Poisonous compost?

Well this year has not been that good. At first I thought it was the weird weather ... but now I'm not so sure.

Is it possible that some of the compost I bought is tainted with persistant herbicide? That stuff that GMO plants soak up and when fed to a cow it ends up in the compost to keep killing.

I started everything from seed at about the same time... my salad tomatoes are stunted and shriveled. My sauce tomatoes are bigger and are producing some fruit... but I expected better.

My peppers are just sad, still alive and they look ok ... they are just very small. (one is only 6 inches high!)

Cukes also very small. I have only gotten about 4 picklers ... the salad cukes are hard to judge because the original plants were attacked by birds .. so they would be smaller anyway.

On a side note my bird house gourd has climbed up my laundry line and has 1 nicely formed gourd that is about the size of a 20 oz soda bottle.

24D part of agent orange herbicide  is making a come back for gm crops  .ABC television Australian government national television station did a story on 24D.The 24D was Chinese manufactured and had excessive dioxin levels .Dioxin is one of the most lethal substances on earth.The program showed herbicide damage from drift of spray that can travel miles and destroy crops.

billie maier wrote:Well this year has not been that good. At first I thought it was the weird weather ... but now I'm not so sure.

Is it possible that some of the compost I bought is tainted with persistant herbicide? That stuff that GMO plants soak up and when fed to a cow it ends up in the compost to keep killing.

I started everything from seed at about the same time... my salad tomatoes are stunted and shriveled. My sauce tomatoes are bigger and are producing some fruit... but I expected better.

My peppers are just sad, still alive and they look ok ... they are just very small. (one is only 6 inches high!)

Cukes also very small. I have only gotten about 4 picklers ... the salad cukes are hard to judge because the original plants were attacked by birds .. so they would be smaller anyway.

On a side note my bird house gourd has climbed up my laundry line and has 1 nicely formed gourd that is about the size of a 20 oz soda bottle.

Do you have any pictures? What indicators do you have that suggest pesticide damage? From your description, it sounds more like a lack of nutrients. What were the 5 composts used to make your Mel's Mix?

I agree with rooster. Sounds like you have a nutrient deficiency. Add compost tea and see if you get growth spurts... that would confirm it.

Also, check this for other possible causes... http://www.acsgarden.com/articles/other-gardening/soil-degradation.aspx

Yeah I do need pictures... I'll do that tomorrow. I used chicken, cow, homemade and one labeled "compost"

That last batch is the one I worried most about.

A couple Toledo [url=http://www.meoweather.com/history/United States/na/41.6638889/-83.5552778/Toledo.html]weather[/url] sites appear to say you get a few inches if rain per day. Combine that with 10 days of clouds (July clear for 8 days & partly-cloudy for 13)...

It almost sounds like your sun-loving plants are having trouble due to lack of sun. Are you sure your garden locations get enough optimal sun?

Tomato needs 6-8 hours full sun
Peppers need 6-8 hours full sun
Cucumber needs ?? hours full sun

University of Illinois Extension says, "Anything that interferes with pollination of the female flowers reduces fruit set and yield, including cold temperatures and rainy weather that hamper bee activity".