A familiar question arrived in the Ask Gardenerd Inbox this week:
“Hi Gardenerd! It’s been slow getting started with my garden because my
life has been chaotic for a while. Anyway, I started some seedlings
inside and potted them in small pots outside and some in a long box but
they haven’t grown, they still look like seedlings for two months now,
and my broccoli raab, red kale, and red romaine wouldn’t grow past four
or five inches. I’m so discouraged but my sister came from AZ to help
me out. And that’s why I’m writing: she said my soil wasn’t amended well
and wants me to order a lot of organic soil. Can you tell me where I can
buy some please? And why is it that some people can plant in any ole
soil and grow and I can’t after buying some organic soil?
I know what you mean. It’s frustrating to see some people have
success with crappy old soil – my parents had thriving (overflowing)
fruit trees that were planted in unamended soil which was never, ever
fertilized. I coddle my fruit trees and still can barely get them to
produce. It’s infuriating!
Gardener’s Gold – container planting mix
Let’s Talk About Soil
There are a lot of factors that go into creating the right environment for healthy plants.
Soil is the foundation for good gardening, and so many people start out with a soil test to find out what’s missing before they plant anything. Since you are planting in containers, I’m guessing you’re using bagged organic mix. This is the part where I mention that not all organic mixes are created equally.
The cheap stuff from Home Depot is basically wood shavings and some peat moss – your plants will starve on that. Anything made by Scotts/Miracle Grow is laced with chemical fertilizers and is therefore not organic, so I don’t recommend using that brand.
My preferred line of soil amendments comes from Master Nursery Garden Center – Bumper Crop and Gardener’s Gold. Both contain bat guano, chicken manure, worm castings and other nutrient-rich components that help plants grow well. (Granted, unless you make it yourself from scratch, there’s no way to know where these ingredients are sourced from, so we all take our chances with any bagged mix).
If you really want purity and pretty much guaranteed success, mix in a bag of Malibu Compost’s biodynamic compost. It’s pricey but completely worth it. Click the link and type in your zip code to find a retailer that carries it.
Mixing in biodymanic compost will elevate your soil to a new level
What else can You do?
There are other things to
consider when discussing your question though. You said you started your plants indoors and planted them outside in full sun. Not knowing where you live, it’s hard to advise what to plant when, but here in Southern California, brassicas like your broccoli raab and kale, as well as lettuces grow best in the fall. Once warm weather hits, they either bolt to seed or get covered with aphids. So try again in October and you’ll probably have better luck.
Before you transplant seedlings into the ground (or containers) make sure you tease the roots apart a little bit. That helps them get established in their new home and grow stronger. Also, make sure you keep them watered – soil in containers dries out faster than in-ground plantings.
Water every other week with kelp emulsion – a broad spectrum liquid fertilizer that helps plants thrive. That should help. Use the links above to locate a retailer near you and start amending!
Thanks for writing in, and good luck with your garden.
I’ve been growing radishes (sparkler white tip) for a couple weeks now, one of the plants seems to be successfully growing, (but I think it has stopped) the rest seem to be stuck as seedlings and won’t grow any bigger (same happened with my now dead cucumbers) I’m growing in a plastic pot and I have used liquid fertilizer. Also, how often should I use liquid fertilizer?
Hi Jackson, it depends on a number of factors. Is your liquid fertilizer Miracle Gro? If so, I recommend giving that away to someone you don’t like. 🙂 It’s not organic and has really high levels of synthetic nutrients that can be frying your plants instead of helping them. Organic fertilizers have much lower levels – i.e. 4-5-3 rather than 20-20-20 of Miracle Gro. Plants only take up a little and the rest either sits there killing soil microbes (if it’s synthetic) or it flushes away into the water table. You’re in containers, so that last part is not as big of an issue. It could be that you’ve over fertilized, but it’s hard to tell from your description. It might be worth doing a NPK soil test (you can buy those from online catalogs and some nurseries) to check what’s already in your soil.
Radishes also don’t do well in hot weather. Depending on where you are, if it’s been over 75 degrees, the heat may be stunting growth. They like moist soil as well. So if the container is drying out for a couple days between, it could throw the plants into stress. Stick your finger down a few inches. If it’s dry, you need to water more often.
Radishes are root veggies, so they need adequate phosphorus and potassium. If your test shows a lack of these nutrients, I’d add phosphorus-rich sea bird guano and potassium-rich kelp emulsion or kelp meal.
See, so many possibilities. I hope this helps.
why do cabbages stop from growing
HI Lilly,
Can you be more specific? What is happening with your cabbages? Are they just sitting there, or are they bolting to seed? Are they not developing a head? With more information I may be able to answer your question.