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Re: slow growing veggies

Unlisted wrote:
>
> another appeal to all of your expertise...
>
> this is the second year that i've been veggie gardening and i've been using
> raised beds since we move alot and it's easier to set them up.  last year i
 got
> a slow start to my veggie garden which was why i figured my lettuce crops
> didn't mature until mid july (so much for spring greens!).  this year however
 i
> got everything started in february inside, transferred to my coldframe in mid
> march, then transplanted to my garden by the end of the month as the starts
> were outgrowing their cell packs.  the soil mind you had been nicely warmed by
> plastic groundcover, set inside a plastic tunnel.  yet i planted these starts
> with 3-4 true leaves and they are just not doing anything.  at all.  same with
> my spinach, mustard, beets and radishes of all things (aren't they supposed
>  to mature
> in a month or so?  they've been in the ground forever and are only just
> developing true leaves now!).
>
> i'm concerned as to why things are growing so slowly. i'm going to have my
 soil
> tested, because i'm concerned now about low mineral content.  however i
 planted
> a legume cover crop last fall and tilled it in, as well as amended the soil in
> january with lots of hay (which is mostly broken down by now). i'm really at a
> loss and don't know what to attribute this to.  living here in OR, with such
> mild climates we're able to overwinter lettuces beautifully, but even these
 are
> puny right now (3 in tall, about 4 leaves).
>
> any help will be appreciated.
>
> thyme
>

John Huff
E-mail: jhu554@airmail.net
Personal Web Page: http://web2.airmail.net/jhu554
Tom & Susan Schmidtke
3S Emu Ranch
HC3, Box 1017; Bandara, TX 78003
210-796-7145
My lettuce also started slow this spring. I of course  direct plant into
the soil. The only things I transplant are beans, bell peppers,and
jalapeno peppers. My lettuce plants are well defined at this point, with
four more new plants sprouting in another square.

I do apply a small amount of general fertilizer 8-8-8 every two weeks.
When weed control work is required I use that time to work in a little
more compost around the plants.

You are doing the right thing by having your soil evaluated.

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