5 Reasons Why Your Vegetable Garden Isn’t Producing
There’s nothing worse than walking through the garden to find lackluster harvests. Small pea pods, tiny cabbage heads, and stunted carrots are no fun! Instead of wallowing, try fixing these five common problems to promote healthy vegetables in the future.
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Some crops are easy to grow, while others are needy and demanding! It may be difficult to give all of your veggies exactly what they need to thrive. Unlike ornamental trees and shrubs, vegetable crops require many resources to produce their delicious, edible parts.
Though your first impulse may be to add fertilizer to the garden, it’s likely there are other factors inhibiting the veggies’ growth. A lack of mulch, low moisture levels, and extreme temperatures all affect plants differently.
To fix these problems, we must first discover the reasons why your vegetable garden isn’t producing. Take a walk through the yard and carefully inspect the site. The more you know about your garden, the more likely you are to find solutions!
Espoma Garden-tone Organic Plant Food (4 lbs.)
Espoma Garden-tone Organic Plant Food (4 lbs.)
CobraHead Original Weeder & Cultivator
CobraHead Original Weeder & Cultivator
5 Reasons Why Your Vegetable Garden is Not Producing
These five reasons for poor growth are common in container gardens, raised beds, and traditional planting setups. The earlier you correct the issues, the sooner your veggies will begin producing again.
Infrequent Watering
This is the most likely reason for a poorly performing vegetable garden that isn’t growing or yielding your desired crops. Whether you’re watering excessively or not enough, improper moisture levels are devastating for growing crops. Consistent moisture is best, with frequent watering from spring through fall in the absence of rain.
Tomatoes, peppers, and carrots require regular water to thrive. Others, like herbs, maturing garlic, and bulbing onions, need infrequent watering to prevent rots from occurring. Sometimes, too much moisture is the reason for a lackluster garden! Researchers find that overwatering can also lead to poor flavor and texture.
Knowing what your crops prefer is crucial information. It’ll help you decide when and how much to water the garden for peak veggie performance. Use drip irrigation, overhead sprinklers, or a hose with a nozzle on it to water your plants when they need it most.
Not Enough Nutrients
A lack of nutrients is another common reason for a poorly performing vegetable garden. Vegetables need nitrogen for their leaves, and phosphorus and potassium for their flowers, seeds, and fruits. Without enough nutrients, the vegetables may form small crops, misshapen fruits, and bitter leaves.
If you consistently amend the soil with compost, it’s unlikely that low nutrients are causing weak vegetables. Compost slowly feeds the ground with nutrients, microbes, and worms that bolster plant defenses. It’s an incredibly helpful amendment to add on top of the soil.
If you rarely add compost and haven’t fertilized the garden in many seasons, you likely need to add some fertilizer this year. Take a soil test if you’re unsure—it tests the ground for nutrients, pH levels, and organic matter content. Use your test results to determine how much fertilizer you’ll need.
Salt-based, synthetic fertilizers tend to harm the garden over time. They strip the soil of microbes, harm tiny critters, and make vegetables reliant on fertilizer. Choose an organic type to avoid harming the soil, and water it well in spring, summer, or early fall.
It’s The Wrong Season
Different vegetables grow well in different seasons. Carrots are an excellent example. They grow thick, fat, and crunchy in fall or spring, though they tend to grow thin and weak in summer. Hot temperatures zap their tender leaves and harm the crops.
Peppers are another example! They prefer hot temperatures to form spicy, colorful chiles. Many growers must start them from seeds indoors in the middle of winter to have a successful summer crop. If you plant them in late winter or early spring, the plants will suffer; they may rot and die!
Choose to cultivate the right vegetables for your current growing season. Plant cabbage, broccoli, and carrots during cool weather, and peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants in hot weather. Most vegetables, like corn, squash, and beans, are heat-loving summer crops.
Growers with mild winters can cultivate cool-loving vegetables in the winter! Southern gardeners often grow their best harvests of beets, peas, and leafy greens in the cool of fall, winter, and spring.
You Forgot to Mulch
Many growers forget to mulch. Don’t worry! It’s a common reason for vegetable gardens that aren’t producing. Without mulch, the top layer of soil is subject to drying out. The worms, soil critters, and microbes on the top layer will dig deeper to stay safe.
Instead of pushing them away, encourage these beneficial critters to stay near the surface by adding mulch once or twice a year. An organic mulch, like compost, decomposes in place. It protects the ground, but it also injects it with nutrients and beneficial organisms while it breaks down.
If you don’t have compost readily available, try using leaf mold, straw, grass clippings, or fallen leaves. The possibilities are endless! Avoid using wood chips in the veggie garden, as they use nitrogen while they break down. They’ll steal the nitrogen from your vegetables that need it most.
When mulching, place a layer two to three inches thick. Leave a gap between plant stems and the mulch. Water it in well after applying it, and continuously add more throughout the season to boost your vegetables.
Pest Problems
Pests are weeds, diseases, and creatures that harm your vegetables before you can enjoy them. They interfere with the growing process, stunting growth and causing low yields. Healthy plants resist pests, while unhappy ones are their likely targets.
Watering properly, adding mulch, and growing crops during the right season will prevent most pests. If insects like aphids, thrips, or spider mites appear, you’ll want to hose them off the leaves daily. Daily spraying will remove the insects and prevent them from returning.
Weeds are pests, too! They steal nutrients from the soil and cause deficiencies in your vegetables. Maintain a weed-free garden for the biggest, most delicious harvests.
Finally, diseases may shock growing plants and prevent them from thriving. Powdery mildew, root rot, and leaf spots are common conditions in moist gardens. Instead of treating a specific disease, research why it’s occurring in the first place. Diseases need specific environmental conditions to thrive. When you change their environment, you prevent them from returning.
Key Takeaways
If your garden is not producing the vegetables of your dreams, remember these vital points:
- Some crops grow well despite harsh garden conditions. Try lettuce, radishes, and tomatoes if you struggle to grow needy vegetables.
- Consistent moisture is key! Water the garden regularly while your vegetables are actively growing.
- Farmers follow the seasons, and so should you! Cultivate cool crops in fall or spring, and hot ones in summer.
- Pests are common in agriculture, though they’re less harmful in thriving garden ecosystems. Encourage natural predators that eat pests into your yard by growing more flowering plants.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I water the vegetable garden?
How often you should water depends on the current climate and the crops you’re growing. Most gardens require weekly watering, although some may need daily watering in the middle of summer.
Who grew a vegetable garden at the White House?
First Lady Michelle Obama planted the veggie garden at the White House in 2009. She follows a long line of gardeners who grew vegetable crops at the White House, like President John Adams and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.
Can a vegetable garden grow in the shade?
Yes, it can! Many crops, like radishes, leafy greens, and herbs, tolerate partial shade. Though some shade is beneficial, the site will need three or more hours of daily direct sunlight.
