I buried a handful of crushed expired stool softener tablets in the soil around my August late-season turnip transplants. 3 weeks later, this is what happened

use, mainly nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, plus secondary nutrients and trace minerals. A medication tablet is not built to provide that balance.

On top of that, tablets contain inactive ingredients too, often binders, fillers, coatings, colorants, and anti-caking agents. In tiny amounts, those may not destroy a garden bed, but they also do not support healthy soil biology the way compost, leaf mold, or a proper organic fertilizer can. In my patch, it seemed to create inconsistency rather than improvement.

9. Could the tablets have changed soil moisture?

This was the