NA - Question for Those who Garden

[SixPapaCharlie]

I am starting to think any vegetable production I have enjoyed in the past has been blind luck.
Usually, I go buy bags of soil from Lowed, fill my gardens, plant some seeds and a few months later I am pulling produce out sometimes faster than we can consume it.

The last 2 years I have bought seeds and even a few plants, bought the soil, planted everything and a small percentage die, Herbs grow like crazy but all of my fruit producing plants grow beautiful and lush but produce nothing.
I have 2 watermelon vines that are massive, green, and healthy but I see little quarter side watermelon looking bulbs that then fall off.

I have 3 tomato plants that appear healthy but have produced 0 fruit, broccoli plants, same story, I think I have seen 1 jalapeno on a beautiful plant, and the list goes on.

I don't think i am doing anything different but this is year 2 or 3 of little to no production.
Everything appears to be getting enough water.

Where should I start?

 

[Mikey52]

You need bees.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

I think the watermelon needs pollinators, the others don’t. Assuming your sun/shade hasn’t changed and the Dallas temps are the same, I’m going to guess it’s fertilizer related - too much of one nutrient and not enough of another.

 

[luvflyin]

At t

I am starting to think any vegetable production I have enjoyed in the past has been blind luck.
Usually, I go buy bags of soil from Lowed, fill my gardens, plant some seeds and a few months later I am pulling produce out sometimes faster than we can consume it.

The last 2 years I have bought seeds and even a few plants, bought the soil, planted everything and a small percentage die, Herbs grow like crazy but all of my fruit producing plants grow beautiful and lush but produce nothing.
I have 2 watermelon vines that are massive, green, and healthy but I see little quarter side watermelon looking bulbs that then fall off.

I have 3 tomato plants that appear healthy but have produced 0 fruit, broccoli plants, same story, I think I have seen 1 jalapeno on a beautiful plant, and the list goes on.

I don't think i am doing anything different but this is year 2 or 3 of little to no production.
Everything appears to be getting enough water.

Where should I start?

The nursery. There’ll be people there who have the answers you need. If not, go to a different nursery.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

You need bees.

I see some bees but not a lot. I have a crap ton of wasps near all the plants. Do wasps also pollinate?

I did take a makeup brush and dust some of the flowers on the watermelon plant to the bulb looking ones. Not sure if that is effective.

 

[JOhnH]

I am starting to think any vegetable production I have enjoyed in the past has been blind luck.
Usually, I go buy bags of soil from Lowed, fill my gardens, plant some seeds and a few months later I am pulling produce out sometimes faster than we can consume it.

The last 2 years I have bought seeds and even a few plants, bought the soil, planted everything and a small percentage die, Herbs grow like crazy but all of my fruit producing plants grow beautiful and lush but produce nothing.
I have 2 watermelon vines that are massive, green, and healthy but I see little quarter side watermelon looking bulbs that then fall off.

I have 3 tomato plants that appear healthy but have produced 0 fruit, broccoli plants, same story, I think I have seen 1 jalapeno on a beautiful plant, and the list goes on.

I don't think i am doing anything different but this is year 2 or 3 of little to no production.
Everything appears to be getting enough water.

Where should I start?

Do you have a lawn service? If so, do they spray herbicides and/or insecticides? Bees (or any of the many other pollinators) are required for fruit(with a few exceptions of self-pollinating plants) to bloom. I have neighbors that continually poison their lawns then wonder why they have no birds. If you kill the bugs that pollinate the plants and feed the birds, this is what you get.

Even so-called "natural" herbicides, like vinegar and/or Epsom salts drive away the bees and other pollinators.

 

[Llewtrah381]

Good luck with tomatoes this time of year in TX. We tried them for years in Austin and never had any real luck. Apparently when the temps get above something like 93 degrees the fruit won’t set. You’ll get flowers but no fruit. Either start them early or do them inside.

 

[JOhnH]

Good luck with tomatoes this time of year in TX. We tried them for years in Austin and never had any real luck. Apparently when the temps get above something like 93 degrees the fruit won’t set. You’ll get flowers but no fruit. Either start them early or do them inside.

This is true, but a big part of the reason is that the bees and butterflies slow down to conserve energy in the high heat. You can't have fruit without pollination.

