Garden Troubleshooting

Question: Hey, 

I have a garden in Edgewater that is really struggling this year.  I converted a roughly 35x35 section of lawn into garden space in 2020.  My first two years gardening here were incredible.  2021 especially - I filled every cupboard shelf in my house with preserved food, and was still absolutely throwing it at neighbors.

In 2022 I purchased bulk compost from a nearby nursery and it was a disaster.  Absolutely nothing grew.  Plants would grow to about 2 inches high and simply stop growing at all.  After running a compost test with the university of Delaware, it was determined the compost was super under-cooked and very nitrogen deficient.  Something like 1/40 of what it should be.  Anyway 2022 was a total bust, but after a year of laying effectively fallow, I am struggling again in 2023.  

I heavily tilled everything in with a tractor this year so the soil is thoroughly mixed.  I mulched the top to keep weeding under control.  There has also been some wild weather with bursts of 80-90 degree weather in April, and some dips into the 30s in May.  I have had to start several plants over that attempted to flower despite being only a few inches tall.  But my primary problem is plants seem to just languish and not grow at all.  Only my beans are suffering obvious pest damage.  Everything else appears to just turn slightly yellow or simply grow *incredibly* slowly.  A soil test this year from before I planted anything showed the soil was quite healthy, and over-nutrient rich in certain areas if anything.

Attached are a few pictures.  The peas in question are almost 2 months old now, and simply do not seem to be getting any larger.  The peppers shown have not gotten any larger since I transplanted them outside 2 weeks ago.  The spinach plants pictured have not grown at all since transplanting maybe 4 weeks ago, and have begun to turn yellow.  Many of my plants are suffering similar fates.

Tomatoes seem to be struggling to grow, and have started to put flowers out despite being only 18 inches or so tall.  Lettuce growing very slowly.  Bokchoi looks like the spinach.  Broccoli plants languishing at 8 inches or so tall and have not grown in weeks.  Only my asparagus is absolutely thriving, and it's in a separate plot which did not receive any compost last year. 

I am thoroughly stumped.  No obvious pest damage except beans which I am treating separately. My first two years gardening here were so productive and the last 2 now have been so disappointing.  Aside from the compost added last year, I do not think I am doing anything differently.

Any help or instruction is appreciated.  Let me know if there's any information or pictures that would help diagnose.  Happy to also perform more tests or anything needed.

Thanks!
-Alex

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied May 22, 2023, 10:58 AM EDT
response: Hi- Please attach scans or PDFs of your soil test and compost reports.   The yellowing of the older, outer spinach leaves suggests nitrogen deficiency. Try fertilizing your plants with a complete (contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) soluble fertilize. Either a liquid or dry fertilizer that you mix with water and apply around the base of your plants.   Pepper is slow-growing. Were your pepper transplants healthy and green when planted? And then slowly yellowed? Did you fertilize your transplants and seedlings with a soluble fertilizer at planting?  There may be several causes for the problems you presented. Stressed transplants will flower prematurely and that could have been independent of soil issues.   The immature compost may have had a high carbon:nitrogen ratio. Soil microbes would have used the available nitrogen in the soil to fully digest the compost. If additional nitrogen was not added to the soil you would see slow growth and off-color foliage.   The wood chip mulch may also be contributing to the problem if the chips are mixed into the soil. Wood chips are wonderful for walkways but are not generally used around vegetable crops. Jon

responder: The Question Asker Replied May 22, 2023, 11:36 AM EDT
response: Hey there, Thanks so much for the feedback.  Soil test results from 2020 (when it was just lawn grass when we moved in), compost test results from august of 2022, and soil tests from my main vegetable plot and asparagus patch in 2023 are attached.  The pepper plants were very green but roughly the same size when transplanted outdoors.  I know we had a few colder nights this May but I'd been pretty careful about covering everything up if it ever looked like it was going to dip under 50.  I did fertilize the ground under every transplant, and generally use a little extra potting soil when filling in around new plants.  But yes, just as you described, the plants were healthy and green when moved outside, and slowly began to yellow and stagnate.  It's just bizarre because my garden was an absolute jungle in 2021.  I could barely fit between my tomato plants, and some of them must have been at least 6 feet high.  Completely out of control in every direction taking over the whole yard.Yes the wood chips are a new addition this year, but are not mixed into the soil.  Just about an inch to 2 inch layer on top to help keep weeds in order.  As this was all lawn-grass when we moved in keeping the grass under control has been challenging.  In prior years I put down garden fabric over the entire area but inevitably small pieces of fabric or plastic would end up in the soil and I was hoping this would be a better solution.  If you recommend against wood mulch, let me know!  Are there any alternatives, or ought I go back to fabric?I will try applying a nitrogen heavy fertilizer to the plot.  If the soil tests offer any additional insight, or if any other information would be helpful, just let me know.  Thanks so much,-Alex TornabeneOn Mon, May 22, 2023 at 10:58 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied May 23, 2023, 1:57 PM EDT
response: Hi- The soil test reports look fine. The soil organic matter levels are very high. The compost test report results are strange. Very loow nutrient and salts level and the carbon % is half what is typical. The C:N ratio is almost double what it should be which explains, in part, why plants are growing slowly. Available nutrients are feeding soil microbes instead of plants.  If using liquid fertilizers be sure that it's reaching the plant roots and not just soaking into the wood chip mulch. You can also rake the mulch aside to incorporate a dry/granular fertilizer into the top few inches of soil and re-apply the mulch.  Many weeds will germinate and grow through a 1-2 inch wood chip mulch layer. Covering the soil with sections of newspaper covered with wood chips is one option. Organic growers use silage tarps or heavy-duty landscape fabric to kill vegetation and then remove the tarps or fabrics. Never cover landscape fabric with mulch. Perennial weeds will knit the soil and fabric into an immovable mess. Jon

responder: The Question Asker Replied May 23, 2023, 2:40 PM EDT
response: Awesome, I appreciate the feedback. Having seen the results, and especially the compost one, is there a particular style of fertilizer you recommend?  The little X-X-X numbers?  What would be ideal here?I will water it in thoroughly to ensure it's getting to the roots.Thanks!On Tue, May 23, 2023 at 1:57 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied May 23, 2023, 3:50 PM EDT
response: Hi- aim for a complete fertilizer (contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) that is highest in nitrogen. Examples are a 4-3-3 organic fertilizer or cottonseed meal (6-2-1). Jon

responder: The Question Asker Replied May 24, 2023, 9:04 AM EDT
response: Sounds good, will do.Thanks!On Tue, May 23, 2023, 3:50 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote: