What's in your garden?

[Tia]

Hey Tia, I was obviously only funnin ya bout the boyfriend.

I agree with TV, that the only way to know for sure is to test the soil. Very acidic soils will also not grow plants well, so it could be a combination of things. I have a moister/ph probe that I can push into the soil and get readings. This year I added lime to the soil mostly for the tomatoes to prevent blossom-end rot. Ph is best kept at 7 or neutral. Here is an OSU Extension Service fact sheet about end rot, not that it will help with your problem, but it is good info.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/fs/fs139

I wish I could better research your garden problem, but it is difficult without enough information. When I do something new to my garden or plants, I leave a few plants or a small area "untreated" to allow me to compare and see what the effect of my meddling is.

Yes, I know testing is the answer, but I neither have testing 'things' and I doubt I'll ever get over to the extension. My opinion is it is the straw. I think the straw is decomposing still. I know that when decomposition is going on it can actually pull nutrients from the soil to aid in the process, thereby leaching the soil of nutrients. That's why they say to put fully decomposed compost on gardens. So, when the straw is finally completely gone, I imagine it will be great. (Next year!) So, I will continue to water, and hopefully continuing to replace soil will help the ph. I guess I underestimated how long the process of decomposing the straw would be.