Please comment on my 'mix's' content.

16 years ago

My son and a friend helped me build 2ft. wide X 8ft. long X 6" deep beds. We then raised the beds onto blocks 2 feet high. The 1" X 6" sides sit 1/4" up off of the bottom plywood. My reasoning for this was drainage and air flow. There are 3 of these planters total.

We prepared the growing "mix" using 5 gallon buckets as our measure. The "mix" went something like this; 2 buckets of large (coarse) vermiculite, 2 buckets peat, and 5 bags of "big store" compost-with-manure type products. Of course, we mixed it very well.

My plants grew very well initially, then the tomatoes started getting purple veins in the leaves. Then, the leaves themselves began to look purplish. Now, the whole entire garden has turned the same yellow color. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants have now all turned the saddest yellow color.

I installed the Handy-Dandiest micro/drip irrigation system ya-ever-saw! It seems impossible for my son's and my grandchildren to walk past the spigot without running it. I didn't think it would be possible to over-water since it drains so quickly. It would be nearly impossible for the roots to be sitting in a standing level of water. Could the dreadful yellow leaves be a result of too much water, even if the bottom of the planter has a 1/4 inch gap around the entire circumference?

There is a possibility that a terrible fertilizer mishap occurred. But, I've been told that the purple color usually indicates over-watering.

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Comments (8)

lil_rhody
16 years ago
Certainly sounds like over-watering.Tomatoes, peppers and their eggplant cousins don't like wet feet.
Kimmsr
16 years ago
Purpley leaves kind of indicate a phosphorus deficiency, but the yellowing of the leaves indicate any of several nutrient deficiencies. The only way to tell for sure is to contact your local office of the Louisiana State University USDA Cooperative Extension Service and inquire about having a soil test don.

Here is a link that might be useful: LSU CES
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hamiltongardener
16 years ago
The yellow makes me think overwatering too.

Granted, I don't live in your area so I don't know your watering needs, but my raised beds get watered about once a week, maybe twice if it's a very hot dry week. The water drains right through, almost instantly.

If kimmsr is right about phosphorus deficiency, then you could try adding bonemeal around the plants.

I did find something that sounds like your symptoms, although I have never experienced this so this is just some helpful research. I'll paste it here for you:

Psyllids They feed on tomato or potato plant sap and inject a toxic saliva that causes the characteristic "psyllid yellows." Leaves turn yellow; veins often turn purple. Stems may become distorted, giving the bush a zig-zag appearance. To confirm psyllids, check the undersides of leaves for nymphs. Nymphs are about the size of an aphid. At first, they are yellow, then they turn green. They are sedentary while feeding and secrete small, white granules that resemble sugar. For best control, dust the foliage, especially the undersides, with sulfur. See fact sheet 5.540,
reaver
16 years ago
Maybe your draining system drains too well and all the overwatering has leached most of the nutrients from your soil mix?

Now I have a question for the guru's around here. Isn't six inches a little shallow for these plants?

Cheers!
patty4150
16 years ago
I have never seen a raised bed that has a "floor" like you describe, do well - particularly for large plants (most vegetables.) Herbs would be OK.

Most raised beds are merely a frame, set on the ground.

Tomato roots can go several feet into the ground. Six inches is too little room.
arjo_reich
16 years ago
Vermiculite is for water retention, perlite is for drainage. The vermiculite is holding the water for a long time and your 1/4" gap at the bottom is moot at this point.
fertilizersalesman
16 years ago
Bigoledude,

Does your mix have any soil in it? If not I think you could be deficient in about everything. The vermiculite and peat have no nutrients to speak of and the compost might or might not have some nutients depending on what it is, but is unlikely to have enough of everything for a hungry vegetable plant. I kind of think you need to plumb a fertilizer injector into your drip and feed with a soluable fertilizer like miricle-gro every time you water. That is what they have to do in greenhouses to keep plants alive that are grown in soil-less medias.
bigoledude
Original Author
16 years ago
Hey salesman

Man you must have ESPN.(LOL) You saw right into the possible "terrible fertilizer mishap".

I bought one of those brass venturi injectors. You must mix the bucket it siphons from at 16X strength, because of the dilution with the hose-water. Well, I suspect either my grand-daughter or my 24-year-old son dipped into this 16X fertilizer to help the "old man" out!

I agree, another possibility is nutrient deficiency. Since I had no compost of my own, I used the store-bought stuff. I'm sending soil samples to LSU in the next couple of days.

I'm also adding a second story (6inches) onto all of my beds. The reason my beds have a bottom is to avoid possible soil contamination from hurricane Katrina flooding. We had 13 1/2 feet of water and slop in the house, deeper outside.

The reason the planters are lifted 2 feet up is because, I am old, my back is damaged pretty badly, and my belly is large.

Please comment on my 'mix's' content.

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lil_rhody

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Please comment on my 'mix's' content.

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lil_rhody

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