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Hi vivasayi, I think (and IÂm no expert whatsoever), that it *might* be a fungal disease. But letÂs see what knowledgeable people thinks.

Was the fertilizer one that you purchased or made up....I ask because poulty manure is really hot stuff and if it wasn't aged could easily burn your plants...I have to truthfully tell you that I am a big believer in not fixing something that isn't broke...I'm referring to your adding lime to prevent BER but you didn't mention that you had the soil tested to see if it needed lime...so while it probably isn't true...the lime or manure could have burned your plants when it really wasn't even needed....A few leaves that go yellow or brown don't disturb me or lower leaves on a veggie but there is definitely a problem with yours...are you overwatering...is your bed draining good...so many things it could be...

Hi ruthieg_tx
I have stopped watering the plants the last few days - but it's been raining quite a bit the last week. So i am not sure i am seeing the effect yet.
You are right in that, i might have fertilized when it really wasn't necessary - the soil was rich enough with the manure and compost in it. I also probably shouldn't have "limed" it. As you put it - why fix something that isn't broken. I definitely over-watered (my raised beds have quite a few holes in the bottom - so they ought to drain quite well). But i am convinced i over-watered. Hopefully it won't rain for a week or so, so that i can let the soil dry out and see if things improve.
I think fertilizer burn, over watering are all problems that can be fixed by altering the gardening style. But what i am afraid of is that this is some kind of fungal/viral/bacterial disease and i have to start all over again on my garden.
Any more thoughts from the experts out there?

How did you apply the fertilizer, viva?

That looks like fertilizer burn to me.

Hi tosser/lelia

I applied the fertilizer for a few plants at the time of transplantation (2 tbl spoons at the bottom of the hole). For the other plants i worked in the fertilizer in the soil at the base of the plant.
Now if this is fertilizer burn - what are my options at this point? Is there anything i can do?

There are not many diseases that would attack tomatoes, cukes, eggplant and peppers at the same time. My grand daughter and my son over-fertilized my garden a while back and, the burnt vegetables looked exactly like yours.

You do not give the percentages of your soil composition but, if you have adequate drainage in container plants, and your soil is loose, over watering is not very likely.

However, rinsing your soil of excess fertilizer might be necessary right now. Otherwise, your new roots will continue to burn as they try growing in a heavy concentration of fertilizer. If you can rinse the soil well enough, they will desperately try to grow new roots to replace the fried ones.

My plants are not producing as well as they would have. But, I'm starting to pick some stuff every day now.

It seems I was wrong. I'm glad for you vivasayi!

Hi bigoledude
So how do i "rinse" the soil to rid of the fertilizer?

Drenching it I guess. Additionally, and if you also think this is fert. burn, you can replace some of the soil without disturbing the roots (the plants have some stress already). After the soil drench, IÂd keep the bed covered for a few days, with some breathable summer row cover for them to not to "cook" with the sun.

This is exactly how my garden looked about a week ago when I burned it with insecticidal soap.

I'm curious about your "vegan" fertilizer with concentrated poultry manure. What is it exactly? Did it come in a bag?

I don't fertilize with anything stronger than compost, so to me your plants look like they've been zapped with an herbicide. Bigoledude is probably right on the money, though, since you so recently fertilized them and he had the same situation.

You asked "So how do i "rinse" the soil to rid of the fertilizer?"
Well, one thing I would do is to carefully loosen up the soil around the affected plants and water them every day for the next few days. You may see them gradually recovered from the over-dose shock. If the damage were already done, this can't get any worse anyway. Make sure that your soil drainage condition is good, so you don't kill them due to over watering.

Make sure that your soil drainage condition is good

With raised beds full of peat and vermiculite, I'd imagine that it's nice and airy. Wow, if I had the money to baby my garden like that... ;)

I'd suspect the chicken fertilizer rather than the lime. Peat is acidic on its own, so unless a lot of lime was used, I'd imagine that it didn't throw the ph too out of whack.

Thanks karenrei, aka_pegy, annie lee, tosser, greenthumbintraining, carol71 and everyone else for patiently replying to my posting.
So this morning i went downstairs with my cup of tea and replaced some of the top soil without damaging the roots (not sure if that's going to really help). I did see that the soil was moist once i got beneath the first inch (so i guess there is plenty of water). I am afraid to drench the soil at this point for fear of overwatering. The tomato plant looks quite sickly (except for the lone tomato that's still hanging on and looking healthy - anybody hear of the book "$64 tomato"? - seems like i have a picture of that tomato :))
The pepper plants are looking marginally better (perhaps because i got rid of the unsightly leaves) with a few leaves showing their emergence. The tomato plants are too big and look damaged - may not survive the nutrient assault i seem to have unleashed on them.

Lesson learnt - for rookie gardners: Don't use fertilizers (even natural ones) unless there are signs that your plants are lacking some nutrients. If you have to use fertilizers, use them very very sparingly and start with just one or two plants. Wait a couple of weeks and see how the plants react before broader application. Don't feel compelled to water the plants everyday - some plants are okay with a twice a week drink (particularly if your soil is made of vermiculite and peat moss).

I'm in Zone 7 - i hope it's not too late for my little okra seedlings to survive and produce before summer ends.

Could you give more detailed info on the fertilizer you used? I kinda disagree with your statement about not using fertilizer until you see a need for it, first it's a broad blanket statement plus you are growing different types of veggies with different fertilizer needs. Some plants are also more forgiving than others. I think the problem can be in the fertilizer ingredients as well as the water holding properties of the media, but would like to hear more about the fertilizer first.

At risk of being a tiresome nitpicker, but no manure can be vegan. Vegan gardening means not using any animal products, including manure. IMO though, human manure and urine is particularly compatible with vegan gardening.

Ooops... i had it wrong. The fertilizer i used wasn't poultry manure - it was "Fat Plant 4-3-4" concentrated Organic Vegan fertilizer not made with any animal products. I actually had 2 types of fertilizers and thought i had used the "poultry manure" based one. Just last night i was looking for the label and found that the packet was unopened (duh!). Anyway - the fertilizer is made by Natural Heights.