I live in lower state Michigan and I just planted my garden two weeks ago. Before we did that we spread and tilled in chicken poo. 😃
I noticed that a few of my plants look like they are struggling to survive. I am wondering if anyone had any sugestions. I am new to planting, and this is only my 2nd garden. I wanted it to be a big lushes garden and starting off it is not looking very good. 😁

Was the chicken litter very fresh? If so it might take a good year before that plot is ready for planting. Fresh chicken litter will surely burn your plants (ask me how I know this!)

Some good guidance for using chicken manure here:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/l...

If the problem is too-fresh, too-concentrated chicken manure, and IF your bed has good drainage, it might help to overwater heavily a few times.

Try to water so heavily that some water flows right THROUGH the bed and out the bottom, carrying away some of the excess salt and nutrients from the manure. (Like flushing a flower pot.) This is more likely to work if the bed is rasied and you have very good drainage under it, or sandy soil.

Can you post some photos? If only some plants are suffering, maybe the problem is something else.

If the few plants that are suffering are just more sensitive than the others, you could yank those out and plant something else in their place. Either find some veggies that are more tolerant of over-fertilization, or dig out some of the enriched soil in that spot and mix what remains with less fertile soil. Spread the "hot stuff" thinly on top of some infertile patch elsewhere.

Ok! Well it was fresh, and that makes a lot of sence!! It was only a few plants. My strawberries are doing great, but everything else is looking really sad! I will try over watering! I hope I don't lose my whole crop. I can most of what I grow.

Here are some pics.

If those were my veggies I'd look into soil bag planting. Google Images has some good looking examples. My thinking is you could place the bags at the same location in your regular garden?

Just a thought, I've have not tried it myself.

Hi Amanda -- Welcome to ATP !

I'm wondering if your plants were "hardened off" before transplanting -- ? If they had just come from a greenhouse and then were planted in the open, the sun and wind can really set them back. I grow most of my own plants from seed but they have a very sheltered life in my greenhouse and are pretty tender; I like to cover everything after planting out with "floating row cover" (like Reemay, Agribon, etc), which protects them while they're getting acclimated to being outdoors (as well as preventing my cats from rearranging them )

Also, please don't be too discouraged if your garden isn't everything you were hoping for this year... it will be better every year as you gain more knowledge and learn what grows best in your area, when to plant, what problems to watch for, etc etc. Read about gardening, talk to gardeners in your area, keep asking and learning here on ATP -- and don't believe everything you see in Better Homes & Gardens !

I'm pretty sure no gardener anywhere ever said "my garden is perfect this year... there is absolutely no room for improvement!"

Happy gardening!