Pros and Cons of the Earthtainer??

[gssgarden]

I've done my research and will probably try a couple this year.

I've read some pros, small spaces, utilizes almost all water, ease, ect

and the cons, smaller fruit, less fruit, cost.

Is there anything I'm missing? How's the plant life? Extended? shortened?

For those of you who have used it, or something like it, would you do it again? Waste?

I've seen Ray's impressive pics here. He's done a wonderful job for sure. Made for a magazine! lol But are those results typical??

Any advice or pics would be appreciated.

thanks in advance,

Greg

[viewsaskew]

I haven't noticed that the plant's life expectancy is altered - it's still subject to the temps unless you have a greenhouse. I find that the mix you use for soil is very important. I used a heavy peat mix my first year - and the roots were drowning in muck by the end of the season. I think Ray's mix suggestions are good. If you can get bark in 1/8th to 1/4" chunks, it works well as part of the mix.

Growing in them is very similar to an Earthbox, to me. It's the home made version. I used them because I had NO ground - I was on the 4th floor of a condo building :-). I prefer growing in ground, but I had extremely fertile land, a horse (so a free supply of composted manure), and didn't have to work hard to grow nice veggies. Now that I'm in a yet again different place, my soil is heavy clay, never has been amended and my latest switch is to fabric pots, such as SmartPots. I like these a LOT. They use more water, but not a lot more I don't think, and the soil mix is less important because of the contact with the ground - it's like growing in a raised bed.

I've planted earlier when using containers - because I can put out a young plant I started and move the container in if it gets cold and cover it as necessary. When planting in ground, I was much more cautious.

Another benefit is that you don't have to work the soil. Make your mix, put it in. No tilling, turning over cover crops hoeing, or whatever you do to prepare. Oh, and another benefit is you don't have to rotate where you plant them. Just dump your soil mix each year, and you can keep them in the same place.

[rnewste]

Regarding "dumping the mix", I recommend digging the rootballs out at the end of the Season not shaking off the attached potting mix, then blending in 1 cubic foot of virgin mix into the remaining mix. You should get about 4 years use this way, before discarding the entire container's mix.

Raybo

[Virtex]

Originally Posted by gssgarden

and the cons, smaller fruit, less fruit, cost.

Your cons are untrue.

Have you seen my pictures? If anything SWC's are more productive and have larger fruit. The cost is similar to that of buying 2 pots from a big box store. I make my own SWC's for less than $10 out of 1 tote.

SWC's are the best way to grow in containers with the least effort. The only thing that can compete is hydroponics and that requires tons of daily maintenance.

The only downside I see is that you get addicted to great results and you make more Earthtainers every year and then your wife yells at you for filling the backyard with yummy vegetables. I built 6 the first year, loved them, second year 12 more, this year making 6 more, if I had more room it would be another 12.

Build yourself some this year and be amazed...but like I said be careful, you will be hooked and before you know it your backyard will be a jungle of totes like the rest of us.

Happy Gardening,

- Scott

[gssgarden]

Ray, I saw that before about the soil. 4 years would be great! Thanks!

Incredible pics you have too. If I get half the results I'll be happy. The regular container thing just isn't doing it for me anymore. Too much maintenance. lol If I miss a day or two in my NC summer heat, the plant wilts pretty quickly and fruit suffers.

Scott, I plan on two...for now. I'm sure the misses won't complain at all! She loves the fresh veggies and really likes what I do out there..

Where can I see you pics? Will look again.

I read somewhere that the fruits are smaller but the taste doesn't suffer, which is good.

ok, Do both hybrids and op's get the same good results?

Thanks,

Greg

[luigiwu]

Greg, have you heard of Larry Hall's Rain Gutter Grow System? All the containers have a continuous supply of water - the containers sit on top of a water trough/gutter where the supply is maintained by a float. He has a facebook group - I highly recommend.

Perhaps I should post some pics of my tomatoes & cukes - when I started last summer, they were daisy-chained SIP buckets (Global Bucket-styl) - - but the idea is the same, continuous water supply, sub-irrigated. Next year though, they are going to be converted to RGGS! Easier as I don't have to deal with setting up tubing etc! My growth was phenomenal but I have nothing to compare it with (the only 2nd time I've ever tried to garden.) Set it up and you literally could just forget about it , except to check for pests!

