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Posted: Sep/24/2007 8:54 AM PST
I have a good sized garden. The last few years the veggys have all been stunted or they look good for awhile and then wither. The tomato vines and the fruit are about half the normal size. Watermelons will grow good for a while but then the blossom end will get soft and they rot from that end. I have grown tomatoes from the same seed outside the garden and they do great. The soil has a lot of compost. I have used a fairy strong solution of clorox and water to kill the tomato virus in the soil but I thought that would evaporate pretty quick. I had the soil tested a few years ago and it came back as a little too much fertalizer but nothing else wrong. What can I do to determine whats wrong. Thanks. artsiii@aol.com |
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Posted: Sep/24/2007 9:36 PM PST
Hi George, I never heard of putting bleach in the ground like that. Can't say I recommend the practice. It sounds like you might be just watering too much. You should try to keep the leaves of your tomato plants dry, with plenty of air circulation. I've heard of blossom rot on the tomatoes, but I suppose the watermelons could have the same trouble. You can try adding some calcium to the soil by adding eggshells, lime, etc. (even ground up tums works, so I hear). I would also recommend that you get the fruit off the ground to help prevent it from rotting or being eaten by slugs. You can rest it on a milk crate, pile of straw, etc, just something to keep it off the ground and air around it. Again, only water when the plants need it, i.e., when the ground is dry down to an inch or so deep, and then water deeply at the base of the plants to try to keep the leaves dry. I hope this helps. |
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Posted: Sep/25/2007 6:34 AM PST
If you plant the same thing in the same place each year, I wonder if you might need to "rotate the crops." Don't remember exactly what crop rotation is all about and why, etc. but it might be worth looking into. |
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Posted: Oct/04/2007 5:41 PM PST
Doesn't Clorox turn to salt when it evaporates? Maybe that's a problem. I know when they use it on the roads for snow up here some people have fits because it kills some of their plants in the runoff. |
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