23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I did you demin water in the testing
& used this kit:Mosser Lee Soil Master Soil Testing Kit. I'll check w/ the county and see what I need to do to get the soil tested.
Thanks

Most vegetables are pretty adaptable to a range of pH, certainly anything between 6 and 7 will be fine for most of what you grow but it is nice to have the confidence of knowledge and your cooperative extension will do a quick pH test for a modest fee. If your results are similar you can be more confidant of your own measurements in the future.

I use a Cornell kit that allows me to come within a decimal point or two of what the best lab will verify which is all that is needed for practical purposes.

Your cooperative extension will also provide at least a source for testing your soil at a lab that will write a "prescription" for home vegetable production which will clarify the balance of nutrients you should be adding.

I believe it is impossible that your soil does not have measurable amounts of N, P and K or no plants could survive in it. I've had literally hundreds of different soils tested and while any of these nutrients may be at low levels, they are always there.

Your plants are what are called "leggy". Search that term and find all sorts of info. The stems are too weak to support the heads and it is caused by far too little light as others have said.

Many of the other plants in your photo are also far too leggy. They just aren't as obvious. Window light is never enough. Even greenhouses use supplemental lighting this time of year.

Check out the Growing from Seed forum here for all kinds of info.

Dave

Great information, thanks everyone!

These days, the calendar method is becoming less reliable. We're running 10 degrees below normal this month.

I'm particularly concerned with brassicas, the possibility of failure due to unseasonably cold conditions at setting out.

particularly concerned with brassicas, the possibility of failure due to unseasonably cold conditions at setting out.

They are a difficult balancing act - out soon enough to beat the heat but not so soon the cold gets them. But the threat to them is more air temps than soil temps. So the best solution is out early as possible but under row cover for protection.

Dave

PS: I agree - the calendar is the least reliable timing method.

bart, If the plants are of some size, then they need to be broken in more slowly. With my setup they can be out all day from the get-go when the weather is suitable....you don't shade newly germinated seedlings that are garden sown!

This post was edited by wayne_5 on Thu, Mar 20, 14 at 21:42

I'm a working stiff too. When I start hardening off my plants, I set them outside on partly sunny or cloudy days and have them right next to the house. That way they only get a few hours of direct sunlight. I bring them in at night for the first week or two. I gradually (every couple of days) move them further away from the house so they get more sunlight.

Hi woohooman, I'm from Southern California, the Inland Empire.
Everyone, thanks for your help, I decided to just take out the plant. I'm gonna plant more cucumber seeds in that container but this time I'm gonna put the container outdoors. Hopefully that'll help.

Oh. ok. Much like the climate I'm in.

was hoping you'd have let it go and see if any of the suggested remedies helped. Can always learn by failing.

Good luck with the new ones.

For what it's worth, SWC's sound great on paper(especially her in SoCal), but they sound like everything needs to be prefect to be effective. If I was to try one, I wouldn't use anything but the famed 5-1-1 mix discussed so frequently in the container forum. I would think that root rot might be a problem and the 5-1-1 is designed to eliminate that problem as much as possible. Healthy roots, healthy plant... in most cases.

Kevin

I have counted seeds from time to time, most companies are generally pretty accurate, but every time I order from Baker Creek they are well over quoted counts and sometimes double.

Started my petunia seeds today and found that Pinetree shorted me 30% on one package. I also believe they will correct the shortage. Pelleted seeds are expensive.

Of course the recommendations are going to seem generic because they are computer generated. You can't expect a personalized interpretation when the test facility probably is testing 20,000 to 30,000 samples per month in the Spring.

Most soil fertilizer recommendations are based on a 6.66" depth of soil mainly because that figure computes to 2,000,000 lb. of soil and makes those computer generated recommendations work. If you til deeper or more shallow you probably should be making adjustments to the recommendation because you are either concentrating or dilution the lime and fertilizer that you apply.

I got the test results back yesterday. They are much easier to understand now. Years ago you had to be a scientist to understand the results!

It's in pretty good condition.

PH-6
Sufficient on everything, put P is excessive.

I can pull the P down a little since I planted a cover crop of annual rye if I mow it and remove it. I was planning on turning it under.

They are recommending 15-0-15, 6lb's per 300' of row.

I bought several bags of 17-17-17 last fall that was on sale, and have them stored in the barn, bummer.

Thanks sunnibel! My girls crack me up when NE Kansas has snow! I try to entice them (to come out of their heated coop) by moving their treats (BOS) out into their run......... Nuthin' doin'!

You'd think that snow was razor blades!

Hopefully your girls will find some soft dirt real soon!

Thanks, cugal! Yup, snow is gone, just waiting to be sure the morning lay is done, then I think we'll all spend some quality time outside. Might even hit the 60s today, dare I hope. If only I could teach the chickens to hunt voles, it would be a perfect setup.