I made a post nearly five years ago now and will add that my garden was incredibly productive. My tomatoes plants were very big and we stopped staking them at 5 feet and did more of an espalier with them. Fruit production was incredible and continued until we had a hard frost in October.
This past summer, I added mulch mostly in the Spring and the garden was less than admirable. I added composted woodshavings and should have added more nitrogen to the mix. This year, I have hauled lots of compost up to the garden so that it has a winter to help break it down.
My conclusion is that the nitrogen robbing done by the wood shavings that weren't thoroughly composted was the culprit. So, my fall chores now include putting lots of composting materials, fall leaves, horse bedding, and leave it to rot over the winter. Next Spring, I should have better garden materials to plant in.
