You are viewing a single comment's thread from:

RE: My vegetable garden woes

in #gardening8 years ago (edited)

Great pictures and sorry you have not had perfect success, but hey, that's gardening. We try and sometimes don't succeed, but hopefully we learn. At least you are doing well with most of those crops. Peas and chard, though, hmmm...those should be easier than some of the other plants that are going well for you.
My questions:
(1) Were there any birds in the area big enough (crows?) to eat pea seeds? Squirrels/chipmunks? Is it possible the seeds did sprout, but that something immediately ate the foliage that peeped up above ground? Rodents of any sort or raccoons or birds are possible there.
(2) Where you live and during this period, did your garden receive rain or did you water it thoroughly so there was moisture in the top few inches of soil? Seeds can't be allowed to dry out or they won't sprout. That's a fairly loose soil mixture you probably have (aside from the clay content), so not sure how long it holds the moisture.
(3) Did you buy fresh (this year's) seed from a reputable seed company? Chard seed normally lasts a few years, but the germination rate with peas and beans goes way down after one year. If you bought these from a seed rack at a store, it is possible they were sitting there for a while. Some stores will keep them on a rack for years, literally.
(4) Soil composition sounds great. You could get it tested if you want, but even if it were (just for sake of argument) imbalanced in terms of pH or nutrients or contamination of some sort, the seeds should germinate in it just fine. The others did.

Those are some initial thoughts.

Sort:  

Thank you! It's fun and I don't mind everything not being perfect. I did think of it as a way to save money at first, but after the cost of the topsoil, all the gardening tools, and the seeds (not to mention the time spent), I think this is a financially neutral activity. At least we'll have organic home-grown veggies to eat!

  1. Oh...something could have eaten the seeds! There are some crows, cardinals, robins, and other birds. I've never seen a squirrel or chipmunk in this area. I heard that there's a coyote den next door. (I'm not sure if that's relevant, but it's crazy!)
  2. It was watered (or rained on) at least once a day, but it does dry out pretty quickly, so this could have been part of the problem. I will try watering lightly 2-3 times a day and see if that goes better.
  3. Hmmm....The peas were from Home Depot or Walmart. :/
  4. Ok. I thought the soil seemed perfect too, but am inexperienced with clay. It could be kind of fun to look at the pH though. (I'm a nerd.)

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.18
TRX 0.12
JST 0.027
BTC 62853.43
ETH 3013.11
USDT 1.00
SBD 2.50