Helianthus I believe.

Thank you! This was one of the major reasons I wanted to identify the plants. I'll transplant it to a separate container. I'm not sure if I should keep the plant or not, since it's poisonous, but it's already on a raised area where animals can't get to it.

The tree trimmings appeared to be very well composted. The consistency was very nice but the 90' temperature of the material would lead me to believe gardengal48 that you could be correct and it was a nitrogen shortage. Idaho_Gardener I would like to read more about the short and long chain acids so please post a link. Honestly you are speaking about my knowledge at this point. He did add some fertilizer and has seen an improvement. He kept a sample of unfertilized soil to get tested. Gumby all plants were purchased or started from seeds planted in the garden. It wasn't a transplant or hardening off issue. He is an experienced gardener and some of the plants from the same source grew in his traditional in-ground row garden just fine. Toxcrusadr- He recently added some fertilizer Wayne- These beds are 18" tall on flat ground. They drain well and drowning isn't an issue. The beds are in a spot had has gardened for years. They really aren't wood chips but instead compost made and sold by a company that operates a tree trimming service. They also sell topsoil and a garden mix. There were no discernible wood pieces or parts in this compost. It was very dark and crumbly like all other composts I've made or purchased. Magic Bean Compost Product Description I will find out exactly what he fertilized with and post and update. I haven't see the plants since he applied the fertilizer but he did tell me everything is doing much better. Thanks for the help

Well in any case, it certainly looks edible -- whether you call it mild mustard greens, turnip greens, or immature rapini. That whole family is edible, and when it happens to be mild, it is imminently so. If it's crowding out your broccoli, you could just cut off the big leaves, chop 'em up, saute in some oil and onion or garlic, and it will almost surely be delicious and nutritious. That's what I would do. In fact, I did that, when something grew in my garden mulch several years ago that seemed to be a mustard green. It turned out to be milder than my arugula, so I ate some, let it go to seed, and have been planting it ever since. I think it must have grown when I threw the trimmings from a pickling episode onto the mulch. But I tried planting what I thought were the same mustard seeds the next year, but they were rougher and less tasty than the mystery mustard greens, so I don't know where the first seeds came from, but I keep planting them.