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The Dollar Stretcher

About Gardening
Container Garden Crisis

by Mira Dessy
mdessy@together.net
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Mira,
I started a container garden in my new home because I didn't want the chemicals from all the neighbors' yards washing down the hill into my tomatoes. I really tried to make "good dirt," but I think I may have gone too far. I used a mixture of top soil with Nature's Helper and a handful (or 2?) of cow manure in each pot. The pots are about 14" across. I have some tiny tomatoes, but the plants are yellow and spindly. They are not growing and flourishing. They get plenty of sun and rain. What did I do wrong and is there anything I can do to save them?
Sara

Dear Sara,
Unfortunately, I agree with you. I think you maybe overdid the mixture. I don't know what proportions everything is so I can't really speak for what is happening specifically, but yellowing tomato leaves usually means that there is an iron deficiency. I don't think there is a lot that you can do right now to fix the problem. I think for next year I would mix some of what is in the pot with an additional 1/3 of top soil and see if that helps.
Best,
Mira

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