Ruderunner
Full Access Member
Howdy I found this site the other day while trying to get a handle on some problems in my veggie garden. Things have deteriorated over the last couple years and i want to know why.
A little background, we've had a 16x24 raised bed for about 7 years and it's normally done well, but the last 2 years have been sketchy. 2 years ago we added a second plot af 12x15 at ground level, that did ok the first year then poorly last year. At this point im more focused on what's going wrong with the raised bed as i know the ground level area still needs lots of work.
I did a soil test this week and it seems my ph is on target for the majority of the desired crops at 6.5. If i used the test right we are way down on nitrogen and potassium but through the roof on phosphorus. Apparently normal fertilizer isn't going to help balance things out, any suggestions?
Chickweed is also overrunning the raised area. I pulled much of it up over the last couple weekends. In some patches its actually so dense that it almost acts like a natural weed matting. Its so far done a better job of killing off the crabgrass than i have but it also has smothered my onions from fall. Other than the onions it doesn't appear to be hurting anything and even acting like a natural mulch keeping the soil moist. What would you do?
And tomato problems. This is perhaps the most troubling thing as they have traditionally done ok with a one time phenomenal haul of over 350 pounds from plants placed around the perimeter of the 16x24 3 years ago. The last 2 years though we were barely able to get 50 pounds, an average year would fetch 100 to 150. The plants were getting diseased the last couple years, black splotches on leaves and stalks with some branches turning yellow. Spraying with an Epsom salt solution helped but it was a losing battle. Im wondering if this is a soil problem or something else?
There's more questions on the way but id rather not go into overload on my first post.
A little background, we've had a 16x24 raised bed for about 7 years and it's normally done well, but the last 2 years have been sketchy. 2 years ago we added a second plot af 12x15 at ground level, that did ok the first year then poorly last year. At this point im more focused on what's going wrong with the raised bed as i know the ground level area still needs lots of work.
I did a soil test this week and it seems my ph is on target for the majority of the desired crops at 6.5. If i used the test right we are way down on nitrogen and potassium but through the roof on phosphorus. Apparently normal fertilizer isn't going to help balance things out, any suggestions?
Chickweed is also overrunning the raised area. I pulled much of it up over the last couple weekends. In some patches its actually so dense that it almost acts like a natural weed matting. Its so far done a better job of killing off the crabgrass than i have but it also has smothered my onions from fall. Other than the onions it doesn't appear to be hurting anything and even acting like a natural mulch keeping the soil moist. What would you do?
And tomato problems. This is perhaps the most troubling thing as they have traditionally done ok with a one time phenomenal haul of over 350 pounds from plants placed around the perimeter of the 16x24 3 years ago. The last 2 years though we were barely able to get 50 pounds, an average year would fetch 100 to 150. The plants were getting diseased the last couple years, black splotches on leaves and stalks with some branches turning yellow. Spraying with an Epsom salt solution helped but it was a losing battle. Im wondering if this is a soil problem or something else?
There's more questions on the way but id rather not go into overload on my first post.