Revitalize Existing Garden Bed

[RogueRose]

Hello everyone. I have an existing veggie garden bed that I think could use a little bit of a pick-me-up. It's about 15ft wide and 6ft deep. I have beans, snowpeas, cucumber, kale, brussel sprouts, and tomatoes in there right now. Things aren't growing as well as they have. It is "isolated" in the sense that is surrounded on 3 sides by an elevated porch and on the other side is my flagstone patio. I was thinking of adding a few bags of organic mechanincs raised bed mix (https://organicmechanicsoil.com/product ... ost-blend/), some chicken manure, and possibly some biochar (https://organicmechanicsoil.com/product ... har-blend/). I was also debating adding some compost but since the Organic Mechanics has that in it, maybe I don't need anymore.

I am going to guess:
2 bags of biochar
4-6 bags of planting mix
1 bag of chicken manure

I am completely and utterly mathematically and spacially challenged, so please correct me if I am wrong.

Also - would I do this in the fall or in the spring? I like to put in garlic in the fall so not sure how mixing up the bed in the spring would work - but would all that be fine in the spring for use? Or maybe I'd add something else on top of it?

Thanks in advance!

[imafan26]

I have faced a similar problem. I found that I get the best results when I start with a soil test and use the recommendations for the amounts of amendments and fertilizer to add. My extension service will give organic recommendations if I ask.

My preference, is always add 4 inches of compost to the garden with each planting and sulfate of ammonia for nitrogen in divided increments for nitrogen. I test every 3 years or so, to see if I have to make other adjustments in pH or nutrients.

I would start with a soil test before throwing all the different things in and ask for organic recommendations. It will tell you how much and what kinds of things to add. If you add organic amendments and fertilizer, all of it is not readily available . Some nutrients will not be available immediately but release slowly over the course of up to 2 years. Supplementation will be necessary.

[applestar]

beans, snowpeas, cucumber, kale, brussel sprouts, and tomatoes

...FWIW... if you are talking about current season’s growth, latest heatwave would have been death knell for the snowpeas — I’m actually surprised they lasted this long for you (Generally expect peas to burn up from heat by end of June). Kale and Brussels Sprouts tend to enter holding pattern once the heat of the summer arrives, not only that they stop growing much, but due to frenetic cabbage white butterfly activity — egg dumping multiple eggs — and arrival of cabbage moths. Cabbage white butterfly eggs are laid singly, but they start laying dozens at once, and cabbage moth eggs are laid in clusters. When they hatch, the caterpillars start turning the leaves into lace and vulnerable tender new growths are shredded. I’m considering calling it quits on my cabbages, kales, and Brussels sprouts because it’s usually too hard to keep them protected from here on out.

Tomatoes need supplemental fertilization and extra water once they are loaded up with green fruits and cucumbers start producing, needing more water as well.

PESTS and DISEASES —

They are both attacked by additional pests — You may already be seeing tomato and vegetable leaf miners and Japanese beetles — my personal impression is this increased warm season pests tend to show up after hurricane and tropical storm remnants sweep up and pass this area — yep we recently had that AND are in the midst of another one, and I’m braced for the next wave of summer pests — e.g. STINKBUGS (harlequin bugs are showing up in the kale and Brussels sprouts, expect squashbugs, leaf-foots, greens and brown marmorateds) AND CUCUMBER BEETLES, sometimes BLISTER BEETLES.

With the recent heat and humidity, Tomatoes have been getting fungal diseases — septoria and early Blight, even some other leaf spotting possibly bacterial, this weekend, I started seeing powdery mildew spots on my cucumbers and squash.

[RogueRose]

I have faced a similar problem. I found that I get the best results when I start with a soil test and use the recommendations for the amounts of amendments and fertilizer to add. My extension service will give organic recommendations if I ask.

My preference, is always add 4 inches of compost to the garden with each planting and sulfate of ammonia for nitrogen in divided increments for nitrogen. I test every 3 years or so, to see if I have to make other adjustments in pH or nutrients.

I would start with a soil test before throwing all the different things in and ask for organic recommendations. It will tell you how much and what kinds of things to add. If you add organic amendments and fertilizer, all of it is not readily available . Some nutrients will not be available immediately but release slowly over the course of up to 2 years. Supplementation will be necessary.

I have soil testing kits but I am being lazy! I guess I will test though.

[RogueRose]

beans, snowpeas, cucumber, kale, brussel sprouts, and tomatoes

...FWIW... if you are talking about current season’s growth, latest heatwave would have been death knell for the snowpeas — I’m actually surprised they lasted this long for you (Generally expect peas to burn up from heat by end of June).

I should update my location! I moved to Western NY from NJ a few years ago and FINALLY am in a house where I can garden again (hence my absence from the group, not that anyone would remember me). We had a super long spring and a very delayed summer up here. The season is all sorts of a mess. I am amazed I still have snowpeas too as in NJ they would be done by late May. They were done last year around June here but this year, amazingly, still going strong and still producing!

Everything in the garden is super healthy and green. No yellow, no rust, no diseases ((((knock on wood)))). I DID find some cabbage worms on my brussel sprouts, but really that is the only 'issue' that I found. The cucumbers are FINALLY starting to grow and take off. I went to a freind's house and she had some mouse melons and they were HUGE and she had them in a container. Mine are barely a foot tall. My tomatoes are big and lush and green - but really late on fruit development. One (Atomic Grape from Baker Creek) put out fruit about 3-4 weeks ago but it is not ripening, just getting bigger. The Pineapple and Berkley Tie Die (my work gave us the plants to try out) are just flowering now. The Crazy Yellow has fruit and they're turning color. All tomato plants are tall, lush, green, no sign of pest or disease.

It could be just the weird weather we've been having that may have everything on a delay.

[applestar]

Excuse me, I’m going to go OT — Let me just use this as an opportunity to reiterate ... and as a good example of why we always say it’s important to mention where you are located.

I mentioned specific conditions to compare with the OP’s garden because I thought we are both located in NJ — if I’d known we were in completely different climates and it would not be as pertinent, I would not have mentioned them this way.

@RogueRose, I’ll try to come up with a better/more useful reply later

[RogueRose]

Excuse me, I’m going to go OT — Let me just use this as an opportunity to reiterate ... and as a good example of why we always say it’s important to mention where you are located.

I mentioned specific conditions to compare with the OP’s garden because I thought we are both located in NJ — if I’d known we were in completely different climates and it would not be as pertinent, I would not have mentioned them this way.

@RogueRose, I’ll try to come up with a better/more useful reply later

Well technically I am still zone 6 up here in Buffalo. But I go more by 5. So not WAY off base!