I agree with the soil test. They are cheep, and will provide you with
a lot of information that you can use as a baseline.

Nature does not "rest" the soil, so while "resting" the soil does
not make much sense to me, crop rotation is a good idea, especially
with Tomatoes and peppers. Put green beans in their place, or other
legumes (peas are also good). Legumes will provide a natural source of
nitrogen - especially if you till them back into the soil. Tomato,
corn and squash are all heavy feeders.

Do not compost tomato plants, or till them back into your soil. Fungal
disease can transfer from year to year, and may infect your compost
pile too.

Keep composting - If you compost as much as you say you do, you should
not need "Miracle Grow" or other additives. If you absolutely feel the
need to fertilize - use a slow release like blood meal or fish
emulsion.

Good Luck

Craig Cooper
http://www.growersinfo.com




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

Time for a soil test... I'm suspicious of too much sodium (I lived in S.
Cal 30 years ago, and the water was pretty saline!). I'm also suspicious
that you might have had more sun on your garden plot 20 years ago than you
do now.

Yes, less sun, more tree. I wonder if morning sun, like 8:00am - 12pm
is better than afternoon sun, 12pm - 4? I have a choice between two
areas, west side of the tree or east. Now it's on the pm side.

I think there's the problem, right there... "full sun" (for veggies) is usually
6 hrs of direct sunlight per day.

As to AM or PM:
Probably no real difference in your climate, unless you're trying to get
a crop of warm season veggies in the winter (you'll want the afternoon sun
then) or veggies happier with cooler climates in the summer (you'll want
morning sun, afternoon shade).

Still probably worth a soil test... salinization of non-drip irrigated soils
in S. Cal is a problem.

Kay