I planted those a month ago I think something is wrong
(i'm watering now) I used some fish fertilizer 2 days ago which I hope may help but I feel like it's too late it's going to be 90 next week.
by joeyfn07
32 Comments
ursoyjak
Yeah it’s your dirt. It looks dryer than a desert
Papesisme
You’re probably right that it’s too late. Next time I would try more consistent watering or mulching, as well as adding some organic matter into the soil (which isn’t particularly necessary, but can help plants grow better).
Delicious-War-5259
Have you amended your soil any? It looks very compacted (maybe rich in clay as well?) and like it isn’t holding moisture well
Blunt_Ninja
Hard to say from a picture, might need to do some heavy amending every year. My in ground bed started with 5-7 inches of compost and native soil. Going on year 3, I add a couple inches of compost every year now. Also mulch will help.
chamgireum_
Add compost and water and you’ll get better results
motherfudgersob
Is that lettuce? Where are you? It might be on B interest to you that lettuce won’t germinate well if temps are above 70 F or so. They go dormant. If you plan a fall crop plant them inside where it us cooler, then transplant when heat has lessened. Of course this may not be relevant at all but I thought I’d throw it in there.
Kyrie_Blue
This is no longer soil, its just dirt. It looks devoid of nutrients, organic matter, and microactivity. Consider covercrops like Clover, or mulching with a blend of grassclippings and mulched leaves, so you can rebuild this into soil.
Nizmo17
Add water. Source: water good
Carrot-Proof
You need to till it back up and start over. Get a landscaping rake and make raised mound rows then re plan.
KiseiEisenmann
Sometimes you have to water when you grow a vegetable garden.
Mean-Cauliflower-139
A thin layer of compost mulch right around the plants and a 1” layer everywhere else will make this patch explode. You’re dealing with moisture retention issues big time.
apachelives
Looks like no organic matter, compacted/clay like and no mulch + dry.
Ertygbh
Did you amend the soil? It looks very clay and dry. How is it as you go 4, 6, 8” down?
Llothcat2022
Could I dropp off a few gophers? They are VERY GOOD at soil aeration…
ODeasOfYore
They’re thirsty
Odd-Woodpecker5352
She dry
xtr_terrestrial
I’ve seen so many posts like this. Someone asking “what’s wrong” and the picture is a plant in dirt that looks dry and crusty like it hasn’t seen water in weeks. It’s the water, plants need water haha.
likalaruku
Dry crusty dirt with no nutrients.
I would dig that dirt up, burry food scraps in the hole, buy some earth worms & put them on the food scraps, mix the dirt with bagged soil, spread it on top, & give it a good soak, & sprinkle plant food pellets on top of that, then put gras clippings from the lawn mower on top of that, then cover it with more bagged soil.
adlopez
I bought a few truck loads of bulk soil from the nursery, and it looked just like this. None of my seedlings that I grew were showing any growth after 4 weeks, and the top of the dirt was exactly the same. I removed the plants and put them into pots with better soil, and hit them with nutrients. They’re doing way better now.
Today I had to go grab a few bags of garden soil/organic soil, and blend it in with the dirt, and transplanted some other seedlings, and I’m already feeling way better.
Sukiyama_Kabukiyama
That soil looks dry as hell! Perhaps it’s not retaining any moisture? Soil mix can make a big difference.
Chroney
You need to mulch to retain moisture, I use seedless straw
Persephone-X7
Looks like the corn fields by my house, dry and dead of any soil structure 🙁 I’m still building structure in ours (lovely clay) Hope you glean some good feedback here and look into soil health practices
Brilliant_Ad_2192
Your soil is mostly unorganic matter. Your soil needs organic matter, or it will not hold water
TopBlueberry3
I would put down some leaves or some straw as a mulch to help retain the moisture – it will also help improve the soil over time! I learned in a healthy soil class that you never want bare soil. In the fall I cover it up or plant a peas and oats cover crop that winter kills in my area.
the_perkolator
IMO you need to get some mulch put down for moisture retention and all the other biological benefits that come with. You have no car, so use what’s local to you – grass clippings, plant and weed trimmings, leaves, even cardboard and paper can all work, just layer it on top around the plants
bags_bags
It’s just bad soil
Advanced-Depth1816
Maybe try to add a little layer of compost on the top of the soil?
No_Doughnut_3315
You can half ass gardening a bit when you have been nurturing the same patch for a decade or more. You can’t just scrape the turf off a patch of land,.chuck some seeds down and reasonably expect anything to happen. You get what you give. This dirt needs a lot of work, try a smaller patch this year if you must, but I would focus on getting it right for next year. Double dig, cardboard mulch to prevent weeds, then work on sourcing some cheap compost. The first two steps are free if you have a shovel and a super market dumpster close by.
bogeuh
In composting they call grass clippings a green/ nitrogen source. Unless you fertilise your lawn often the soil will be real low on N.
