About a month ago I thought it would be a good idea to get some compost to top up the vegetable beds. Instead of getting compost from Highway Fuel I ordered three yards from Terra Gardens. Big mistake. What they sell as compost is something they call organic mulch. Unfortunately, it is coarse unfinished compost. I realized this when I started to spread it, so in my infinite wisdom I dug it into the top six inches or so of the beds. Second big mistake. The plants have really struggled and some look like they're not going to make it. Then I realized that by digging the mulch into the soil, I was encouraging it to break down. But when it does that, it steals nitrogen from the soil. Duh!
In order to try to remedy this situation, I've fertilized everything with fish emulsion. The plants seem to be getting better, or at least they've stopped their downhill slide.
The aubergine and Mad Hatter pepper look terrible.
The two bell peppers also look sad. I've never had an insect problem on them until now. I guess it proves that insects are attracted to sickly plants.
These are both Athena melons. The first one is in the raised bed, the second one is in the ground. They were the same size when I planted them.
