What wrong with my plants?

Hello everyone,

I am a worrier I guess, never realized that until I planted a garden. Every morning I look at my work, and find something that doesn't seem right. Maybe they are normal, but to me they need something. Check out the pictures below, and tell me what you think:


Onions, they don't look bad. Color is good.





Black Spot on tomato





Pale green tomato leaves





Top side of my pole beans




Underside of leaves






Green beans are a pale green.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Hey Cajun!  Was thinking about you the other day as I watched the weather radar down there.  You came thru the storms okay, I take it?

Tomatoes - may be all the rain you've had.  We had a lot last year and my tomato leaves looked terrible!

On the underside of your pole beans - Right there at the top - almost looks like a leaf miner trail...?

Don't know about the paleness...

Did you plant your beans with inoculant?  They look a bit nitrogen-deficient, but then again beans always seem susceptible to something or other.

I agreed, nutrient deficiency, particularly nitrogen.

My suggestion is topdress the bed with an inch of quality compost and water. They should perk up in a few days to a week. OR you could use a liquid fertilizer (miracle-gro or clone, mix as directed on the label) as I have done in the past. This will give the plants a boost of nutrition.

Tell me, what were the 5 composts used to make the Mel's mix in this bed?

I'd use either fish emulsion or an organic liquid fertilizer, if you decide not to top-dress with compost.

I'll chime in with 32oz of clean (drug & disease free individual) urine, in 2.5gal of water.      

brainchasm wrote:I'll chime in with 32oz of clean (drug & disease free individual) urine, in 2.5gal of water.      

+1

That's MY favorite nitrogen source!!!

CapeCoddess wrote:

brainchasm wrote:I'll chime in with 32oz of clean (drug & disease free individual) urine, in 2.5gal of water.      

+1

That's MY favorite nitrogen source!!!

If you are a novice gardener, I would encourage you to do more research on any given piece of advice, including mine.

The bed has some compost I bought from a nursery;
1 was just plain compost, leaves and such rotted.
1 was plain compost with chicken manure mixed in.

The other I bought from Lowe's.
Mushroom compost
Cow Manure
Organic humus

I also used something from Home Depot: Soil conditioner.

I added in for good measure some rice seed hull. Its pretty much rotted, but not all of it. I found a place where I can get it free.

I also found a place where I can get oak saw dust, but its not nearly ready for compost.

For the beans, I have added in some rabbit manure, and I have fertilized with Miracle Grow.

Where do I get fish emulsion?

I worry about the plants not getting direct sunlight. I am not able to supply them with direct sunlight all day. I live off of a major pipe line, and I am limited on where I can put my beds. Today they got great sun and heat. They get dappled sunlight till about noon, then when the sun get into the west they really get alot of sun.

Fish emulsion generally is available at better nurseries.  BTW, I'd never use Miracle-Gro on anything.  (Others may disagree.)  My understanding is that it contains mineral salts, which accumulate in your soil and eventually stifle growth.  

Is there a Whole Foods nearby?  If so, they probably offer a good, non-manure compost.  Also, many hydroponics stores carry OMRI-certified, plant-based composts.  

Mel suggests that manure-based composts comprise a mere 20% of the total in Mel's Mix.

I have never heard of a store called Whole Foods. We have nurseries all over, but they son't sell compost. I am making my own right now, but to get the beds started I had a hard time getting different types of compost, they just don't have that type of stuff around here.

Most people don't even know or understand what I am doing. They do traditional row gardens here, and don't buy compost.

http://ciitn.missouri.edu/2007009/group13_cucumber2.pdf

There are many and more studies with regards to human urine as a vegetable fertilizer.

brainchasm wrote:http://ciitn.missouri.edu/2007009/group13_cucumber2.pdf

There are many and more studies with regards to human urine as a vegetable fertilizer.

Do you use human urine on your plants? I just don't think I could eat it after I had poured pee on it.

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:

brainchasm wrote:http://ciitn.missouri.edu/2007009/group13_cucumber2.pdf

There are many and more studies with regards to human urine as a vegetable fertilizer.

Do you use human urine on your plants? I just don't think I could eat it after I had poured pee on it.

I don't use it as a foliar spray or anything, but I will put some in a watering can with water, and use that if I think something is nitrogen-deficient in the garden.

Knowing the biology/chemistry of urea and amine breakdown by soil bacteria tends to take the "squick" factor out of it.  That, and it's free and high quality, and...organic (LOL!).

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:
I worry about the plants not getting direct sunlight. I am not able to supply them with direct sunlight all day. I live off of a major pipe line, and I am limited on where I can put my beds. Today they got great sun and heat. They get dappled sunlight till about noon, then when the sun get into the west they really get alot of sun.

So, each day about how many hours of sun are they getting now?

I say about right now 6 hours of bright sun

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:I say about right now 6 hours of bright sun

Oh good. And as the days get longer there will be more light, which is very important.

Cajun - Whole Foods is a natural grocery store.  (Trader Joe's is another good one along the same lines.)  You don't have one??!!  I thought they were everywhere by now...!  Here in the ATL, they're kinda pricey, but good quality.  There's a couple in NO, one in Metairie, some in Houston.  There's both a Whole Foods & Trader Joe's in Baton Rouge.

Do you have a decent commercial farmer's market nearby?

On Brainchasm's watering method - he brought up a good point the other day about him being disease and drug-free.  If you have diabetes or something like that (or if you use some heavy-duty meds), I'd skip it.  The sugar in your urine could draw in ants, gnats, etc.  Medications could do heaven knows what to you and the plants in the long run.

We have a feed store, but they don't sell much in plant products. There is a nursery distributor in Forest Hill but they pretty much sell chemical products. 

The only big box stores we have is L owes or Home Depot.

I will check out Tractor Supply, we have one of those within 30 min from the house.

There are a few Whole Foods stores in Louisiana.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/list

I love youtube...do research first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwih2qgrySI

Well I removed the blacked spotted leaves from the tomatoes and sprayed them down with a solution of Baking Soda, cooking oil, and water. Hope this takes care of this problem.

For the beans I did nothing, I don't know what to do for them. The bottom leaves are continuing to discolor and some have even turned white and papery. The new leaves; the ones climbing the trellis for now looks good. They have no discoloration on them, they are a little greener than the others.

Guess I will just wait and see.

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:

For the beans I did nothing, I don't know what to do for them. The bottom leaves are continuing to discolor and some have even turned white and papery. The new leaves; the ones climbing the trellis for now looks good. They have no discoloration on them, they are a little greener than the others.

Losing lower leaves is normal. The leaves have exhausted their ability to photosynthesize and the plant sloughs them off.

Well it's been a week since I posted this. As I said I sprayed the tomatoes with a solution of baking soda, cooking oil, and water; I also removed the black spotted leaves. The tomatoes seem to be responding. We have had some good hot days, and they have been getting more sun.

I didn't do anything to the beans, they to seem to be getting better. They are not as yellow, but the bottom leaves look real bad. The parts that are climbing the trellis is real pretty. I am planning on putting some rabbit pellets around the beans sometime today to see if that also helps them.

Will post some updated pictures later.