Nc Pfister

Here are some pics! Rainwater system gets water from sump pump from basement, and is hooked up to soaker hoses. You can see our happy potatoes, our so-so peppers, and some of our sadder plants. Lots of wood chips left to spread, and should have a couple of yards of compost to lay down come this fall!

Some encouragement, it seems: I planted two rows of corn, and noticed the one doing substantially better than the other. Now, they were planted in two (somewhat different) composts, but that doesn't seem to be the issue. The row doing better has weeds in it, while the row doing worse does not. Made me realize that this corn was likely doing better because it was planted on the outside of the garden, in a place where I ran out of cardboard, and so didn't cover very thoroughly. I.e. It seems likely that the plants doing poorly weren't able to get through the cardboard layer!

The kids and I carefully dug around each plant, pulled them out, dug through the cardboard and broke up the first couple of inches below the cardboard, and replanted. Who knows, it may be too late for some of the plants, but I feel like we're really learning! And we have some beautiful purple potatoes growing, and mounded them with more compost last night. Now thinking ahead to planting for a fall harvest, and feeling excited. Thank you, thank you!

Not very thoroughly. I'll definitely go look now. Going outside as I type this to lay more cardboard, and cover with more wood chips, where the crab grass is especially bad. Feeling reinvigorated, and encouraged by y'all's help - thank you!

Trace, do you mean 3' of organic material over the garden area? That seems like a lot!

One thing I'm trying to figure out is if the nutrient deficiency is from poor soil quality (underneath my cardboard/compost/wood chips) or the roots not being able to get through the cardboard to the soil beneath. My cardboard is single-layer, and has received a lot of water, so I felt like roots breaking through shouldn't be an issue, but my entire garden seems like it's struggling for nutrients, even when planted in a good amount of Black Kow compost/aged manure.

Too hasty to pull the plants that look like they're in rough shape? I mean, should I try to amend the soil with phosphorous, or focus on the future? One issue I've had is weeds (crab grass) where I was a bit scant with my cardboard. I want to fix those areas, and add more cardboard and mulch. It would be easier to do that if I didn't try to keep current plants living, but I'm up for the challenge if you think a little natural fertilizer would do the trick.

Very encouraging, Trace; thank you so much!

I also have a roughly 15' x 3' "hump" of soil with growth on it behind my garage. The soil seems to have some good organics in it. Could I scalp the top of it (to eliminate weeds), and use some of this in some form or fashion?

Okay, I've gathered my thoughts, and this is where I'm at:

+We have 45x20' to work with
+It was probably over-worked in the past. Was lighter in color than the rest of our lawn, and only covered in weeds (no grass to speak of)
+We have a lot of wood chips, and some cardboard, covering this area. I have a pile of wood chips left, and also a compost bin that I built, and have some compost cooking in (not ready to spread)
+We need to re-lay some of the cardboard, as I skimped in certain areas, and have serious crab grass growing
+I roast my own coffee, and can cheaply grind and brew leftovers to add to compost/garden

We really, really want simple. I am an engineer, and understand the benefits of nuance, but getting too much in the weeds (no pun intended) is a tendency of mine. I need to focus on simplicity, and the big picture. I really just want someone to tell me that I can mix a bunch of compost into my wood chip-covered garden and all will be well. Or, if that will deplete nitrogen too much (as wood chips decompose), maybe I just need to lay down more compost (while pulling back the wood chips, and cutting through the cardboard), and use the same method I did initially. Are wood chips part of the issue? Should I remove them? Should I just purchase a bunch of compost to get started? I really do appreciate all of the posts thus far, and am confident this can be a success!

I see all of these conventional gardens around me growing so well, and feel like I'll never make a garden work. Not trying to throw a pity party, but just wanting to find a simple approach. I watched Charles Dowding's no-dig vids on YT, and thought what I was doing should work. It hasn't. Not at all.