Question
QUESTION: Hello, I just found this site, how wonderful of you to do this! Thank you.
I moved to an area 2 years ago that has mostly clay. East TN, grow zone 7. I have had a problem with my plants being stunted. Examples: I put a veggie garden in, a small one last year to try it. I have mostly clay, so I turned over about 2 feet of it, added bagged top soil and some manure before I planted. I put in asparagus, green peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. The asparagus came up, the cucumbers did ok but only a few fruits. The tomatoes and peppers did not grow. They did not die, they just did not grow. The plants, though small, looked very healthy and green. I got 2 peppers about the size of a dime, no tomatoes. I did not attempt this year but my asparagus did come back. I have raised great veggies in other areas, so not new to gardening.
In my flower gardens I have done the same thing, turn over the clay, add top soil and mix it all together really good and I mulch the top with pine bark and or generic dark mulch. I planted some bulbs, Hostas and Peonies are two. They came up then stopped growing two years in a row now. They look healthy but still look like the first two weeks growth and they have been up for almost 2 months now. My peonies are only about a foot tall and have 3 branches, about 5 leaves each, no buds and no growth. Hostas, same thing. I planted boxwoods, same, healthy but no size growth in 2 years. Petunias seem to grow really well and flower but everything else gets stunted. I use Miracle grow fertilizer. Last year I used the kind you mix up in the water, this year I tried the 3 month granules.
I know, I need to have the soil tested but well...it's Sunday, thought I would ask first.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have for me.

ANSWER: Hi Mary, Unfortunately, in reading about your problem, nothing just jumps out at me as a cause.  So let's cover a few basic things to check.
Check your pH. Everything you mentioned above should do quite well in the 6 to 6.5 range.
Next let's check to see what water is doing in your soil.  Dig a 12" x 12" hole in the area you amended and fill it with water.  It should be gone in a couple of hours.  If it's gone in 15 minutes or full tomorrow, then we have a drainage issue to address.
Dig another hole in an area that you have not amended and repeat the same procedure and see if you get different results.  This may tell us what's happening below the area you amended.
Dig up a stunted plant and see if the roots have ventured out of their original rootball into the surrounding soil.
When you dig, do you notice more than 10 grub worms per square foot?
When you dig does the hole fill up with water or does it seem moist when you think it should be dry?
Are the vegetables getting at least 8 hours of full, uninterrupted sun?
Stunted growth is associated with one or more of the things above.  The addition of a fertilizer will make a plant look better but still perform poorly.
If the cause doesn't become obvious to you after you've done everything above, get back with me and the results and we'll "dig a little deeper". Jim

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jim,
Ok, I did the fill up the hole and wait tests, both holes took a little over 2 hours to drain, so I think we are good there?
OK, I got a PH kit from Home Depot. I consider myself pretty good with this kind of thing and I followed the directions to the "T" so I am confident I did the tests corectly, this is what I found out.
It tests the PH in one tube...that is good, right about 7.0 so that is good I believe.
The next tube was Nitrogen, it was so low it wouldn't even register on the chart, I had a feeling the soil was low on nitrogen from what I read about stunted plant growth, this confirms it.
The next tube was Phosphorous, this is very high, it turned the darkest blue, even a bit darker than the highest level on the chart.
The final tube is for Potash. This is at a low to medium level so I believe that is ok.
NOW------How do I increase the levels of nitrogen and possibly add some potash but not increase or even decrease the levels of phosphorous in my soil? I heard coffee grounds in hte hole where you plant helps add nitrogen???
Do you believe this is the sole source for my stunded plants?

Answer
Hi Mary, I think you've found the problem.  We want to add some nitrogen, but not too much. Beautiful tomato plants that don't produce tomatoes are sort of pointless.
Apply nitrate of soda (16-0-0) to the area at 1/2 lb. per 100 sq. feet. Let's do this every 2 weeks on the asparagus but realize it's usually the 3rd year before we harvest any.  On anything that produces a fruit, side dress each plant with a tablespoon scattered around the rootzone on the same schedule.  Water thoroughly afterward, nitate of soda can burn dry plants.  Also apply muriate of potash   (0-0-60) at 1 lb. per 100 sq. ft. to correct the potash problem.  
As your vegetables reach bearing size, try reducing the nitrate of soda and spray feed them once a week with a   20-20-20 water soluble fertilizer.  
You probably will not find the above items at Home Depot, you're more likely to find them at an indepedant garden center or co-op.  Let me know how it goes.  Jim