 

[JOhnH]

Oh, and when I speak of bees, I'm not talking about that one invasive species (honey bees, which were brought from Europe). I'm talking about any of the 4,000+ species of native bees. They are usually smaller than honey bees, the are loners that burrow under ground, and they almost never sting unless they are threatened.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Do you have a lawn service? If so, do they spray herbicides and/or insecticides? Bees (or any of the many other pollinators) are required for fruit(with a few exceptions of self-pollinating plants) to bloom. I have neighbors that continually poison their lawns then wonder why they have no birds. If you kill the bugs that pollinate the plants and feed the birds, this is what you get.

Even so-called "natural" herbicides, like vinegar and/or Epsom salts drive away the bees and other pollinators.

hmmmmmmmm
So that's an interesting point. I have sprayed cutter on my lawn to try to solve an epic ant problem that has plagued my neighborhood for years.
I have had a lawn service spray for weeds.

There has definitely been some level of insect killer in the yard but it is typically just when we are entertaining which is very rare. 1-2X a summer.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

~5 years ago I had a bee keeper come to my house and remove a massive bee colony that had decided to take up residence in one of my walls. Maybe they were doing some of the heavy lifting.

 

[JOhnH]

~5 years ago I had a bee keeper come to my house and remove a massive bee colony that had decided to take up residence in one of my walls. Maybe they were doing some of the heavy lifting.

That would definitely contribute to the situation you described, but in the absence of herbicides and insecticides, native pollinators should have rebounded in 5 years without the honeybee competition.

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

My first inclination was chemical pesticides and insect pollinators. But your tomatoes, pepper, and broccoli don’t need bugs…

 

[X3 Skier]

I have avoided these problems by visiting Farmers Markets. When not available in the winter, i rely on Krogers.

 

[NoBShere]

Could be a nutrient issue. Nitrogen helps grow big healthy plants but, i think you need potassium to get the plant to fruit out. Any chance when you grabbed your soil it was high in nitrogen to promote initial growth? Then you would need to add potassium and maybe some other stuff (phosphorus and calcium) when its time for plants to fruit.

 

[JOhnH]

My first inclination was chemical pesticides and insect pollinators. But your tomatoes, pepper, and broccoli don’t need bugs…

Good point. That's why I said:

Bees (or any of the many other pollinators) are required for fruit(with a few exceptions of self-pollinating plants) to bloom

I probably should have emphasized that more since @6pc mentioned tomatoes and peppers. (Broccoli doesn't need any pollination).
Tomatoes and peppers and a few other plants don't NEED insect pollination, but they can help. In some conditions, self-pollination is not sufficiently effective. But your point is valid.

Note: I typed this yesterday, but forgot to hit post.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Looks like for just a few bucks I can send the soil sample off to Texas A&m and they'll tell me if there's something lacking or an excess of something causing problems

 

[455 Bravo Uniform]

Gig ‘em!

 

[Llewtrah381]

Additional thought: after years of trying everything from tomatoes to strawberries to whatever in our Austin area square foot gardens, we’ve finally realized the best bang for the buck by a wide margin is herbs. Basil during the non-freezing months goes nuts. The Simon and Garfunkel parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are all good. Add cilantro. Green onions. Chives. Lettuce in the fall. All are basically deer resistant if that’s an issue (except the lettuce). Basically, things you’d spend a few bucks for to get a sprig of in the grocery store. And they’re all pretty low maintenance.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Additional thought: after years of trying everything from tomatoes to strawberries to whatever in our Austin area square foot gardens, we’ve finally realized the best bang for the buck by a wide margin is herbs. Basil during the non-freezing months goes nuts. The Simon and Garfunkel parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are all good. Add cilantro. Green onions. Chives. Lettuce in the fall. All are basically deer resistant if that’s an issue (except the lettuce). Basically, things you’d spend a few bucks for to get a sprig of in the grocery store. And they’re all pretty low maintenance.

This is pretty accurate. I had to destroy a rosemary plant and a basil plant because they were taking over the whole thing.

 

[catmandu]

This is pretty accurate. I had to destroy a rosemary plant and a basil plant because they were taking over the whole thing.

For the love of all that is holy, do not plant mint.

 

[JOhnH]

For the love of all that is holy, do not plant mint.

If you HAVE to plant mint, plant it in a pot with a bottom plate so the roots don't grow into the ground.
But better yet, do not plant mint.