Help with container vegetable gardening

[DirtMechanic]

What do you suggest amending the soil with? I've been having similar problems with my raised beds - seeds sprout fine but then never develop much past that stage. I've tried fixing the problem with money by buying manure, compost, and raised bed mix (which have all worked for me in the past with the same veggies) but nothing is working. I wonder if I would be better suited adding something with no organic material, based on your comment.

I got forced out of the ground and into grow bags one year due to contaminated cow compost. I used vermiculite as a base in 7 gallon felt grow bags, which is about a cubic foot, specifically because here it gets really hot and the evaporation rate will just work me to death unless I have a scheme. Vermiculite in soil can be awfully wet but above ground it will drain enough but hold or even wick moisture. In that case I used round trays under the bags. The airspace is the key. If things can pack down they will and cause suffocation. I used bagged topsoil that was some mineral clay and compost and the rest was vermiculite, so half each. That gave roughly 25% soil, 25% compost and the rest vermiculite. They were going to be fed often and watered at least weekly so I did not worry about creating some special biodome or anything on that run. The fertilizers I use have spores formulated in them anyway. I want to say I used espoma tomato tone and magnesium sulfate and calcium nitrate for fertilizing at different times. I mixed it in a concrete mixer, where a bag of topsoil was met with an equal amount of vermiculite and a couple cups of fertilizer to start. That gave 2 bags worth every time I dumped it into the wheelbarrow. It was a lot of grow bags. Vermiculite seems to give a good level of moisture and doesn't act quite as hydrophobic as some structural materials. I hate using peat, it seems to dry out too fast around here if you have much at all in the mix. I suppose in your case you need to jar test the soil you have to seem what the ratio is and go from there. I bet you could even separate the layers of material that settle out and observe them separately in a perk test to see how they drain.

 

[Pan con tomate]

I got forced out of the ground and into grow bags one year due to contaminated cow compost. I used vermiculite as a base in 7 gallon felt grow bags, which is about a cubic foot, specifically because here it gets really hot and the evaporation rate will just work me to death unless I have a scheme. Vermiculite in soil can be awfully wet but above ground it will drain enough but hold or even wick moisture. In that case I used round trays under the bags. The airspace is the key. If things can pack down they will and cause suffocation. I used bagged topsoil that was some mineral clay and compost and the rest was vermiculite, so half each. That gave roughly 25% soil, 25% compost and the rest vermiculite. They were going to be fed often and watered at least weekly so I did not worry about creating some special biodome or anything on that run. The fertilizers I use have spores formulated in them anyway. I want to say I used espoma tomato tone and magnesium sulfate and calcium nitrate for fertilizing at different times. I mixed it in a concrete mixer, where a bag of topsoil was met with an equal amount of vermiculite and a couple cups of fertilizer to start. That gave 2 bags worth every time I dumped it into the wheelbarrow. It was a lot of grow bags. Vermiculite seems to give a good level of moisture and doesn't act quite as hydrophobic as some structural materials. I hate using peat, it seems to dry out too fast around here if you have much at all in the mix. I suppose in your case you need to jar test the soil you have to seem what the ratio is and go from there. I bet you could even separate the layers of material that settle out and observe them separately in a perk test to see how they drain.

@Munch517 @DirtMechanic Thank you both for the advice! I will buy some topsoil and vermiculite to add some diversity to my organic material.

The photo below is what my arugula I planted a month ago looks like. It sprouted, then halted, and then became reddish or purplish. My sprouts I grow indoors look better than this! This is why I am so concerned about my soil mixture.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Are you using an immediately available phosphorus or have you recently used a bone meal organic that has not had time to become available to the plants yet?

 

[Pan con tomate]

Are you using an immediately available phosphorus or have you recently used a bone meal organic that has not had time to become available to the plants yet?

I have not added any phosphorus supplementation to this soil; it is "raised bed potting soil" straight out of the bag from Home Depot. I was afraid I might be low on phosphorus too based on this appearance, but I had my soil tested last summer (same problem with stunted growth) and my phosphorus levels actually came back high. I presumed this might have been due to me amending my soil with Black Kow manure.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Available can be different than the buffer quantity. It is more available at lower pH levels as well. Black Kow was what had the herbicides that took my garden, but that growth has a twisted obvious look. When I plant grass seed in black kow it starts starving after a couple of weeks.

 

[Munch517]

I have not added any phosphorus supplementation to this soil; it is "raised bed potting soil" straight out of the bag from Home Depot. I was afraid I might be low on phosphorus too based on this appearance, but I had my soil tested last summer (same problem with stunted growth) and my phosphorus levels actually came back high. I presumed this might have been due to me amending my soil with Black Kow manure.

If you're having issues where plants simply never seem to mature I tend to think there's something else going on, even with very mediocre soil you should see decent results. How damp are you keeping the soil? Do you use weed & feed around your lawn or something similar? How thick is that mulch? Did you direct-sow those seeds?

 

[Pan con tomate]

If you're having issues where plants simply never seem to mature I tend to think there's something else going on, even with very mediocre soil you should see decent results. How damp are you keeping the soil? Do you use weed & feed around your lawn or something similar? How thick is that mulch? Did you direct-sow those seeds?

I agree with you and am desperate for a solution. I direct-sowed those seeds. Lately, the direct sown seeds (arugula, spinach, lettuce, kale, bok choy, green onions, radishes) are the ones that won't mature. I cheat and buy young plants I really want to succeed like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from Home Depot and those tend to do better, but not as great as years past.

When I direct sow, then I water every 1-2 days until the seedlings come up and start to mature. But otherwise, I only water if the soil feels dry when I stick my finger down a couple inches.

I actually didn't deliberately mulch that soil. What I laid down is advertised as raised bed potting soil and I found out they added mulch throughout it, presumably to add in moisture retention which allowed them to market it as such.

I do not use any lawn care products on my adjacent grass.

 

[Munch517]

I agree with you and am desperate for a solution. I direct-sowed those seeds. Lately, the direct sown seeds (arugula, spinach, lettuce, kale, bok choy, green onions, radishes) are the ones that won't mature. I cheat and buy young plants I really want to succeed like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from Home Depot and those tend to do better, but not as great as years past.

When I direct sow, then I water every 1-2 days until the seedlings come up and start to mature. But otherwise, I only water if the soil feels dry when I stick my finger down a couple inches.

I actually didn't deliberately mulch that soil. What I laid down is advertised as raised bed potting soil and I found out they added mulch throughout it, presumably to add in moisture retention which allowed them to market it as such.

I do not use any lawn care products on my adjacent grass.

I think I'm at as much of a loss as you as to what the issue could be. Maybe it'd be worth doing a few things in pots nearby or trying to set up a new bed to see what the results are. If I'm chasing my tail on a problem like that I generally think that it's best to do a full reset.