Peter_Falcon
that dirt looks as dead as a dodo, add some compost
KlimNagev
Bare soil makes me cringe so hard😬. Use a cover crop or at least add wood chips or straw. Holy shit
Specialist-Act-4900
Wow! Tough soil! With no car, I would check into no till gardening techniques, and using legumes and/or buckwheat as cover crops, alternating with oats over the winter. Once you harvest the watermelons, you can get them to join the team by doing chop and drop with the vines. When you get a good cover of plant debris, go to the nearest store that sells fishing supplies, and buy a carton of red wriggler earthworms. They will start breaking down the organic matter, bring it deeper in the soil, and inoculate the soil with beneficial bacteria. You could wait for the local earthworms to migrate in, but unless your next door neighbor is a hard core organic gardener, that could take a while.
32 Comments
Yeah it’s your dirt. It looks dryer than a desert
You’re probably right that it’s too late. Next time I would try more consistent watering or mulching, as well as adding some organic matter into the soil (which isn’t particularly necessary, but can help plants grow better).
Have you amended your soil any? It looks very compacted (maybe rich in clay as well?) and like it isn’t holding moisture well
Hard to say from a picture, might need to do some heavy amending every year. My in ground bed started with 5-7 inches of compost and native soil. Going on year 3, I add a couple inches of compost every year now. Also mulch will help.
Add compost and water and you’ll get better results
Is that lettuce? Where are you? It might be on B interest to you that lettuce won’t germinate well if temps are above 70 F or so. They go dormant. If you plan a fall crop plant them inside where it us cooler, then transplant when heat has lessened. Of course this may not be relevant at all but I thought I’d throw it in there.
This is no longer soil, its just dirt. It looks devoid of nutrients, organic matter, and microactivity. Consider covercrops like Clover, or mulching with a blend of grassclippings and mulched leaves, so you can rebuild this into soil.
Add water. Source: water good
You need to till it back up and start over.
Get a landscaping rake and make raised mound rows then re plan.
Sometimes you have to water when you grow a vegetable garden.
A thin layer of compost mulch right around the plants and a 1” layer everywhere else will make this patch explode. You’re dealing with moisture retention issues big time.
Looks like no organic matter, compacted/clay like and no mulch + dry.
Did you amend the soil? It looks very clay and dry. How is it as you go 4, 6, 8” down?
Could I dropp off a few gophers? They are VERY GOOD at soil aeration…
They’re thirsty
She dry
I’ve seen so many posts like this. Someone asking “what’s wrong” and the picture is a plant in dirt that looks dry and crusty like it hasn’t seen water in weeks. It’s the water, plants need water haha.
Dry crusty dirt with no nutrients.
I would dig that dirt up, burry food scraps in the hole, buy some earth worms & put them on the food scraps, mix the dirt with bagged soil, spread it on top, & give it a good soak, & sprinkle plant food pellets on top of that, then put gras clippings from the lawn mower on top of that, then cover it with more bagged soil.
I bought a few truck loads of bulk soil from the nursery, and it looked just like this. None of my seedlings that I grew were showing any growth after 4 weeks, and the top of the dirt was exactly the same. I removed the plants and put them into pots with better soil, and hit them with nutrients. They’re doing way better now.
Today I had to go grab a few bags of garden soil/organic soil, and blend it in with the dirt, and transplanted some other seedlings, and I’m already feeling way better.
That soil looks dry as hell! Perhaps it’s not retaining any moisture? Soil mix can make a big difference.
You need to mulch to retain moisture, I use seedless straw
Looks like the corn fields by my house, dry and dead of any soil structure 🙁 I’m still building structure in ours (lovely clay) Hope you glean some good feedback here and look into soil health practices
Your soil is mostly unorganic matter. Your soil needs organic matter, or it will not hold water
I would put down some leaves or some straw as a mulch to help retain the moisture – it will also help improve the soil over time! I learned in a healthy soil class that you never want bare soil. In the fall I cover it up or plant a peas and oats cover crop that winter kills in my area.
IMO you need to get some mulch put down for moisture retention and all the other biological benefits that come with. You have no car, so use what’s local to you – grass clippings, plant and weed trimmings, leaves, even cardboard and paper can all work, just layer it on top around the plants
It’s just bad soil
Maybe try to add a little layer of compost on the top of the soil?
You can half ass gardening a bit when you have been nurturing the same patch for a decade or more. You can’t just scrape the turf off a patch of land,.chuck some seeds down and reasonably expect anything to happen. You get what you give. This dirt needs a lot of work, try a smaller patch this year if you must, but I would focus on getting it right for next year. Double dig, cardboard mulch to prevent weeds, then work on sourcing some cheap compost. The first two steps are free if you have a shovel and a super market dumpster close by.
In composting they call grass clippings a green/ nitrogen source. Unless you fertilise your lawn often the soil will be real low on N.
that dirt looks as dead as a dodo, add some compost
Bare soil makes me cringe so hard😬. Use a cover crop or at least add wood chips or straw. Holy shit
Wow! Tough soil! With no car, I would check into no till gardening techniques, and using legumes and/or buckwheat as cover crops, alternating with oats over the winter. Once you harvest the watermelons, you can get them to join the team by doing chop and drop with the vines. When you get a good cover of plant debris, go to the nearest store that sells fishing supplies, and buy a carton of red wriggler earthworms. They will start breaking down the organic matter, bring it deeper in the soil, and inoculate the soil with beneficial bacteria. You could wait for the local earthworms to migrate in, but unless your next door neighbor is a hard core organic gardener, that could take a while.