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jerseymaids

Kale and Broccoli Yellowing?

jerseymaids
9 years ago

Hi all, I'm a newbie here at gardenweb and also a first year gardener (or, at least trying to be after years of yearning and finally having a property with light and dirt and space!)

I tried to keep it modest this year with edibles, just got through a good round of lettuces, growing roma and cherry tomatoes, 1 brussels sprout plant, a few broccoli, a few kale, 2 strawberries, a red grape, raspberry, and two blueberry bushes. Also a mix of different herbs and such, and many different flowers. I had a small spinach plant, but lost it and am assuming it's a similar issue to what I'm having with my kale and broccoli.

Everything was going just fine until recently when I noticed some severe yellowing on the bottom leaves of my kale and broccoli. The broccoli crown production has nearly stopped, they are still quite small, turn yellow and then just die. The top kale leaves look healthy but the bottom are still bright yellow, and it happens almost overnight. If I pluck them off, the next day the bottom ones are yellow again. I did lots of research and saw everything from overwatering/underwatering to not enough nutrients. I believe it comes down to nitrogen, so I went ahead and added some coffee grounds mixed with a hint of lime juice to balance the pH, and also got some organic fertilizer that has 2% nitrogen (the brand is Jobe's Organic for tomatoes and vegetables. Trying to do all of the edibles in organic soil with organic treatments to keep them going.) I put it all in this weekend and this is how my broccoli looked this morning - no change. Kale is about the same. Do I just need to be more patient? Could it be something else? Should I add even more nitrogen rich ingredients? If so, what? We are currently composting but that won't be ready for a few weeks yet. And are these plants even salvageable this season? Thanks in advance for any and all help :)

-Lauren

Comments (14)

  • Slimy_Okra
    9 years ago

    Your soil pH may be too low and the lime juice certainly made things worse.

    I would fertilize with a balanced all-purpose fertilizer (organic or synthetic) and in the meantime, get a soil test to determine your soil pH and whether it needs liming.

    In addition, they are too crowded and therefore competing for nutrients in a very small space. Is there soil under that mulch?

    Edit: unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, I think I can make out a container. In which case, the problem again is that there are too many plants in that little container.

    This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Wed, May 28, 14 at 19:30

  • loribee2
    9 years ago

    For sure, these should be in the ground not still in their pots.

    Also, these look like they might have buttoned to me or are in the process of bolting and going to flower. I'm not familiar with planting schedules for Zone 5, but I'm wondering if this is the right time to be planting broccoli. Here in California, we're coming to the end of our season for cool weather vegetables.

  • digdirt2
    9 years ago

    Way over-crowded and way over-watered too (likely caused by the over-crowding which leads to root bound plants). They badly need to be separated and transplanted if there is any hope of saving the kale. The broccoli has already bolted - toss it.

    Dave

  • ltilton
    9 years ago

    If you really want to save the kale [I agree with Dave, the broccoli is toast] you need to use a liquid high-nitrogen fertilizer that the plants can pick up immediately, not the slow-working organic material you've already tried.

  • afishlady
    9 years ago

    Even though the brocolli is small, you can still eat it. :) As you managed to get little florets in spite of the crowding, I can't wait to see the awesome crop you will have next time!

  • jerseymaids
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for your help everyone! The nursery I spoke with where I got these plants said that putting them into containers like this would be no problem (guess she was way off!) I will try to salvage my teeny broccoli head crop and what I can of the kale, but unfortunately don't have any more ground to transplant them in. My husband and I plan to build more raised beds next year, so lesson learned about the overcrowding.

    As for over-watering, the soil has always felt pretty dry and I've read mixed things about how often to water. What do you all recommend (for next year?)

    And ltilton - what type of liquid nitrogen rich fertilizer would you use? I have not seen any in our local shops so will probably need to special order it. Again, hoping to stick with organic for edibles, so any help you can give would be much appreciated.

    Thanks for your help, all! :)

  • jerseymaids
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh and Slimy_Okra - the soil here is an organic vegetable soil. I tested all of the pH in our raised beds and the ground (most of it hovering around neutral, 6/7 in most cases) but not the bagged soil since I (probably foolishly) assumed it was balanced properly for the plants it was being advertised to help grow. Another lesson learned ;)

  • ltilton
    9 years ago

    Actually, for a one-shot situation like this, I'd probably use Miracle Grow! Something for really fast take-up by the plant.

    But there are better liquid fertilizers that are also organic, such as fish emulsion.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    "unfortunately don't have any more ground to transplant them in" ..... If you remove the planter you have an area there big enough to plant out half a dozen kale plants. You don't have to have any fancy mix. Kale is tough stuff. Just plant it in the native earth in that area and water well.

  • ltilton
    9 years ago

    If there's more than one kale plant in that photo, I'm not making it out.

  • jerseymaids
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    ltilton - Original photo was only the broccoli, and the plant on the far right is brussels sprouts. Trying to upload a kale photo now! And I have read some things about fish emulsion, maybe I'll check that out :)

    floral_uk - Actually I am not entirely sure we do have enough room. The planter is right up against our garage, and only a few inches in front of where this photo ends there are berry bushes that are in the midst of growing *a lot*. I worry planting them in the ground there will compete with nutrition and space, and anything behind it wouldn't get enough sun. Or am I wrong on that? This is why we are hoping to get that additional set of raised beds up this fall or early next spring :) I'd love to be able to try these crops again, and some others, with more space.

    I went ahead and plucked out some of the worst looking kale and broccoli plants to try to give the "better" looking ones some more room to see if there is any bounce-back. I also went ahead and harvested everything I could in case they aren't salvageable this year. (Besides, I needed a ton of kale this week for recipes anyway!)

    Thanks again for your input, glad to know there's a place like this - especially for newbies.

  • Slimy_Okra
    9 years ago

    But I hope you also gave them a shot of nitrogen fertilizer as ltilton suggested. They will certainly recover if you do that.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    'I worry planting them in the ground there will compete with nutrition and space, and anything behind it wouldn't get enough sun.' It does sound a less than optimal spot but in that case it would have been less than optimal for the planter too. In the ground your plants would actually have had more nutrients than in the planter because they were far too densely packed in there. In the ground plants can seek out water and nutrients. They can't in a planter. For next season remember that a Brussels sprout plant can be 3 feet tall and almost as wide. Same goes for kale. They really aren't good choices for a planter unless it is huge. At the end of the season they are really hard to pull and have thick trunk-like stems.

    Regarding broccoli, once it starts to head up you need to use it or it will just go to flower. It can't 'bounce back' from that state.

  • loribee2
    9 years ago

    I think these need to be in containers way, way bigger than you've got. These are much too shallow and small, more for marigolds or herbs than the kind of vegetables you are trying to grow.

    You should be closer to a 5 gallon bucket for one or two plants.

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