A couple of questions for you:

How often have you been fertilizing? What sort of Miracle Grow have you been using (i.e., something labelled for vegetable gardens, or the same "blue stuff" my grandma used to use on shrubs)? What kind of soil did you fill your bed with -- "topsoil," or some kind of mix?

Pictures would also help if you can manage it.

All those plants are struggling because they';re cold. To thrive, they need 55F or above.

Too much water, too cool, and too few nutrients are the most common causes - in that order.

The rain you can't help but wait for it to pass. But if your soil is slow to drain that only complicates the problems.The air temps you can't help except to delay planting times until the weather warms to normal levels.

Dave

So my husband did a PH test on the soil yesterday, and we got 4.8 - 5.1 Could that be the problem? We used a bag of lime and will get some more now, but I'm surprised that this is happening all of a sudden. He thinks its because we got new soil from a place called Living Earth that has mulch and manure in it, and it is now breaking down causing the soil to be so acidic. Is there any hope for the plants or should we just focus on the soil this year and then try again next. Can we fix it and then plant more veggies or have we missed the season?

The pH would definitely be the problem. Nothing except blueberries and azaleas likes that kind of acidity.

I'm wondering what that soil had in it. Manure would not generally cause that kind of acidity, nor would most mulches.

This goes back to my question of what the soil composition was, and what variety of Miracle Grow you've been pouring on the bed. If you used something for acid-loving plants, it's going to kill your vegetables.

We used Miracle Grow for vegetables....and Epsom salts. My husband said the soil was good top soil, and we filled the bed with 7 yards of it. I was so happy that we finally had every herb we wanted, but now they are all dying a slow death. I think the mulch was from oak trees...so my research shows that those are highly acidic also.

Ah, ok. Actually, it's not really a good idea to fill raised vegetable beds with topsoil. It doesn't allow water to drain out properly, and the plants end up both drowning and nutrient-deprived.

I personally use 1/2 Pro Mix BX (a pH-balanced peat, vermiculite, and perlite mixture) and 1/2 composted manure. A lot of people use "Mel's Mix," which is 1/3 peat, 1/3 coarse vermiculite, and 1/3 of mixed compost. I used Mel's Mix in the past with fantastic results.

It's not too late to re-start if you want to make a new soil mixture to fill your beds. You'll find if you use compost to grow in that you need very little additional fertilizer. I just use a teaspoon full of organic Tomato Tone in each planting hole for my peppers and tomatoes, and once every 6 weeks or so, some half-strength fish emulsion. You really don't need a lot of fertilizer.

By the way, herbs like rosemary and thyme like much drier conditions than vegetables do. Consider growing those in their own pots. Basil, cilantro and parsley like water, though. You can grow those in your veg bed.

I hope this helped. Don't get discouraged! It's always better to try to start again with whatever you have than to give up altogether.

koms1016, first garden soils are generally "uncooperative". It usually gets better in gardens to come. Agree with galiana - "don't get discouraged". Lots of good suggestions in the comments above. In the end it might be mostly related to our cooler spring - Dave's first comment.

Before you doing anything about a low ph reading, I'd want to make sure it is accurate and that I collected or measured a representative sample. You may have done this already.... I once had a ph meter. I found readings to be highly variable from place to place. I also was not convinced of it's accuracy.

If you do find ph to be a problem there is hope.. check out the thread below. You may also want to search for a few other threads...

Houston is a great area for gardening year round. So you have not missed too much. You may have to change up your plant selection to warmer/hot weather vegetables. Plus you can plant Fall vegetables starting in August and mostly through November..

Here is a link that might be useful: What type of Lime?

Ditto what grandad said - accurate pH is vital before acting. Home test kits are notorious for being very IN-accurate so don't change things based on that.

You can get a professional soil test done at your local county ag extension office for about $10-12.

Otherwise as others have suggested a fill of what is called "topsoil" can mean many things and not all of them are good. Finding a good local source of a quality vegetative-based compost and mixing it in to the bed and mulching with it too will go a long way toward fixing your soil issues including the drainage and pH if it is actually off.

