Any gardeners out there? Nitrogen problem...

[Want Less]

(I also posted this question in the Sufficient Self forums but thought I'd throw it in over here in hopes of finding some help...!!)

Is there any way to quickly fix a low nitrogen level in an organic vegetable bed? (And by quickly, I mean so that we can utilize this bed this season before it is too late)

We use composted horse manure in our raised veggie beds and they've done great for years until this season. One of our beds has been killing everything we transplant in it (cucumbers and beans) in the last month. Young plants turn yellow and disappear; beans won't hardly sprout. We tested the soil yesterday with a cheap store bought test tube kit and got the following approximate results:

pH = ~7.0
Nitrogen = low
Phosphorus = medium
Potassium = high

I'd like to keep this bed as organic as possible. I've read that later this year I can plant a legume or winter peas in that bed and til them under afterward to naturally add nitrogen for next spring. Is there anything I can do short term to use this bed now? It was supposed to support cucumbers and bean vines this season but I'm open to planting something else if it means we don't have to abandon that bed and give up a chunk of our food source.

Any and all suggestions, tips, thoughts, ideas are welcome. A local nursery told me to add two 50# bags of top soil and 1 40# bag of decomposed shredded pine bark, which we did, but now that I'm researching more I don't see how that is doing anything to help the problem.

Will chicken manure help any? Isn't that higher in nitrogen?

Ack!! Help!!!

We are going to soil test through cooperative extension to get more accurate results for later use but it takes a while to get that information.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen to the point of it will burn and kill your plants. If you have used the same compost in your beds and only one has a problem I think something else is going on in that bed. I used to get horse manure from a local stable and I was very suprised at the level of trace minerals in the soil after we used it. They all doubled and tripled. We are in eastern NC as well and I cover crop our gardens with winter rye grass every fall, by spring time it's 2 or 3 feet high depending on the winter. In the summer buckwheat, rape and red clover all do well.

If you use chicken manure in small amounts work it into the bed well and keep in moist it should break down pretty quick.

Steve

 

[halo]

Id go to a local farm store and get a bag or two of a high nitrogen fertilizer, something like 16-4-8. Thats a general pasture fertilizer. You numbers are out of wack for some reason. Usually using compost levels out the numbers more than what you have.

 

[mamagardener]

how about adding some new loam and compost to the beds?

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You can buy organic fertilizers. For nitrogen, you could use fish, alfalfa, cottonseed or soybean meal. Maybe some blood meal. You could just look around and see what's available in your area.

 

[the lemon tree]

I use fish emulsion to boost nitrogen levels in the soil. The particular one I use, Lilly Miller Alaska Fish Fertilizer-which should be available at most big box stores, has a 5-1-1 NPK rating. Blood meal is another alternative, most have 13-0-0 or 12-1-1 ratings.

 

[Want Less]

Thank you everyone for your responses!

I opted to go with fish emulsion. I was able to find it locally at a feed store. I added it to the bed today. My question now is... is it safe to restart my plants from seed in this bed or am I better off starting them in pots and transplanting at this point? I'm unclear on how immediate the "fix" is.

 

[the lemon tree]

Quote:
The nitrogen will release slowly into the soil but it's perfectly fine if you're starting from seed. By the time they germinate the soil will have absorbed enough of it. I would still do a soil test a little later on just to make sure you have the right balance.

Just curious, what are you growing?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Alfalfa meal or pellets will help with this. I use chicken feed myself. My soil is very sandy and leaches badly so I prefer to use a fertilizer that is slow to release to minimize nutrient losses. Alfalfa or chicken feed has worked well for me.

.....Alan.

 

[Want Less]

Quote:
The nitrogen will release slowly into the soil but it's perfectly fine if you're starting from seed. By the time they germinate the soil will have absorbed enough of it. I would still do a soil test a little later on just to make sure you have the right balance.

Just curious, what are you growing?

In this particular bed we are growing cucumbers and beans, both on trellises. Other than that (in other beds) we grow tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, 3 different peppers, lettuces, chard, leeks, onions, acorn squash, cantaloupe, and 2 kinds of watermelons. Enough to keep us busy