I would agree that roofing material is the problem. black plastic or landscape fabric but since you are in a warmer climate , would just mulch be better?

I'm thinking y'all are correct. bc I dug up my corn bed entirely and they are doing fantastic. Will mulch still continue to kill the grass underneath?

And the tomatoes and peppers arent totally gone. Will this rescue them a bit?

Never heard of using roofing felt in a food garden simply because of the petrochemicals it contains and its water-proof nature so I'd agree that it is one cause of the problems.

However you also list several vegetables that aren't normally started outside (without knowing at least your location environment) and are not transplanted out at the same time as they require very different conditions. So all sorts of environmental issues could be contributing factors.

You also list things that have very different water needs and nutrient needs yet all are planted out together all at the same time. In March?? Yellowing of transplants is almost always excess water causing root rot or lack of nutrients.

Was this freshly turned soil, had weed killer been used on the area, if so which one, what specific "organic fertilizer"? No benefits there if there isn't an active soil food web already in the soil and the roofing felt could have killed them off. And no benefits if soil pH is skewed.

Then there is the "all had their true leaves". That alone doesn't mean they were ready for transplanting.

And these were all transplants? Some them listed (cukes, squash, pole beans, corn, okra) often don't transplant well and are normally direct seeded so some of the problems could be just that they were transplants.

Bottom line - several possible causes, most due to some unusual gardening practices.

First thing I would do is remove all the roofing felt from the garden. Then create as much as possible the same conditions in the garden that your planted out in the yard plants that are apparently doing well have.

Dave

I'll add to the healthy skepticism about roofing felt. First of all, when heated, it emits petroleum vapors that the MSDS cautions can cause respiratory irritation. That's what happens when the sun hits it. Probably not vapors you want around your plants. So it makes a lot of sense for killing grass because it isn't vegetation-friendly in many respects. I would note also that it isn't permeable, so the soil under it is going to eventually dry out if you leave it there. That too is helpful for killing grass, but not for cultivating garden plants.

I've heard about using roofing felt being left in place over tree and shrub roots, after being slit to allow water entry, but that may work OK because those roots are deeper and better protected.

Digdirt2, the corn cucumbers and beans are not covered in the roofing felt and are in freshly turned soil. They are doing fine as I did directly sow them. The cucumbers that are failing were transplants. Next step I will take will be to completely remove the roofing felt. I will upload some pics. Also the temps have been in the high 70s during the day and the high 60 at night for about 2 was now.

2 wks *

<Digdirt2, the corn cucumbers and beans are not covered in the roofing felt and are in freshly turned soil. They are doing fine as I did directly sow them. >

That's good to hear. However as I said it is still quite unusual for all of them to be planted out at the same time. Corn, squash, peppers, okra, and pole beans are normally planted much later than this in the majority of the US (exception is the very deep south) as they require much warmer soil temps to survive. But with no location info provided we are just guessing as to the problems and it is impossible to know for sure.

Dave

Oh Dave. I am in the bowels of the south. 5 miles from the coast. I am near mobile al and I hail from the great N'awlins. Our weather is sweaty and unforgiving even at christmas. Lol

Well! Turns out I was severely over-watering. I removed the roofing felt and cut down to watering about 30 minutes every 2 or three days and the new growth is explosive!