next year.
till that mulch under both this fall and next spring. I am a believer in fall cover crops, and oats is cheap, easy, available, and first aid for the soil.
keep at it, things will get better