No Vegetables

Question

I am really having a hard time with my garden this year. My dirt is clay dirt and is super hard to deal with but after putting in a lot of hard work with a rototiller I come out with great plants and veggies. However, I have tons of weeds and I have to work the ground every spring. Now that I have kids, my husband made me a few garden boxes and filled them with great soil from the nursery. I was super excited and planted everything from corn, tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, watermelon, you name it I planted it. It seemed like the plants got huge but I hardly got any veggies, or if I did, they were small and not worth anything. Is there something that I can do to get my garden back, and be able to use my boxes?

Answer 1

If you are getting plenty of flowers but nothing produces, then it is most likely due to poor pollination. Hand pollination often helps. These articles will help you with attracting more pollinators:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/teak/insect-pollination-process.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/beneficial/creating-a-pollinator-garden.htm

If you are not seeing flowers, then you likely have too much nitrogen in the soil and should offset this by adding more phosphorus. This can be achieved by using a phosphorus-rich fertilizer or by adding bone meal to the soil.

Answer 2

I don’t know what zone you live in, or the type of soil you put in your boxes. But might be lacking organisms such as earth worms. You probably need compost in your beds. Take all you plant matter and pile it up into a compost heap to use in your beds next spring. Also you probably need some minerals in your beds. Your native soil is full of trace minerals that your veggies need to grow, and yes one is phosphorus. Tomatoes and corn are self pollinated by wind not by bees. So just remember to give them a little shake when they are flowering