Question
Moved to a new location in Riverton and started a garden. This spring I added compost and steer manure. The garden is watered using secondary irrigation. The leaves on the beans, corn, and strawberries turn yellow with a burned look on the outer edges of the leaves and then the plant dies. The tomatoes and melon plants all seem to be doing well. Any idea's?
Answer(s)
Here is a link to a USU Extension publication about salts in soil:
http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/soils1n.pdf
Here is a link to a USU Extension publication about plant tolerance to salty soils: http://extension.usu.edu/files/agpubs/salini.htm
Steer manure is usually high in salts, so I suspect this is your garden's problem. Beans are especially sensitive to high salts. To help remediate high salts in your soil, you can wash the salts down through the soil profile, below the plants' root zone.
Because Riverton usually has tight clay soil, you will probably need to irrigate intermittently, about once every 2 hours or so, until you have applied about6 inches of water to the area, and the water has soaked into the soil and washed the salts downward. This will reduce the salts by half. Depending on how salty the soil was, your problem may be solved or you may need to repeat this. You can have your soil salt levels tested with a soil test. Instructions and order forms are available at the Utah State University Analytical Labs Web site.
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