I have a gardening question.

[Ruth n Jersey]

I have had a veggie garden for many years and have never had the problem I am having now. In the spring when I was about to put my tomatoes in, I noticed the soil had a bad smell to it, almost like a sour smell. I turn the garden over each fall a full spade deep, I didn't notice it then. The only explanation that I can think of is the huge addition of leaves we add in the fall. We live in a rural area and even have a large field and wooded area down the street, but we are not allowed to dump leaves or branches there, yet the town doesn't come to collect them either and we can't burn them. What most of us are doing is dumping them in our gardens and those with no gardens just have an area devoted for the leaves. We have some very mature trees in our yard and a large piece of property, It would be impossible to bag them. Can't let them lay because it will kill the grass and the neighbors who do rake would have a fit. Rightly so. Back on the subject. Do you think all the leaves are making the soil to acid for the tomatoes? Actually the cabbage doesn't look to good either. Do you think a little lime would help? I have an area attached to the garden where I use to put flower. We didn't put leaves there and this year I put in some beans. They are doing fine. When I research on line they lean toward saying leaves are good for the soil. What is your take on all this? If not the leaves what do you think I should do? Your input would be much appreciated I don't want to give up my garden.

 

[Don M.]

It is a good possibility that the layers of leaves are making the soil too acidic. I had a similar problem when we first moved here, and I started a garden...our property is dense forest, and the soil had centuries of heavy leaf buildup. I bought a small soil tester, and it showed the acidity to be "off the charts". I added quite a bit of Lime to the area I partitioned off for a garden, and that brought the numbers down to ideal. Now, I just till the garden every Fall, and again in the Spring...and add a couple of sacks of Nitrogen fertilizer in the Spring, and we usually have a surplus of everything we plant.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

I never thought of buying a tester, Don. I am going to get one today. If it is to acidic I hope it's
not to late to add lime around my existing tomato plants. I have nothing to lose at this point. Thanks so much for the info.

 

[fureverywhere]

Those testing kits are easy to use, definitely give it a try. Sometimes soil areas just get out of whack and need adjusting.

 

[ossian]

Leaves take a while to decompose and are best left to compost before adding to the soil. The chances are that your problem is the leaves. If they were added to the soil before winter, they would also cause water retention and that could be the cause of the smell. Particularly if you have had a wet winter.

In general, leaves are great when composted or left to rot on the surface below trees or shrubs. But they do take time to rot down. I would have thought that you would still be able to detect them in the soil if it is only the summer following the autumn when you added them?