Calling All Green Thumbs.

I constructed a little 4 x 8 garden in my backyard. I filled it with composted soil, top soil, and potting soil. I also sprinkled in a little bag of manure. I think I might have burned my plants.

**Nothing organic will "burn" your plants at the soil level. Cow/goat/deer/horse manure mixed well into the soil feeds from the root and fertilizes. check out this site: www.DirtDoctor.com I'm in San Antonio, and tomato plants won't produce until we have a lot warmer nights, more consistent with warmer days of summer. Our plants also have that light yellow to their leaves but that will diminish. Every time I plant or transplant anything, I use Super Thrive [available at Wal-Mart for $7.75 & $10.99 at other box stores]..which takes only 2 tiny cap fulls per gallon. The packaging is hokey and looks like snake oil, but it is superior to chemically-based root simulators. [Check it out online so you can see what it does, organically: www.superthrive.com] You can literally smell the rich vitamins when you open the bottle. Presumably, you have several inches of good mulch on top of the soil to help the composting/warming/cooling of the soil. The best mulch I have ever used [and I've been into botany since 1970] is our Native Cedar Mulch. It's not only native but it deters insects because they hate the smell. I also sprinkle cayenne pepper lightly around and upon the plants to keep squirrels, skunks and other buffet-seekers away.
My tomato plants have a purplish tint to them....
***I presume you planted them very deep, so that the stem was half covered, and that you bought heirloom tomatoes instead of hybrid. Heirlooms have had their seeds passed down through generations, and seeds from them can be saved, dried and re-used; whereas, "hybrids" have been genetically altered, and trying to harvest their seeds yields poor seedlings and plants. [Check out www.heirloomtomatoesoftexas.com ] I ceased buying any seed or vegetable plant labeled "hybrid" long ago, and began to look for heirlooms. Brandywine [an Amish] variety is an heirloom and one of the best tasting, hardy tomatoes ever. Most good nurseries carry heirloom varieties.
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and my cucumbers and zucchini plants have turned a light yellowy-green color.
**** If you've had a lot of rain, this yellowing will occur, and it sounds like too much water. I normally don't water until the leaves begin to wilt somewhat. Vegetables don't like "wet feet" Ha!
The lettuces, spinach, green beans, and peas look healthy (so far).

Is there anything I can do to my garden to keep from damaging it further? Or is this one of those boo-boos I just need to learn from and start all over again?
*** No boo-boos committed. I think you'll do just fine and by the end of May you will have a delightful bounty.

YaYa

TIA, I appreciate the feedback

tomatoes - go ahead and do repeat plantings every 2 weeks or so in a sunny spot of the garden. When you plant the starters, put about 4 inches of the stem in the ground. This will cut down on the amount of watering that needs to be done because it increases the size of the root system.

squash - (in general) You probably have squash bores. Split the stem lenthwise where the plant is yellow and carefully inspect the inside of the stem for the grub. Remove the grub and bury the stem under a good handful of dirt. If you have bores, this process will probably have to be repeated several times.

It sounds to me like you might have done just that. I did some research about 8 years ago about using manure in my garden. I can't find my chart but it had how many month before planting you needed to add the manure or risk burning the plants. I know alot now says to make a compost and let it sit for anywhere between 2 and 12 months.
If your other plants look fine I would let grow. Maybe depending on how much plants are in your area plant a few more tomato plants and see what happens.(A 6-pack here is just 1.25) I can tell you I have replanted beans twice this year already but this last batch I bought from a different supplier so I think I was sold older beans the first two times.

Too much water can damage your plants as can too much fertilizer. I use my household products from Melaleuca in my garden. The Tough and Tender degreaser is wonderful for tomato plants. I would mix it with water and water the plants about 2 times a week, making sure not to touch the leaves with the mixture. I always had deep red, abundant tomatoes with dark green leaves and no rot on them or worms. My tomatoes produced well into November. My son also grew pumpkins, squash, red peppers, and strawberries. I never do anything special with the dirt. I started out with the potting soil for veggies and that was it.

Good luck. Gardening is great!! I use my Melaleuca Wellness Guide from rmbarry.com because it has a whole section on gardening tips and uses. I love organic!

J.
www.livetotalwellness.com/janislanz
____@____.com

When you did your garden you said you put potting soil, that unfortunately was the first mistake you have to use garden soil. then fertilizer, slow reacting works best, and then when putting your veges in you have to dig the dirt twice as wide as the plant and only as deep as the plant. I do a segment on San Antonio Living and just did a landscape segment. the segment is called crafting with A. and gardening tips from A.. I have attached the link hope you find it helpful. If it doesn't work off of the link then just put my name in the video search. Here is the link: http://www.woai.com/mediacenter/local.aspx

Good luck to you,
A.

It sounds like you did get something too high in there. Since you mixed compost in at the beginning you probably didn't need to add manure, because esentially they are for the same purpose.

I would take a soil sample to you local garden center and have it tested. Once you know what is too high (nitrogen, phosphurus, etc.) you can work to combat it's effects. Try to stay away from chemicals that will 'change' the soil's values and instead go a more natural route. EX: If pH is too high baking soda will help, etc.

Good luck!

wow, I was impressed with Cat's answer, she sounded like she really knew her stuff! I'm no gardener, we have a 2'x 24' and we just started last year. my tomatoes are already producing quite a few (not red yet of course) we did the manure, but we put it several weeks before we planted and my hubby mixed it in with the soil also before we planted. we use the liquid seaweed fertilizer about every 3-5 weeks. I was glad to read about the cucumbers, ours did not grow last year, lots of leaves only about 3 cukes, probably too much water. the tomatoes did wonderful! I had tomatoes until late november! Good luck, hope it works out well!

yeah, it sounds like you burned them. Don't put any chemicals (like miracle grow) in there, plant some inexpensive plants, and maybe it will balance out (you can have the soil tested, too.)

Also, make sure you don't water your plants when the sun will be shining on them (the best time is in the morning or late in the evening.)

What time of day are you watering, and how much are you watering? You sould be watering in the early morning, or in the late evening. Either way you do not want to water during the warmest/sunniest parts of the day. You could also be overwatering. Watering every other day is the best schedule, but keep an eye on things. Watering everyday will give your plants root rot, and they also will not grow.

You might have burned them with the manure if you really over did it. However it doesn't sound too bad. Are the symptoms getting worse? Do the new leaves or the old leaves show symptoms. If it is the new leaves that is likely to be a problem whereas the old leaves are not necessarily. The big trick about gardening is patience.