I am unsure if this is a high desert gardening thing, or if this happens often when growing veggies, but I’ll explain the problem I’m having, and then maybe some can please explain to me what is going on with my mini garden… (click on the photos to see full size images)
Okay, here is my dilemma:
Some time ago I prepare to small plots to grow mammoth sunflowers, yardlong beans and pumpkins. Each plot was prepared exactly the same. Each plot gets the same amount of water, sunlight, and also the same exact amount of seeds. Here is the problem though; as you can see from the photo to the left, the first plot plantings which is in the foreground is a quarter of the size of the other plot. The sunflowers, seeds and pumpkin are all from the same stock, so its not like I used a few different kinds of seeds. Everything thing is EXACTLY the same, yet I have tremendous growth in the second plot, and only meager growth in the first plot…what the heck is going on?
Here are more photos I took this morning of the plots…please leave a comment if you know what is going on here:
A photo of the second plot with great growth. Both all the pumpkins I planted (both the large ones and the small ones) have set fruit already.
Another shot of the second plot.
This is the first plot. Why the heck has this happened. I truly do not understand it. The same happened in the back plots where I have other sunflowers planted. All were planted at the same time, watered the same amount and get the same amount of light, but the very last sunflower I planted in the back in now starting to form the head, but the first one I planted isn’t more than 1 1/2 feet tall. Is this a high desert thing, or just something that happens?
Hi there,I’m the master gardener you talked to a couple weekends ago about this problem and even with the photos, I still can’t see anything that would produce different results like that — given that I accept your premises, equal water, sun, etc. The soil.is still the only thing I can think of. Just finally got on line and wanted to let you know I like your site! Lots of luck!
Hi Miriam,Thanks for getting back to me. I’ll take you up on your suggestion back when I saw you at the farmers market, to get the soil tested and get a side by side comparison. Its so weird though right? LOL I’ve never had this happen to me before moving to NM, and now I have many veggies and plants that behave this way. I really don’t understand it. I even wondered if it could be something magnetic on or near our plot of land, or even perhaps the huge electrical lines behind our house in the grave yard. I don’t know what it is, but each day I go out and crack up laughing at how different it is from one end of any of our gardens to another.
Thanks for stopping by!