newbie, needing some SERIOUS hELP!!

[mener6896]

Hi Y'all!!
I have my first garden this year. I planted a 40'x40' are with some raised beds, some not, used black plastic as mulch in some beds, but some just straw. A few of my beds I added peat to the dirt before planting.

My problem is none of my plants got very tall, but most have big fruits. For example:

pepper bed, raised 4x12 bed with topsoil/peat mixture. a variety of bell peppers, jalapenos, banana peppers, etc. Used straw as mulch. watered as needed. All plants only got about 12"-18" tall, but would have 3-4 peppers each plant, looked silly!!

tomatoes: cherrys got huge, the rest got to about 2' tall, but tomato production is good (gotta get rid of those pesky tomato worms though) just short plants.

cantaloupe: had scrawny vines,but about 6 melons, FULLY RIPE cantaloupe only got around baseball/softball size.

green beans; about 20 bushes only got a foot high and only 1 harvest of beans.

I am completely dumbfounded!! I'm not sure to water more, fertilize with ???, or if my soil is lacking something!! I'm hoping to figure this out by next year, but I also don't want the rest of this year to be a bust. What is the best way of finding out what is going on?

 

[Greensage45]

First time garden? Wow, you would think that even bare ground could support a first year planting; it is usually the following season where things begin to wane badly because the previous years plants removed all the goodness.

At this point, since the factors are too many, it would be best to reach out to your local Extension Service (either county or through a University) and request some sort of soil testing done. It may be a bit of an expense but at least you will have answers.

Do you own the property? Have you lived there for long? Lord knows who or what was put in that area previously. I do know from first-hand experience, as well as reading, that many herbicides 'suspend' in the soil; causing problems for years and years. You can see a plant growing and thriving then suddenly it stops, slows, and then withers away and dies. This is caused by the plant reaching a level of maturity where the root system hit a pocket of suspended material within the soil.

I would love to see pictures! That certainly would help.

I would love to know where you are located, your region, your weather conditions and such. Black plastic as a mulch might be limiting the oxygen levels in the soil. It might be cooking away all the vitality you need for worms and other such organisms.

Wishing you luck,

Ron

Let us know what you find out.

 

[obsessed]

I am going to go with soil test and research. Soil test because of the new garden and research because different plants have different nutritional requirements.

This was my first garden in this location and zone so I have had a learning curve as well. I just sent for my soil sample for 7 bucks and will try to improve my soil with a green manure. Other than that it is what it is. Add some compost and manure and happy gardeing

 

[DrakeMaiden]

How deep are your beds? Typically plants with confined roots (like say in pots) tend to not grow as tall as plants in deeper soil.

Did you grow from seed or from starts?

Like others have said, there are too many variables to pinpoint a cause. A soil test would probably help, but there could be other factors affecting your plants, besides just the soil.

 

[digitS']

All gardening is local (even more so than politics ).

What do you suppose was the gardening experience of your neighbors?

I looked at Indianapolis weather in May and June of this year . . . lots and lots of rain. In May, the city usually has just over 4 inches for the month. This year it was closer to 7 inches. In June, once again the average should be about 4 but came close to 7 inches. Temperatures were also below normal.

With about 13.5 inches of rain and all the clouds during those 2 months of your growing season, I'd guess that your plants got off to a very slow start.

Just to give you a comparison with other gardens in other locations: Ron's garden there in Las Cruces usually gets HALF that much rain . . . over the entire YEAR!! (Ron may have trouble believing that right now since he is in some danger of being swept away in a flash flood ! Hang on Ron! Blue skies are on the way!)

May & June in my garden are often on the decidedly cool side with lots of clouds. My peppers, melons, cucumbers, and summer squash, especially, suffer enormously some years. Those are the years when we pick up greater than our usual less than 2 inches for those 2 months.

Steve

 

[meriruka1]

Sort of sounds like you need more nitrogen.
I've read in many places that straw used as mulch leaches nitrogen out of the soil, same thing with shredded leaves......

You could mix aged manure in with the soil in the fall and in the spring add some compost. Not sure where you live, but this fixed my crappy dirt in PA & also my crappy clay dirt in VA. You could also get a PH tester to see if you need to add lime. (Pelletized lime added in the Fall & sit all winter seems to work best.)

 

[curly_kate]

I'm in southeastern Indiana, and I had the same issues with my cantaloupes. I think the cool weather this season was not conducive to melons. Ditto for the peppers.

 

[mener6896]

thanks for the help, I am in central indiana and maybe agree that this weather we have had doesn't help. Even though my cantaloupes were very small, they were as sweet as candy!

I will try to boost up my soil this fall with my chicken manure/compost, and hopefully have a better next year.