I have "dairy compost" on my raised vegetable garden. I was told that it had been cured and it would be fine to grow vegetables in it. I now have tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, squash, onions, broccoli, lettece, cauliflower and snap beans. The cabbage and cauliflower however, just keep growing leaves and their heads have not formed. (have not added any fertilizer)

Do I have to add some fertilizer? All the other veggies are doing fine.

If they look healthy enough, maybe they just aren't ready yet. Cabbages don't form hearts immediately. Caulis heads are actually the flower of the plant and should form once the plant is a decent size. How big are they? Do you have a foto?

My only quick thought would be if
there's cow manure and too much of it,
*which is a source of nitrogen*
Nitrogen grows leaves and doesn't really
give the extra boost for making flowers..

so what should a person use with the manure to help w/the flowering ?

Thank you for the feedback. Perhaps they are not ready yet Longy. I will attempt to post some pictures of them (I am not proficient in posting pictures) so please be patient.

Weezie 13 made an important point. The compost is 100% cow do do . However, my tomatoes and other veggies are doing fine. However, too much nitrogen could be the culprit.

I will attempt to post some pictures so that you can get a better idea of what I am talking about.

I would use straight compost...

~~~>Carino, Can you get your hands on some of that????

Compost and Dairy Compost are two different things...
One is straight cow manure, just aged..
*some do put in saw dust and let it sit and render down*
But compost, when done, is totaled balanced
*NO MATTER WHAT YOU PUT IN IT*
It comes out balanced.
**even if you load it with acid leaves believe it or not.. the natural composting process,
brings it back to neutral *well, on the alkaline side* but most plants grow well in those conditions..**

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Here are the pictures of what I have planted in dairy compost

OOOOOPS, sorry for the large picture. I really dont know what I am doing. I followed the suggestions on your web site.

Weezie13, thank you for the information. Guess Longy was right about being a bit too early to form the "flowers"

Those still look young to me...

When or how long ago did you you plant them??

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Here is a smaller photo of my raised garden (I hope)

I planted them approx. 35 days ago. I planted them the same time I planted the brocolli.

Thank you for taking the time to educate me.

The broccoli I have grown has gotten almost 3' high, and will be 2 1/2' across. I say give them time and when they are ready you will know.

Also you can cut the crowns and the plants will still produce side shoots.

Heyyyy no problem...
Always glad to help!!

Did you grow them from seed or previously started plants?

And I would love to see a bigger picture of that raised bed... Looks good from what I can see...
*size up to 480 x 640*

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Weezie13 Here is a larger view (I hope). I have 4 of them approx. 3x10 feet. I used 3 cubic yards of diary compost. some of the veggies are store bought (3 inch pots) and some I grew from seed.

I also made some smaller raised beds for roses and shrubs because around here the dirt has a lot of clay.

You're a man after me'own heart...
Those beds are awesome...

I wish I had all that dairy compost..
I have to make my own *regular* compost..
And it takes alot to admend the soil...

Well, if those were seeds, I'd still be
waiting on some flowers, eventually...
It does take a wee~bit of time!!!

Okay, what is on the third bed on the
right side of that PB photo????
Very curious...

ok quick question bare w/me i'm still new @ this ... we live on a farm w/cattle and use straight cow manure out of the cattle yard, alot of it is OLD, like many many years old and some is newer ~ this is all i used last year and my flowers seemed to do well w/it. But if i do veggies should i do anything differently w/it like add anything to it or anything ?

TIA

JONI

The bed on the right have tomatoes, strawberries and zucchini. The plastic pipes shown are used to hold up a plastic sheet I used when there was a chance of a light freeze. These plastic pipes also serve to hold up a shading cloth which I will use when the weather turns too hot.

Remember, not to worry, we all start out somewhere's.. and that's how you learn, and we all learn..
By helping one another..
Someday, we hope that when you feel comfortable with what you know and have done and learned...
You'll be right here helpin' another new person
along with all of their questions..

Cow manure, aged, is very good..
But do remember, it's pure nitrogen...
*Nitrogen = Green leaves/growth*

Having a compost pile, (set off to the side somewhere's) you can add your cow manure to, along with dried garden debris and clean up,
and kitchen scraps and or sawdust added...
*a ratio of 75% Brown and 25% Green*
and that stuff will be lovely...
Just layer the brown and green, let sit for a bit..
and then turn every so many days..
You can add grass clippings too...

But as for your veggies, and using the old manure..
Not a problem, just don't go over board..
*like the ole'sayin'.. twice as much isn't always better*
But it is good stuff..

For plants like leaf lettuce, manure is good..
*promotes green growth*
and Corn and pumpkins' lovvvvvvvvvve it..
*they are heavy nitrogen feeders*

Joni, wish I could answer your question. I bought the compost at a landscaping place. I was told that it was "cured" I did not add anything to it.

I did however, noticed that using this compost, my fruit trees are flowering much more then last year.

cool thanks Weezie I appreciate everyone's helpfulness here !

JONI

You don't happen to have a full view picture of that bed with those pipes do you??

And what kind of pipes did you use?
Veryyyyyy curious??

The pipes are use by electritical people to run wiring from one outlet to another. I do not have a picture but.....I will take some and provide them to you sometime this week.

They look very healthy to me. My suggestion is do no more than what you are doing.

There is no sure way to tell what your soil has for nutrients without having a soil test done. You appear to have spent a great deal of time on those beds and caring for those plants, so why not spend another $10 and get a soil test done to know for sure? Relying on aged manures and compost in all but the more fertile soils is not enough. These are organic forms of nutrients. They need to be broken down by the soil organisms first to be made available to plant life. Generally speaking and HIGHLY variable, compost, measured in terms of N-P-K numbers is only in the 1-1-1 range and manures are less than that. I'll post a decent article below.

If I were you I would certainly supplement the plants with some sort of fertilizer based on the recommendations of a laboratory soil test.

I know a couple people in the DFW area that may be able to help find a soil testing service if you cannot. Otherwise, you have a beautiful garden!

http://www.poultrywaste.okstate.edu/files/f-2228web.pdf

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Here is my raised veggie bed full of dairy compost. You can see the electrical conduit plastic pipes I use to hold up plastic and cloth covering depending on the temperature.

Hope this helps Wezzie.