Herbs are normally very tolerant of less than ideal soil - they are a good test crop as many will almost grow on concrete - so if the herbs are affected too then it is a good indication of overly wet conditions and/or poor drainage.

Dave

I looked up the soil he got....this is what it says on their website.

Premium Garden Mix

Our very best stuff.

Perfect for gardens.

A mixture of horse manure compost, mushroom compost, wood compost, topsoil, and mason sand.

Here are some pictures...

My puny basil... :(

Poor things. One other question -- is that bark on top of the bed additional mulch that you've put down, or is the texture of the soil like that all the way through?

I agree with the other folks who said to take another soil test (you remembered to dig up soil from 3-4 places round the bed and mix them together to get an accurate reading, right?) and see what that tells you. Texas A&M has a soil testing service that you can use, since you're in TX. When I lived in Houston I had my testing done there.

Until you get the soil test results back, lay off the fertilizer, and don't water at all if there's any rain forecasted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas A&M Soil Testing Lab

A mixture of horse manure compost, mushroom compost, wood compost, topsoil, and mason sand.

Sure sounds like a good mix. It would be almost impossible though for your soil pH test to be valid given all that compost. Compost is inherently neutral pH.

Dave

If the soil make-up below the surface is like what is shown on the photos then I suggest the percentages might be a bit high on the organics. If true, you may want to blend in a bit of top soil and supplement with a high nitrogen fertilizer/manure to help replenish the nitrogen loss that will occur during the decomposition of the organics.

I generally look at the top soil before purchasing. When buying bags at the local garden centers or home improvement stores, you can generally find previously broken bags that allow for a peek at the top soil make-up. I tend to avoid top soil that is too high in sand or organics.

Like Dave suggested, get a professional soil test.
If end up having low PH ( under 5.6 ) you then need some very fast acting lime or other stuff. Regular lime(I've heard) would take months to become effective.
But luckily( I have heard again) most garden veggies will do fine at pH 5.8 and higher. But most herbs like alkaline (pH 7 +)

You will need about 12 small soil samples if you have your soil tested at your local agricultural center. They will give you a detailed response to what your soil needs and doesn't need. They have a guide on how to take soil samples.

Yes that is how the soil is throughout...we didn't add anything to it. I'll take a sample to be tested, and see what happens. We're adding lime now and I might add some nitrogen in case that is the problem. Any recommended brands?

I know it's tempting to try to "fix" the problem in the absence of knowing what the problem is, but I'd advise you to delay adding more stuff to the bed until after the test results come back. If you add amendments without knowing what the problem actually is, it's possible that you could make the problem worse.

Meanwhile, if you want to save your plants, dig them out of the bed and put them in a plastic pot with some unamended potting soil, then baby them until you can fix the bed to their liking.

Yellow leaves usually mean that they need more nitrogen. However, with the weather being cooler than usual, they just may be too cold. Don't give up yet, and don't overwater. Your plants may get greener when it warms up.

Your plants remind me of a lemon tree I potted when I was young. I put lots of shredded bark in the soil, thinking it would lighten the soil. Instead, it sucked all the nitrogen out of the soil as it broke down, and that was one yellow lemon tree. That's when I discovered why any organic materials should be fully composted before mixing into the soil.

I'm going to get the soil tested before doing anything...but I'm thinking its more of a nitrogen problem now because I also have a hydrangea in this bed, and it should be doing great with the acid but it's not. The blooms are also pink which leads me to believe there is a problem.

What do you recommend for increasing the nitrogen in the bed? I looked up some stuff, and found many different fertilizers so not sure what to use!

That sure looks like a lot of shredded wood which would deplete soil nitrogen temporarily while it's decomposing.

Miracle Gro or any high N soluble plant food will help with that.

The pH sure is weird though.

Any topsoil blend is probably better if you buy it in fall and let it rest and age through the winter. These kinds of kinks have time to work themselves out.