My garden skills are terrible. What am I doing wrong?

• May 13, 2018

• #1

W

work2play2

Banned again & will band again soon

I got a farmer to till a area a foot deep. Before I did that I spread chicken manure over the top of it. Thin layer. Planted 13 tomatoes 5 squash 2 cucumber and 7 pepper plants. I'm gonna have to replant 7 of the plants total. Little bit of everything. It did flood a week after planting. But I'm watering every 4 days if no rain. Miracle grow every 10 days. The alive ones are growing but not like others I've seen. I planted them with top soil and mixed it all in with the dirt. Me and my son really worked hard on this and it's demoralizing. Any tips?

 

• May 13, 2018

• #2

C

Cmp1

BANNED

Did you compost the chicken manure,,,,

 

• May 13, 2018

• #3

W

work2play2

Banned again & will band again soon

It was already composted. Sorry for confusion. And was rolled up a foot with other dirt

 

• May 13, 2018

• #4

C

Cmp1

BANNED

We compost ours a year,,,, it can burn the plants,,,, just a thought,,,,

 

• May 13, 2018

• #5

P

Possum

Banned

Welcome to the club. Every year we plant a garden and every year it’s mediocre. Every year we say “next year we will get it right” thank god for the grocery store. We’d starve otherwise.

 

• May 13, 2018

• #6

Steve762us

Senior Member

work2play2 said:

. But I'm watering every 4 days if no rain. Miracle grow every 10 days.

Click to expand...

Sight unseen, sounds like too much fertilizing and not enough water...

 

• May 13, 2018

• #7

U

ucfireman

Senior Member

Steve762us said:

Sight unseen, sounds like too much fertilizing and not enough water...

Click to expand...

Agree, allow it to dry out some. Once a week this time of year should be fine and no fertilizer.

 

• May 13, 2018

• #8

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy

If he is watering it in deep... some folks think spraying a water hose over it for 5 minutes is watering the garden. You do more damage than good with stuff like that. A good watering is several hours of watering with a sprinkler. Set a straight walled container like an open soup can out where you are sprinkling. Keep the water running until you have at least a 1/2 inch of water in the can. That will allow the water to soak into the soil, not just dampen the top layer.

 

• May 13, 2018

• #9

W

work2play2

Banned again & will band again soon

In response to all. I am watering deep. Maybe I should cut back? And as far as miracle grow, cut it off for a few weeks?

 

• May 13, 2018

• #10

W

work2play2

Banned again & will band again soon

Thanks for all advice. I'm all ears. Watering with a hose but slowly letting it soak in the ground then watering more. I'm gonna have to replace half the plants I'm hoping it doesn't happen with those as well. Some look very healthy. But few and far between

 

• May 13, 2018

• #11

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy

Pictures help too

 

• May 13, 2018

• #12

doomtrpr_z71

Senior Member

Tillage, fertilizer, etc was pointless if you didn't take a soil sample.

 

• May 13, 2018

• #13

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy

another thing... there ain't no way he tilled it a foot deep. 4inches at the most. A tiller would have to have nearly 30 inches rotating tines to till a foot deep. The best way to break up soil deep is either a subsoiler, or lacking that, an all purpose plow. You MIGHT get a foot deep with an all purpose, and you can get maybe 20 inches with a sub soiler.

agree... soil test is mandatory. It is surprising to me how many people will plant year after year after year, spending hundreds of dollars, yet they won't spend $10 for a soil test that will give them the information they need to grow a decent crop

 

• May 13, 2018

• #14

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy

work2play2 said:

It was already composted. Sorry for confusion. And was rolled up a foot with other dirt

Click to expand...

not if all he did was till...... 4 inches if you are lucky. More than likely less than 3 inches.

 

• May 13, 2018

• #15

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy

Possum said:

Welcome to the club. Every year we plant a garden and every year it’s mediocre. Every year we say “next year we will get it right” thank god for the grocery store. We’d starve otherwise.

Click to expand...

When did you last do a soil test?

 

• May 14, 2018

• #16

B

brownhounds

Banned

I think the heavy rains hurt a lot of people. You should probably lime everything really good to balance out the nitrogen from the manure.

 

• May 15, 2018

• #17

Killdee

Senior Member

I never done a soil test, rarely ever water except when setting out plants and a week after and have a great garden every year. I do water out of my rain barrels if we have a prolonged drought. I use a lot of compost I make year round and a small amount of 10-10-10 and add lime a couple times a year. I may do a soil test one of these days just for the ha ha's but I just garden and plant the way I was brought up doing it minus almost all pesticides. I also mulch everything heavily and it gets tilled in after that planting is played out along with that plant in most cases. Keep trying, flood or over fertilizing may have done yours in, plenty of time to re plant.

 

• May 15, 2018

• #18

antharper

“Well Rounded Outdoorsman MOD “

Staff member

I’d guess the chicken litter burned up the young plants , it don’t take much , and to everyone that’s saying soil samples are mandatory or it’s pointless, my dad has been growing a garden all of my life in the same spot and has never done a sample and always makes more than we care to put up , gives all of his neighbors all kinds of vegetables , makes it hard for them to say no when he stops by and asks if he can kill that gobbler strutting in their field ! Good luck , it can be a job , I’ve tried a few times and just decided to help my dad when things need done in his

 

• May 15, 2018

• #19

J

JackSprat

Senior Member

Two comments. Well maybe more.

I agree that that much chicken manure is too hot.

You are watering too much. Once a week is plenty unless you see obvious wilting as it gets hot. Even then, plants will wilt in mid-day when it gets hot like it has the last couple of days amd cpme back fine..

You don't mention lime. In GA., for best results with veggies you need lime. If you use HORTICULURAL lime it will offset some of the effects of the hot manure.

If you can get that farmer back, have him subsoil your garden. When I started doing this (subsoiling), I was amazed at the difference it made. I couldn't pick all the tomatoes from the plants I planted in the subsoiled row.

I'm not putting down soil tests - I do them- and they mostly confirm what I'm doing. Soil tests don't tell you about your watering habits. 10-10-10 and some lime will take you a long way.