Amended the zukes with kelp, mrp, and azomite

Alright alright.  My zucchinis are so pathetic these days that I declare my experiment over and decide that yes I really do need to do a mid-season amendment to keep the zucchini plants happy.  So, today I amended almost all (other than the one dying one) with 2 Tbsps kelp meal, 1 Tbsp mrp, and 1 Tbsp azomite.  Sprinkled it on top of the soil at the root, will let rain/animals bring it down to the roots hopefully.

Cukes, zukes, and zinnias transplanted -- including 2 zukes in pots

For the cukes (all Eureka, 6 of them, consisting of 4 from round 1 and 2 from round 2 for staggering the harvest),  and zukes (7 in ground (3 8 Ball and 6 Golden Glory) and 2 in big pots*), amended with lots of mrp, semi-lots of azomite, and some kelp.  Oh and for a few of the zukes I did add some alfalfa but not a lot.  Also put some of the freezer rabbit poop in with most of the zukes, but not the pair... oh which pair.... I think not the SW-most pair.  Or was it not the pair in the central bed.... Ah well.

Didn't amend the zinnias with anything.

* 2 of the zukes (both Golden Glory) are in big pots.  The soil in these consisted of a mix of garden bed soil and a mix of my potting mix (peat, ProMix, lime, kelp, mrp, azomite, and a small amount of alfalfa).  I've never had success with potted zucchinis before -- the plants have always been wimpy and never produced anything -- so I'm curious for this year, now that I have bigger pots and lots of mrp and azomite in there.

Mulched most of the things with the last of last fall's basement mulched leaves.

Undecided which of the zukes I won't tulle.  For sure I'll tulle at least 6 of the 7 in ground.  I may also try tulling the potted ones and the hydro bed one while they're relatively small at least.

Home-blended seed starting mix -- First attempt

Mixed up a fairly small batch, which will be used for the onions, begonia, and whatever else things whose starting time is coming soon.

Here's the recipe I used:

20 cups peat moss

10 cups ProMix Premium Potting Mix*

3/4 cup perlite

3/4 cup vermiculite

1/2 cup kelp meal

1/2 cup alfalfa pellets **

zero cup soybean meal because I don't have any yet, but when I do I'll use 1/2 cup

1/4 cup rock phosphate

1/8 cup dolomite lime

1/8 cup myccorhizae

1/8 cup azomite

* It's supposed to be 10 cups of compost, but I don't have my own and haven't found a vegan source yet, so for now using potting mix to replace it.  ProMix told me (when I inquired by email) that their Premium Potting Mix has no animal-based ingredients; its fertilizer is chemical-based.  I wonder if I even need to use ProMix at all, given the other nutrient aspects of this mix...

** This time I just put in the pellets as-is, but for next time and for adding to this batch -- for better / more even distribution I'll pre-soak the pellets to get them to disintegrate, then spread them out to dry.  This will integrate into the mix much better.

I'm wondering about adding some of the shredded leaves stored in my basement... haven't done it yet as I'm not sure if it could introduce disease etc...

Fertilized all zucchinis with Azomite (first time), MRP, and kelp meal (1 Tbsp each)

The 7 original/tulled zucchinis have really been slowing down over the past several weeks.  The ongoing/increasing powdery mildew could be a factor, but I figured why not give them a boost with Azomite (bought some today), MRP, and kelp meal, in case it might help.  At the same time I figured why not do the same for the three untulled zukes, though the one by the hydro meter is looking great, and though all three of these will likely succumb to SVB in the not too distant future.