Why is my garden turning yellow?

I garden organically and I use fish emulsion as my quick fertilizer.

I made a bad batch of Mel's Mix using only three brands - it's hard to find good compost in this area - and I had to add extra feeding to two of my boxes. But a couple of doses of fish emulsion and they perked right up.

Kimbertangleknot, another reason we practice crop rotation is because plant-specific diseases can be introduced into the soil, and it may take three or four years for them to die off before it's safe to plant that crop again. You can add nutrients back to replenish spent soil, but if one keeps planting the same crop year after year, sooner or later it's going to bite you where it hurts.

Tell me more about the fish emulsion? What's that all about and where do you find something like that? What does it provide as far as nutrients go?

Also, I had been adding scoops of compost over time but I guess I was not adding it often enough or adding enough each time. How often do you add your compost to existing plants?

Fish emulsion is a gray, sludgy-looking by-product of the fishing industry. It comes concentrated in plastic bottles, and is found in many gardening stores or it can be ordered online. I follow the directions - I mix a spoonful with a gallon of water and pour a cup or so around each plant. I think mine is about 5-3-3 NPK.

The downside - it stinks to high heaven in the concentrated form, but I think there are deodorized ones available for a higher price. I bought a cheap plastic pitcher that I keep just for watering plants and mixing up fish emulsion. It doesn't make the plants smell bad.

Someone else on the forum highly recommended a combination of fish emulsion and kelp fertilizer. I'm going to order that online when my current bottle of fish emulsion runs out.

In theory, with Mel's Mix we aren't supposed to need extra fertilizing until we replant the square, but Mel uses about a dozen kinds of compost in his mix. I think the three I used were definitely lacking in nutrients. I finally got some of my own made, and I just side dressed the heavy feeders this week to give them a boost now that they are in full production. Initially I used the fish emulsion because my plants just sat there not growing, and they began to turn yellow. Two days after dosing with the fish emulsion they were greening up and growing fine. I repeated the dose two weeks later. (I had set out a catnip plant in the "poor" box and the entire plant had turned RED. Two days after the fish emulsion it was turning green again and looked completely normal after the second dose.)

Thanks. I am convinced at this point my garden had run out of nutrients. I think I'm on the right track now. Thanks everyone.

Fish emulsion is my go to fertilizer also. Since it is useful on the leaves as well as in the soil I use a hand pressurized 1.5 gallon tank and distribute it that way. It does stink, but I used to live in Gloucester MA so it just makes me feel at home. LOL. It is funny to watch the dogs try to figure out where the fish is.

I was looking at Lowes and they have for sale alaskan fish fertilizer. Is that what I'm looking for on Fish emulsions?

That is what I currently use, yes. Just hope your gag reflex isn't too sensitive.

Just hope your gag reflex isn't too sensitive.

That cracks me up, the things we do for our plants lolololololo
Ha-v-v

Oh I found vermicompost (worm castings made into tea, attractive sounding isnt it? lolol ) tea at the Ag store/feed store the other day. 5 bucks a gallon. Im going to buy some for my cousin. She doesnt have access to a compost pile yet and to use horse or chicken waste I could take her would be rough cause the dog would roll in it :-D I thought 5 bucks was a good deal for a gallon, especially when its for a quick feed and wont bring in the dogs that love the poo smell. When I buy it I will get the brand.
Ha-v-v