[dfollett]

The only con I can think of is this: If you try them, you will end up making a bunch more the next year. I made a bunch for me and 4 for my 3 kids, who have never gardened. I wanted them to be able to have success their first time. They loved them and I am now making 7 more for them this year (and several more for myself).

Seriously, they work incredibly well.

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Greg, have you heard of Larry Hall's Rain Gutter Grow System? ...

Well, it's not really Larry's but maybe he invented it unawares of this standard practice in both the commercial cut flower and vegetable production agriculture.

[Virtex]

Here are some of my pics from 2013...the SWC's are in the middle of the slab.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27986

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28406

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28960

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=28749

[amideutch]

Greg, have you heard of Larry Hall's Rain Gutter Grow System?

Checked out the RGGS on YouTube and found it to be an interesting concept if you are a commercial grower and have them in permanent locations. Otherwise for us back yard gardeners
it may not work out to well especially if you find yourself needing to move the grow containers during the course of the growing season. And would not lend well to being put on a deck, balcony, or patio. And the rain gutter does not provide much of a reservoir in case of water supply failure.

As far as EarthTainers are concerned, there are no cons. They have been engineered, tested, revised and tested again. Several types of aggregate, fertilizers and mycrobial products have also been tried and tested and documented with the ET by the creator to the point it is a no-brainer to build, set up and be successful in growing food crops with the emphasis on tomatoes. There is a PDF online that lists materials, supplies, suppliers and instructions on how to build, set up and use your ET. And if that ain't enough you can shoot him a PM if you have any questions on the ET. It don't get much better than that.

Ami

[luigiwu]

Ami, everyone I know in that RGGS facebook group is a home gardener... Mine are connected to my wall hydrant - city water - so it is always on. Others have hooked theirs up to rain barrels. (Water supply in that case is only limited by how many you chain together.) Any container with indeterminate tomatoes (haven't grown determinates yet) will prove to be challenging to MOVE - lol.

Anyways with tomatoes, the idea is the constant water supply is key. Depending on your reservoir, you might need to refill it during the height of grow season. I could not do that as I work away from home, so that's why I adore the RGGS system so much!

My tiny garden is in a west facing exposure and I was super pleased with how it all performeed. I grew indeterminates and had them in 5-gallon SIP buckets. While the tubing did allow me to move them around if I wished, their ginormous growth and height with all the crazy staking we did to support them, would NOT have actually make that viable. Next year I'm going to try some grow bags instead of plastic buckets for the healthy effects of air-pruning.

I don't know if you guys can see this pics or not:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

[amideutch]

Understand. Once you have your rain gutter in place and it looks like they are using 4x4's to support the gutters as well as the containers they aren't going anywhere. As long as you can put them in a straight line you are OK. But if you do loose the water supply to the gutter you can have problems especially in hot weather as there are no reservoirs in the containers. Kind of reminds me of the NFT technique in hydroponics.

SIPS be a different animal and they don't have to be installed in a straight line like the RGGS. I used a couple 20 gal Smart Pots last year for my Margaret Curtain and Tarasnko 6 Ind's and the only issue was supporting the fruit load of the plants and is a problem with growing in containers. Raybo's ET's address that issue very well and is not a problem.

The only other problem I see with the RGGS is you better have the plants tied down if your in an area that gets windy weather because if a T-Storm come through they will all be laying on the ground after the storm passes.

[gssgarden]

Ami, you brought up a good point. How do the plants handle high winds? Do the topple over for you?
I remember a few of your pics a while back and you had them tied or supported by a fence, right?

We get some pretty bad thunderstorms here in the spring and I'd hate to see them get toppled over and destroy them.

Thanks

Greg

[rnewste]

As there is more than 100+ pounds of mix and water anchoring the EarthTainer, I've never heard of one blowing over in the wind. Could happen I suppose in a Cat 3 hurricane - but then you've got more important problems to deal with.......

Here is a link to the most recent construction guide published in April of 2013 - - no changes have been made since then.

http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pd...tion-Guide.pdf

Raybo

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by rnewste

As there is more than 100+ pounds of mix and water anchoring the EarthTainer, I've never heard of one blowing over in the wind. Could happen I suppose in a Cat 3 hurricane - but then you've got more important problems to deal with.......

Here is a link to the most recent construction guide published in April of 2013 - - no changes have been made since then.

http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pd...tion-Guide.pdf

Raybo

Earthboxes are smaller, probably hold half the weight, and they definitely blow over in high wind, even med. wind! Earthtainers have a definite advantage there.

Marsha