EarthTainer - How many herb plants?

shadrach · June 10, 2010

Hey all! Been reading the boards for a few weeks, and posting for the first time. I searched the forums to see if I could maybe find a guide as to how many plants are recommended in each EarthTainer. I found topics here and there which are helpful but none for my specific question. I built my first EarthTainer and planted some herbs in it just to see if I could actually get some plants to grow. I have tried to grow things before and the longest I ever had things live in the AZ heat was a couple days. The EarthTainer is awesome and I have had the herbs alive for about 6 weeks now. The question I have now is, what amount of herb plants is good to grow in the container? I planted 6 in one (3 sweet basil, german thyme, flat leaf parsley, and rosemary). The basil is going great, and we have used it 3 times in cooking already. The thyme is doing ok, but the rosemary and the parsley are just pretty much the same as they were when they were planted. Is 6 plant too many? What would a good amount for future container builds be, as far as herbs go?

geeboss · June 10, 2010

How large is the container 18 gal, 25 gal, 31 gal. ? If it were 18 gal for instance I might limit myself to 4 plants possibly 5, the large 25 to 31 gal containers should be able to support 6 herb plants. Have you tried using some liquid seaweed/kelp to stimulate the parsley and rosemary? I'd give it a foliar spray and a soil drench every three weeks.

What did you add to the container mix to provide food for your plantings?

George

shadrach · June 10, 2010

I made a 31 gal. container. I filled the container with plating mix and added some organic tomato and herb fertilizer (4-6-3) on the top right down the middle of the container, then planted the plants on either side of the fertilizer. i haven't tried anything on the plants yet, but will be soon, before they die.

geeboss · June 12, 2010

I'm growing Basil in a cutout 1 gal water jug that is 3/4 full of MG potting mix and plant is doing well.

31 gal container will be able to support 6 herb plants, peppers or 2 tomatoe plants.

George

June 10, 2010	#1
shadrach Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 2	EarthTainer - How many herb plants? Hey all! Been reading the boards for a few weeks, and posting for the first time. I searched the forums to see if I could maybe find a guide as to how many plants are recommended in each EarthTainer. I found topics here and there which are helpful but none for my specific question. I built my first EarthTainer and planted some herbs in it just to see if I could actually get some plants to grow. I have tried to grow things before and the longest I ever had things live in the AZ heat was a couple days. The EarthTainer is awesome and I have had the herbs alive for about 6 weeks now. The question I have now is, what amount of herb plants is good to grow in the container? I planted 6 in one (3 sweet basil, german thyme, flat leaf parsley, and rosemary). The basil is going great, and we have used it 3 times in cooking already. The thyme is doing ok, but the rosemary and the parsley are just pretty much the same as they were when they were planted. Is 6 plant too many? What would a good amount for future container builds be, as far as herbs go?

June 10, 2010	#2
geeboss Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fairfax, VA Z7 Posts: 524	How large is the container 18 gal, 25 gal, 31 gal. ? If it were 18 gal for instance I might limit myself to 4 plants possibly 5, the large 25 to 31 gal containers should be able to support 6 herb plants. Have you tried using some liquid seaweed/kelp to stimulate the parsley and rosemary? I'd give it a foliar spray and a soil drench every three weeks. What did you add to the container mix to provide food for your plantings? George

June 12, 2010	#4
geeboss Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fairfax, VA Z7 Posts: 524	I'm growing Basil in a cutout 1 gal water jug that is 3/4 full of MG potting mix and plant is doing well. 31 gal container will be able to support 6 herb plants, peppers or 2 tomatoe plants. George