When composted leaves are considered a 'brown' or carbon. They're mixed with a 'green' or nitrogen source and together they break down to a neutral growing medium. I tend to think your leaves are using up available nitrogen as they break down and your plants are starving. Leaves do better as a mulch on top of the ground. Suggestion, give your plants extra nitrogen for a while, say a month, and the leaves may break down enough to release the stored up nutrients.

I have the same problem....too many leaves on bottom of raised bed with veggies.

I've been adding alfalfa meal, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. What other kind of nitrogen source can I add that will make up for the deficit cause by the leaves?

If you are not against using chemical fertilizers then fertilizer urea (46%N) and ammonium nitrate (34%N) are probably the most readily available options. If they have a as slow release then that would be better. Otherwise you'd likely OD your plants on nitrogen. If you are not in favor of using chemical fertilizers then the manures would be an alternative.. each type and vintage will different levels of nitrogen.

Try fish emulsion. You can spray it on the leaves (probably quickest results) and pour it around the roots for slower absorption. Pay attention to the dilution rate.

Sue

When adding nitrogen only use enough to feed the plants. Don't try to break down the leaves with it, only in a compost bin. The available nitrogen in the soil is temporarily tied up with the leaves and will return later. I should have mentioned that earlier, sorry.

Will fish emulsion attract cats, dogs, rats, coons or other varmints?

Thanks everyone for all of the helpful info! I will try to get some Nitrogen fertilizer tomorrow for a (hopefully) quick fix. I might also try adding a few bags of compost/humus stuff we sell at my folks' hardware store too for a secondary slow release of Nitrogen. Or is that also to much of a good thing?!

Here they are... 4 weeks after being transplanted. They're hardly any bigger than they were when they went in. Poor babies!-

{{gwi:63201}}

What kind of soil mix have you put in there? I ask because it appears to have a lot of wood product in it. That's not good to have a lot of wood chips in your bed.

That's composted cow manure from a dairy farm here that produces its own electricity. My other beds have a lot of it in the mix & the plants love it. Nitrogen, but not too much, because it's been composted. In this bed, it's almost straight on top of way too many leaves. Oops!

My motto:
Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess... ;)

Last year, it was 12 tomato plants.... This year it's doubling the size of the garden & taking shortcuts in the soil mix due to the lack of time ... darn the day job!

Thanks so much for the information.

One more question....regarding spraying with fish emulsion. Can you just mix up the fish emulsion in a watering can and sprinkle that water onto the leaves or must you have a special "sprayer".

Comfrey perhaps? If you know someone with a patch, they perhaps would have leaves to spare - and are bound to be eager to share a piece... that you'll want to plant carefully where it won't spread irrevocably where you don't want it! But "comfrey tea" is supposed to be nutritious (for plants - not advised for humans due to liver-toxic alkaloids) with significant nitrogen content and the leaves can kick-start compost.

Here is a link that might be useful: comfrey & nitrogen googled

Fish emulsion or fish/seaweed emulsion can be used as a foliar spray or used directly to the root zone. I prefer the root zone as wet leaves can cause problems. Follow the directions (about an ounce to a gallon of water) and just water as usual. I've found Neptune's Harvest to be excellant.

you will be delighted with the results of adding, liquid fish or any water soluble suppliments,,i suggest a balanced liquid fertilizer, there is lots of organic mixtures out there.
as raismybeds mentioned there looks to be a lot of wood material in your bed, cow manure is great, yours has a lot of bedding mixed in with it, just looks to me like it could have been composted a while longer...have you tried a ph test on your growing medium? you may need some lime stone and/or (my fave) oyster shell.
i have had raccoons dig around plants that i used liquid fish on, that has only happened on rare occaisions, the coons seem to enjoy chickens and ducklings much more recently.

The most cost effective, organic source of immediately available nitrogen is urine. Dilute it 10:1 and pour on soil. It works on the compost pile too.