You are in zone 8. The higher the number, the hotter the region. Try to plant according to your zone. Instructions are on the back of a seed packet. I am speculating that you planted too late for your zone and then didn’t water them as much as they needed. They were too young and delicate to tolerate the hot summer sun and lack of water didn’t help. Raised beds tend to dry out quickly and need more water. Your soil sounds fine as does your fertilizer. I would till the soil around your plants once a week. You probably don’t have worms and tilling the dirt helps aeration of the soil, which worms do. If all of your plants are dying, then I assume that bugs are not the reason as certain bugs like only certain plants.
Next year, plant in stages. Cold weather crops that can take a light frost can be grown early, like lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. As soon as the threat of frost is gone (yes, watch weather forecasts very closely), then plant the rest of your garden.
I hope that helps.
PS - if plants are really healthy but don’t produce, then there are two reasons that would cause this. Sometimes too much fertilizer will do this as the plant figures out that reproducing isn’t important as it’s life is just awesome. The other reason is lack of pollination. Consider putting a honeybee hive close by to help or you pollinating them yourself with a wet Q-Tip.
And one last thing. Plant have a consciousness. Don’t be afraid to lovingly talk to them from time to time.
Thank you so much for your advice! I'm not going to give up on gardening, at least not yet. Going to keep trying and learning where I can. I appreciate you taking the time to comment back.
Another suggestion is to start with only one or two vegetables. Try to perfect each of them. Then increase your diversity. There is a learning curve to the process, especially if you move to a different climate. Also, each plant has its own taste for alkaline vs acidic soil called soil Ph. I don’t focus too much on that unless you are planting directly into the ground. Or, you can hack the process by seeking help from neighbors that know, as I originally suggested. The elderly are such a wealth of knowledge. They would simply blow your mind with their gardening tips. Stuff you could never read about or have figured out for yourself, mostly because most gardening is regional when you consider everything put together. For instance, do you know what the best fertilizer is? Wood ash and human urine! Take your urine (urine without medications or UTIs) and mix with water and wood ash. Water plants weekly with it the beginning to encourage root growth and then spread it out as the season progresses. Just never apply to the leaves as the nitrogen in the urine will burn leaves. Sounds gross, but it’s free and what our ancestors used. But don’t tell anyone that you use your urine. Can you say, “taboo!” Meh, screw ‘em!
You are in zone 8. The higher the number, the hotter the region. Try to plant according to your zone. Instructions are on the back of a seed packet. I am speculating that you planted too late for your zone and then didn’t water them as much as they needed. They were too young and delicate to tolerate the hot summer sun and lack of water didn’t help. Raised beds tend to dry out quickly and need more water. Your soil sounds fine as does your fertilizer. I would till the soil around your plants once a week. You probably don’t have worms and tilling the dirt helps aeration of the soil, which worms do. If all of your plants are dying, then I assume that bugs are not the reason as certain bugs like only certain plants.
Next year, plant in stages. Cold weather crops that can take a light frost can be grown early, like lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. As soon as the threat of frost is gone (yes, watch weather forecasts very closely), then plant the rest of your garden.
I hope that helps.
PS - if plants are really healthy but don’t produce, then there are two reasons that would cause this. Sometimes too much fertilizer will do this as the plant figures out that reproducing isn’t important as it’s life is just awesome. The other reason is lack of pollination. Consider putting a honeybee hive close by to help or you pollinating them yourself with a wet Q-Tip.
And one last thing. Plant have a consciousness. Don’t be afraid to lovingly talk to them from time to time.
Thank you so much for your advice! I'm not going to give up on gardening, at least not yet. Going to keep trying and learning where I can. I appreciate you taking the time to comment back.
Another suggestion is to start with only one or two vegetables. Try to perfect each of them. Then increase your diversity. There is a learning curve to the process, especially if you move to a different climate. Also, each plant has its own taste for alkaline vs acidic soil called soil Ph. I don’t focus too much on that unless you are planting directly into the ground. Or, you can hack the process by seeking help from neighbors that know, as I originally suggested. The elderly are such a wealth of knowledge. They would simply blow your mind with their gardening tips. Stuff you could never read about or have figured out for yourself, mostly because most gardening is regional when you consider everything put together. For instance, do you know what the best fertilizer is? Wood ash and human urine! Take your urine (urine without medications or UTIs) and mix with water and wood ash. Water plants weekly with it the beginning to encourage root growth and then spread it out as the season progresses. Just never apply to the leaves as the nitrogen in the urine will burn leaves. Sounds gross, but it’s free and what our ancestors used. But don’t tell anyone that you use your urine. Can you say, “taboo!” Meh, screw ‘em!
Watch this video, especially the final weigh-in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keksrXJrdWw