As long as you keep adding good compost the soil shouldn't be depleted.

HOWEVER

You should rotate your crops..maybe don't plant anything for a few years.
Disease, insects, and nematodes specific to the crops you plant every year
can build up in the soil and affect your plants.

My suggestion would be to plant a green manure crop there (alfalfa or
buckwheat) and till in under for a couple of years. That'll do wonders for
the dirt, and allow the bad critters to die off. Then go back and use it
for veggies again. Or try flowers in that area..

Plant your garden in another area this coming year if you must. Perhaps make
a small raised bed and fill it with topsoil until you can go back to the old
area.

Either way, it sounds like the soil needs a good rest.

Hope this helps,



"Richard Ellis" wrote in message
...
Southern California; clay which started out as hard as rock and now I
can put a shovel into it with little trouble because I have been
composting it for 20+ years. Compost which includes grass cuttings;
Liquid Amber leaves; leftover kitchen veggie (including coffee grounds);
an occasional half-bag of steer and artichoke plant trimmings and stalks.

I have photos of my tomatoes (large plants, many large fruits) and
sunflowers (8' high with magnificent flowers!) from when I first started
gardening there.

question: after all this time, using the same 8' X 10' plot growing
tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and zucchini, does the soil need other
nutrients? I sometimes nourish the plants with Miracle Grow, but not
frequently or regularly (I think it helps).

My tomato plants are smaller and the yield sparse. Zucchinis only
occasionally produce - usually shrivel before getting any size to them.

Something needed?

Oh, and yes, I have been digging the compost into the soil - as well as
applying it on top for weed control and moisture retention.

help?

thanks,
de

--
Everybody is right.
-Rochefoucault