Need help please!!

Okay I have a few questions. I did a sfg last year and had a few problems I need help with.
1. Corn- It grew tall, looked like the ears grew but corn never developed or just a little. I did 4 squares of 4 all in one row.
2. Carrots- most of my carrots got to the size of a pencil. The green part never got really bushy.
3.Peas- never had more than a couple peas on them.
4. Cucumbers- never had fruit.
5. Any suggestions on a climbing zucchini?

Im not sure if my soil is the problem. Maybe it needs more compost. How soft/hard should it be? Any suggestions on problems or suggested vegetable types would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

what did you use for soil?

A mix of good topsoil, ErthFood (compost), mushroom compost and vermiculite. It seems as if something is lacking. All of my other plants flourished.

the corn sounds like it could be a pollination, nutrient, or weather related problem

peas and carrots sound like a nutrient problem

cantalope sounds like a weather problem

Why do melons have fancy weddings?
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Because they cantaloupe.

Have you read Mel's book All New Square Foot Gardening? Libraries usually have a copy if you don't want to buy one. Check out Chapter 5, Mel's Mix...

You need
1/3 blended compost (made up of at least five different types of compost that you mix together yourself)
1/3 peat moss
1/3 vermiculite

First, mix together all the composts. Set it aside
Then mix equal parts (buckets full/ wheelbarrows full) of the blended compost, the peat moss and the vermiculite.

Use a big tarp or piece of plastic to do the blending/mixing. (see the book)

Now you have Mel's Mix. Don't fret if some things don't grow perfectly the first time. Just do it again. You'll get great results.

Keep us posted.

Yup I have the book. On the corn I planted 4 square feet all in one row. Do u think this is sufficient or can I do more or less?

Hi,

Corn is self pollinating. The doohickies fall off the tassles and onto the silks. Each silk is attached to a kernel. Each kennel has to be pollinated via it's silk.

Conventional wisdom is that corn should be planted in blocks, rather than one long row, so it stands a better chance of being pollinated by the plants around it.

We had a discussion on the old forum about corn spacing in a SFG. I'm in the minority and feel that corn should be planted one per square, rather than the 4 that Mel recommends.

Howdy:

If you had plenty of top growth, i.e. lots of green stuff growing, but, producing very little it may be too much nitrogen. Excess nitrogen is generally not a problem with above ground produce. Under ground produce (root crops) is another matter. Potatoes grown with excess nitrogen will produce an abundance of leaves, but, little or no potatoes.

My reading of what you had going on was just the opposite. Not enough nitrogen. Check your compost. If you look at it and you can tell what the source material was (leaves, twigs, wood chips, cow chips) then the compost was not complete. Incomplete compost will continue to break down over time. While breaking down the incomplete compost will pull nitrogen from the surrounding soil causing a nitrogen deficiency.

On the other hand if your compost was completely composted then there may have been another factor involved. Completed compost should look, feel, and smell like good earth.

Just my opinion.

God Bless, Ward.