I moved into a new house where there was an aluminum raised bed. Let us call this bed A. I made a wooden bed 10inches deep. Let us call this bed B.
Bed A was there before I came and the soil looked bad, sandy, tough and full of cacti.
I filled bed B with 10 bags of expensive best organic raised bed soil (and just that - nothing else).
I planted same species of tomatoes, spinach, and peppers in both beds. It's been 2 months since planting.
To my surprise, bed A plants grew up to 3-4 feet and ready to bear fruit. On the other hand my bed B which I was proud of, the plants are only 10 inches high, leaves turning yellow and I feel like they'll die before bearing fruit.
Where did I go wrong? Is my bed B soil too lose and not holding much water? I live in desert area of south USA.
Is there something I can do to fix it now? That is by layering it with water holding materials like coconut coir etc.
Any help would be appreciated. Willing to provide more details if needed.