Veg Trugs

[Florence Fennel]

I bought four trugs last year, two black and two light green and filled all with the same sterile compost. The two black grew excellent CACA salad leaves but the two green grew leaves to about half an inch then died off. I've down dwarf peas in a black one with poor growth, dwarf beans in the other black one with no show of either sowing and the CACA in the green ones are micro again. Do I have to throw it all away? Do you think it's to do with nutrition?

[Florence Fennel]

Sorry about the predictive errors

[Penellype]

Assuming your trugs are outside, could mice have eaten the peas and beans? Are the trugs all in the same area or do the green ones get more sun or wind and therefore dry out more, or maybe get colder?

[Florence Fennel]

I suspected a squirrel pinched the beans first time round so I wired then over and no, they're in the same place on the patio

[Florence Fennel]

Oh dear no safe advice? Get on with emptying them when my back feels better

[Potstubsdustbins]

By sterile compost I presume you mean new MPC.

That would have nutrients for about 5/6 weeks after that it will need feeding.

As an aside my black dustbins always do better than my green I assume it has something to do with sunlight heat absorption.

[Florence Fennel]

I wondered about nutrients Potty but it wouldn't explain last year's failure unless as you suggest it's the colour. Thank you

[Florence Fennel]

Going to water in some BF&B to see what that does. Before I give up

[Potstubsdustbins]

FF There has to be a reason we just have to find it.

I grow quite a lot in green plastic trugs (couldn't find any black ones at the time), ie spuds and peas with no problem what so ever.

For my CACA salad leaf (Mesclun mix) I use 2ft long x 6" x 6" troughs as I find the deep trugs just waste compost.

[veggiechicken]

Are we talking about those flexible plastic trugs that come in all sorts of colours? or something different?
If its the flexible ones, do you have adequate drainage holes drilled in the sides/base?

[Bren In Pots]

Flo can we have a photo or even a link to what your trugs look like.

I also grow mixed lettuce and pea shoots in those window box type troughs like Potty does mine stand of a ladder that fixed horizontally to the shed.

[Florence Fennel]

[Florence Fennel]

The crude netting is to keep the squirrel off!

[veggiechicken]

Thanks Flo. They're nothing like I imagined!
Do you sown your seeds directly into the troughs or plant out seedlings? I find growing them on first gives stronger plants. There's very little that I sow direct now.

[Bren In Pots]

Flo have a dig around to check if the beans gone rotten or did they get eaten by something.