Seeds just not sprouting in my garden.

[QChickieMama]

This is our first spring in this house, trying to garden this particular plot. I've been so excited getting it ready. I fenced. Tilled. Put in compost and horse manure and bird manure. Took out hundreds of rocks and boulders. Ran a sprinkler out there. Whew!

Now, my seeds are just not sprouting. Some areas I've seeded several times. All I have right now is lettuce, some chard, a bit of snow peas, and some lacy-looking okra. The watermelon sprouted yesterday.

But, my cukes, cilantro, basil, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower----they're not sprouting. Or I'll get 1 sprout per row. So sad.

I am putting beer cups out for the slugs. I have many of those. I also have these teeny green hopper bugs, probably the culprit for the lacy okra leaves. I've only used DE so far for the pests.

What do you all recommend I do? Any ideas for me?

 

[1muttsfan]

Where are you located? For many seeds the ground temperature has to be over 70 to sprout. Cold damp soil will cause many seeds to rot in the ground. My soil is cold, damo clay and stony, so I put in a raised bed and everything grows so much better.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Are you seeing any rolly polly's or earwigs? They will munch the sprouts as they come up. Also birds will pull them up too.

 

[Hangtown Farms]

also best to soak the seeds overnight before you plant. make sure the ground does not dry out for long periods but not to wet either....

 

[1muttsfan]

Just as an added suggestion - many of the failures you listed are heat-loving crops. If you live in a temperate zone you need to either buy started plants, or start them yourself indoors 6 weeks before you plan to plant outdoors. They will not start well on cool spring soil, and wil not have time to mature before the days start getting shorter.

 

[QChickieMama]

Where are you located? For many seeds the ground temperature has to be over 70 to sprout. Cold damp soil will cause many seeds to rot in the ground. My soil is cold, damo clay and stony, so I put in a raised bed and everything grows so much better.

I'm in the hot, moist NC piedmont. We've had spurts of 70s weather but it's been quite warm some days, too.

 

[QChickieMama]

Are you seeing any rolly polly's or earwigs? They will munch the sprouts as they come up. Also birds will pull them up too.

Nope. I've seen spiders, earthworms, some crickets. Not seeing birds in there too often. We have an 8' deer fence.

 

[QChickieMama]

Just as an added suggestion - many of the failures you listed are heat-loving crops. If you live in a temperate zone you need to either buy started plants, or start them yourself indoors 6 weeks before you plan to plant outdoors. They will not start well on cool spring soil, and wil not have time to mature before the days start getting shorter.

I'm beginning to think pre-started plants would have made good sense. Was just trying to be frugal. Silly me.

My soil tends to be clay-ey and pebbly as well....

 

[Happy Chooks]

Is it kept moist? You don't want it to dry out or they can't push through the soil.

 

[Tigertrea]

has the ground compacted since you worked it. I have that issue here. We work the ground with a rototiller then, within a week, it is compacted again in some places. Last year we had almost nothing come up. This year we are watering carefully, weeding constantly and keeping the ground between the rows loose and we are having much better success.

Also maybe you added too much manure and the seeds are burning? I haven't used compost in years (can't wait to get chicken coop compost!) so I don't know. But, where I had the most issues with seed is in the areas of heavy clay in the garden.

Try again, it is late but, not too late, for most of what you are planting. We just added a bunch of seed this week to our gardens. (lettuces, onions, radish, squashes, cuckes, cilantro, parsley and a few others...I plant my herbs and DH does the big veggie garden planting)