testing my MM on my broccoli

I hope my broccoli seedlings don't take it personally, but they're my crash test dummies. I needed to get them planted soon (running out of cool here in SC), so I went ahead and mixed up my mix. Well, I noticed some worms in one of my composts - only AFTER I'd mixed it in a big batch, and some of you suggested that I try planting something in it to see if it's good or not. So my broccoli gets to take the (potential) fall. I sincerely hope that this works. I decided to just plant them in whatever container I could find, as I had not been hardening them off up to this point. So I grabbed a box and punched holes in the bottom, filled it with MM and broccoli, and left it out for a couple of hours this morning. Then I brought them inside and watered them again because they seemed dry.



So, that's all my best guesses on how to take care of things. Did I do good? How long should I give them to know if they're okay in the MM? Any other suggestions?

Thanks guys.

Your broccoli would start showing signs to nitrogen burn (from uncomposted manure) within a few days.

I still think everything is going to be just fine.

So this is the state of my broccoli today. Some brown-tipped, yellowing leaves.



I cut them off, and this is what the rest of the plants look like.



As you will see in my other post about my broccoli, https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t6118-is-this-anything, the leaves were already starting to yellow. So I'm not sure if it's just continuing that process, and a little stress from the transplanting, or if the compost has burned the plants. Thoughts?

Those plants will probably rally if they got in the garden pronto.
Your mix looks a little light on the compost... :?:

camprn wrote: Those plants will probably rally if they got in the garden pronto.
Your mix looks a little light on the compost... :?:

I've just put them in this box to test out if my compost will burn them. This is the stuff I mixed up a bit, but there were worms in one of the composts, so I'm trying it out before I put anything in the actual garden box. The mix has one bucket each of 3 composts (the one in question has several ingredients, so I figured it counted for at least 3 types), and 3 buckets of peat moss and 3 of vermiculite.

jazzymaddy wrote:

camprn wrote: Those plants will probably rally if they got in the garden pronto.
Your mix looks a little light on the compost... :?:

I've just put them in this box to test out if my compost will burn them. This is the stuff I mixed up a bit, but there were worms in one of the composts, so I'm trying it out before I put anything in the actual garden box. The mix has one bucket each of 3 composts (the one in question has several ingredients, so I figured it counted for at least 3 types), and 3 buckets of peat moss and 3 of vermiculite.

Ok, I see. So were the worms earthworms? If so, there should be no problem with that compost. As to the last compost you mentioned, almost all composts bagged and bought at the store are blends and I would suggest that it should be considered as one type. It sounds to me that you are missing about 2/5 of the recommended volume of compost. I may be misunderstanding how much compost you have put into the mix.

I am not trying to direct you in any way, but I suggest, if you desire optimal results from your garden this season, find 2 more sources of compost, or at least add 2 more of the measure of compost.
Compost is actually the food that your plants will eats as they grow. Vermiculite and peat offer no nutritional value to the plants, they are considered soil conditioners.
Just my$0.02.

With fertilizer burn the tips of the leaves will brown and the damage will be almost uniform through out the plant. Looks like those leaves were already on the way out. If you see your health leaves go that way you might have a bit of a problem.

dizzygardener wrote:With fertilizer burn the tips of the leaves will brown and the damage will be almost uniform through out the plant. Looks like those leaves were already on the way out. If you see your health leaves go that way you might have a bit of a problem.

Perhaps I missed it somewhere, but were these broccoli plants fertilized with chemical fertilizer? maybe I am confused.

I had concern about the composted rabbit/llama/goat/maybe hen too? manure that I bought from a guy. When I was dumping it to make my mix, I saw what looks like wireworms. There were also visible rabbit "pellets" - i.e. they hadn't completely broken down, and it is more a a greyish color instead of dark brown. People suggested that it might not be completely composted yet, so suggested that I plant something in them to see if they would burn. My broccoli took the fall because they needed to be planted like yesterday.

And since this compost isn't a commercial type, but from a guy with a farm, I figured that with 3 or 4 animals giving to the mix, it would count as more than just one type. Am I wrong in that assumption? And the reason I didn't mix in 3 buckets of that to the 1 bucket of the other ones is that I didn't want it to be too poop heavy. The other types are mushroom and cow, and I also added a small bag of worm castings. So there were a total of 3 buckets of compost, and 3 of peat moss and 3 of vermiculite. But I stopped there because the worms gave me great concern. I didn't want to mix up my whole batch, and if that one type is bad, I'd end up losing all my ingredients.

So, with all that explained (or at least attempted - not sure if even I can follow that), do you still think my mix is lacking?

Thanks very much for your input everyone!

Bump.

Get em in Jazzy....Get em in !!!!!

Those Broccoli's are doing a Giraffe impression searching for the sun. They might need staking as they harden off.

They are a bit, um, statuesque. Will it help if I dig them down a bit deeper into the MM?

And I'm up to about 3 hours outside with them. Can I jump up to full outside, or should I keep going one more hour per day?

I also just read in the book that Mel doesn't recommend planting similar squares right next to each other. Will I do better with staggering them with my carrots and strawberries?

Thanks y'all.

Temps cooled down a bit now. I say get them in the box, no need to baby the hardening off process IMO. I always just place transplants in the ground as they have been semi-hardened off at the store where they've usually been outside for a few days anyway. If you begin from seed under lights yourself and they have never seen the light of day, then perhaps build up their outdoor tolerance.

You CAN plant deeper. It will help them stand up better. A few inches is fine. I do a whole Broccoli bed at a time cuz we love it !!!..... a full 16 squares, same crop, all together. Not had a problem yet.

You're the best.

I'll get the rest of my mix put together tomorrow (no more brown leaves, and they've been in there since Sat. morning, so I'm thinking it's okay), and get myself a garden going already!!!

You're the best.

Erm... not really but do appreciate the props. Much more experienced heads rolling around. I just love Broccoli that's all. One of my faves to grow.

camprn wrote:

dizzygardener wrote:With fertilizer burn the tips of the leaves will brown and the damage will be almost uniform through out the plant. Looks like those leaves were already on the way out. If you see your health leaves go that way you might have a bit of a problem.

Perhaps I missed it somewhere, but were these broccoli plants fertilized with chemical fertilizer? maybe I am confused.

As Jazzy said, no, not chemical fertilizer. The concern was regarding uncomposted manure. The symptoms would present in much the same fashion. Sorry if that was a bit confusing.

jazzymaddy wrote:You're the best.

I'll get the rest of my mix put together tomorrow (no more brown leaves, and they've been in there since Sat. morning, so I'm thinking it's okay), and get myself a garden going already!!!

You'd know if there were a problem by now.