why are my vegetables small

Even with soil preparation why are my vegtables small, a soil testing kit states my soil is neutral and not lacking in anything. I do have a pine tree overhanging my veg patch could the needles be causing a problem. I live in cornwall and have had this problem for the last three years. This problem applies to all veg except runner beans and french beans.

Comments for why are my vegetables small

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Jan 17, 2013

Small vegetables and pine needles
by: Kiwi George

As New Zealand has millions of pine trees the pine straw is free and makes great mulch for Strawberries. Unfortunately the pine needles are acidic but you say your soil has been tested OK. The other problem with pine needles is they contain Terpenes which is the main ingredient of Turpentine and you can imagine what would happen to your plants if you fed them with Turpentine. I use pine straw as a weed suppressing mulch on the pathways between my No-Dig beds and find that after two or three years the Turpenes are gone and the black residue goes onto the compost heap without any problems. When I gather pine straw I also also collect the old black rotted pine straw underneath the fresh ones for the compost heap. Also, the pine tree will be consuming the soil nutrients so you may need to get your soil tested to find which nutrients are deficient and add extra of the "missing" ones.
Good luck.
Kiwi George

Jan 18, 2013

Small growing vegetables
by: Alfie

If the pine tree is overhanging it would shade your garden would it not? Most veg need lots of sun. If not much sun your plants would be stunted and a bit leggy I think. If yr beans are planted on the outside of your garden they probably get more sun. Pity you didn't post a photo so we could see the layout of your garden. Definitely tree roots would rob the surrounding soil of much moisture so even though you say your soil is not lacking it could be too dry. Don't give up, but send in more information if you need more ideas.

Feb 19, 2015

nutrients in vegetables
by: frankeinstein

The one reason may be your soil is lack of nutrients but the other may be the depth you dig the vegetables. The depth must be high enough for planting the vegetables to get the nutrients from the soil. Add some organic material or compost. May be it will work.

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