Purple leaf mystery by Cory

Local gardens being prepared, this one is unusually free of rocks

I used what looked like good topsoil from the yard to fill vegetable seedling trays.

The seedlings are very slow to germinate in the cool winter weather and many are pathetically slow growing.

The tomatoes soon were a deep purple color.

They didn't improve when transplanted into the garden.

If I hadn't seen tomatoes growing in the weeds in the neighbors yard and producing well all year I would have thought tomatoes weren't adapted here.

Tomato, this one less purple than some others

But many of the local weeds and trees have the same symptoms.

Checking on-line confirms it is phosphorus deficiency, which tends to be aggravated by root damage or wet and cool soils.

Now I regret not bringing some fertilizer.

Glad the neighbor's currently empty chicken coop has a supply of dry manure.

Sweet potato. Its pretty severe when sweet potato shows a nutrient deficiency.

Guava

Even the most common local shrub sometimes gets purple old leaves instead of yellow.

Weeds with purple older leaves

Common beans, the main crop around here. Beans don't need much phosphorus.

Fava bean grown for evaluation

Elderberry and black raspberry growing well, benefiting from
 rabbits living on the other side of tin wall