Vegetable garden problem (forum)

Vivian starts with ...
Hi all,

I have a peculiar problem with ny veggie patch. We created the veggie patch last yr (pic attached) and all was well. Veggies grew well, I had an abundant of herbs, salad, pumpkin, etc

This yr all the seeds are kinda stunted. They would germinate then stay like that for a few weeks. They grow very slow or not at all and at the end of the 12 or 14 weeks I either have a tiny tree or a miniature version of the veggie I'd hope for.

I live in Sydney. The seeds either come from the left over from last yr or from Bunnings this yr, exp 2015. I water them everyday, give them fertilizer once in a while, i.e. Nothing different to last yr. The seeds are: pumpkin, salad, brassia, raddish, spinach etc

The only difference is that my MIL over the winter dug out all the old soil, put a layer of black weed mat underneed the veggie bed and created a number of smaller beds, then put new soil down (about 30cmdeep) with the black mat as divider (sorry not a good description)

I struggle to see why this would be the problem as the mat has holes for the water to escape. My miniature veggies din't have much roots at all.

Any idea anyone?

Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 1st February 2014 11:11pm

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About the Author Vivian
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Jantina says...
Taking out all the soil and putting in other soil is a big change.
Why take out the old soil when vegies were doing well? Where did the new soil come from , does it hold water? Is the new soil peat based which once dried out becomes water repellent etc etc etc.
If your seeds last year were hybrids then (if you mean you saved your own seed)
results could be variable this year (no guarantee seeds from hybrids will be any good but that does not explain your across the board failure.
My money would be on there being something amiss with the soil.

Time: 2nd February 2014 3:34pm

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About the Author Jantina
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JohnMc1 says...
Any pics of this years experience?

Time: 2nd February 2014 6:50pm

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About the Author JohnMc1
Warnervale NSW
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Vivian says...
Thank you Jantina

My seeds are all store bought, so prob not because of them

The soil my MIL put down were from garden centre, in bags for vegetable and herbs. We also use them last yr but only as the top layer, not the whole way through like this yr.

My MIL is of the opinion that doing this (dividing the patch into beds with dividers and black mat underneath will help keep weeds out and help retain moisture in the soil. I'm tempted to remove them all but b4 I upset her hugely I want to know if there are any other possible causes I havent thought of.

Time: 2nd February 2014 6:56pm

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About the Author Vivian
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Vivian says...
Hi John, here are the pictures. The tiny pumpkin plant u see was planted at the same time as the big one in the far right corner of the pic. For some reasons the far right bed doesn't have the weed mat layer underneath.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 2nd February 2014 7:08pm

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Vivian says...
This is brassica and salad after 9 weeks
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 2nd February 2014 7:11pm

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Vivian says...
The herbs are doing well, but they were transferred from the old patch and not grown from seedlings
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 2nd February 2014 7:13pm

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JohnMc1 says...
I'm wondering if the weedmat, being 30cm deep, is blocking the roots from getting down to where most of the serious water is draining to/through? Your garden soil might be extremely well drained, You could always dig down to the weedmat to see how damp/dry it is above the weedmat.
That is, if I'm understanding your description correctly.

Time: 2nd February 2014 7:46pm

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MaryT says...
Vivian I think you are right in planning to remove the weed mat. JohnMc1 is right; you are essentially trying to grow Yr2 vegetables in shallow ditches instead of a proper bed. Weed mats are meant to be above root level not below.

Time: 2nd February 2014 8:20pm

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About the Author MaryT
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Brain says...
I'd second the weed mat as the cause. In effect, you've turned the patch into a large pot, which would restrict the plant in size. Best if you remove the weed mat and use mulch (sugar cane) for ground cover.

Time: 3rd February 2014 11:29am

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About the Author Brain
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Upper mountains says...
Soil is something living and if you treat it well it becomes better every year. You must get the weed mat out, produce compost, plant comfrey which is a good mulch, get every organic matter you can get and you will have a thrving garden. A good beginners book is maybe Jackie French the wilderness garden.

Time: 3rd February 2014 10:01pm

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About the Author loewenzahn
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Vivian says...
Thank you everyone for your advice. I'll remove the weed mat. Hopefully the problem will be solved then.

Time: 4th February 2014 10:34pm

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MaryT says...
You are welcome, Vivian. Thanks for bringing your experience to the forum; others will learn from it. We love problem solving here :)

Time: 5th February 2014 5:55am

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About the Author MaryT
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