Earl's Hole Method of Growing Tomatoes

[sio2rocks]

Hi everyone,

I am curious if anyone on this forum has seen this method in action or used it in the past (I know it's on Garden Web and they sometimes are somewhat biased so I'd liked to hear from people here). I used it with some variations last year and wondered if I should repeat this year. I had really good growth and production early in the season, but it rapidly dopped off for most variaties later in the summer here in zone 7b. Could have been just from the heat we experienced last summer (I used a drip irrigation system with emitters at each plant so I doubt it was a watering issue). Mostly I used a half bag of composted material (either cow or worm compost), half bag of peat, handful or bone meal, handful of epsom salts, and a handful and a half of a organic tomato and vegetable complete fertilizer (either Espoma brand or Jobes brand). I dug a hole about 1.5 ft. deep and as much as 2 ft. wide and mixed this mixture about half and half with the soil I removed. Then I planted my transplants in a well on top all of this.

Link for instructions:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/l...023725174.html (all rights reserved of whoever Earl is)

Colin

[Redbaron]

I used to do something like that years ago, back when I still tilled. It works pretty good. Now I no-till, so I don't oversize the hole nearly as much. I still like to mix compost and/or manure in the hole though.

[carolyn137]

Colin, Earl used to post here all the time and first gave his recipe here several times.

Many in the past have used his recipe, that I know, but lots of new folks here who probably know nothing about it. I thought it was rather complicated, but that's just me.

Have a soil test done and see if the soil needs anything is perhaps a good way to go.

But none of us have seen him here in several years and I think he had some medical problems.

Edited to add that I just checked and his last post here was in August of 2011.

Carolyn

[amideutch]

Normally in high temps your plants won't set fruit till the temperatures drop. I've seen it where I had excellent fruit set prior to July and then no fruit set till mid August when the temps dropped.

Otherwise If your plants had no other problems and it looks like they are happy with the technique, go for it.

Ami

[sio2rocks]

Originally Posted by amideutch

Normally in high temps your plants won't set fruit till the temperatures drop. I've seen it where I had excellent fruit set prior to July and then no fruit set till mid August when the temps dropped.

Otherwise If your plants had no other problems and it looks like they are happy with the technique, go for it.

Ami

Yeah I think this year I am going to invest in a piece of shade cloth to put over top some of my babies once it gets to be July. They just got cooked last year when the temps got above 105F up to the high of 113F last summer. The ones that did survive never recovered enough to give much of a fall crop. Hope this year won't be as extreme.

Here's to hoping,
Colin

When someone says they grow tomatoes the same way their grandaddy grew tomatoes. I know immediately they are using some variation of the "Earls Hole" method. The variables are usually the fertilizer, the organics, the hole size or a few other things. The method works, but I don't believe it is any better than improving the soil in the entire garden or bed over a period of time. The hole method simply provides a quick and easy island of fertility in an ocean of poor soil. I use a similar method for planting trees on my property. It provides a two year window for the tree roots too acclimate to the stressful environment they will live in.

As a side note, I miss Earl on this forum. He sent me a good supply of seed he was growing when I first joined the forum. We traded some seed by PM. I sent him my seed he wanted and received a large package in the mail with about forty varieties of seed when I was expecting only eight or ten varieties. I believe he grew tomatoes in New Mexico and Pennsylvania each year. He always seemed to be a kind of crotchety old guy. My kind of people.

Ted

[Cole_Robbie]

The expression I've read is "dig a $20 hole for a $2 tomato."

Last year my hole recipe was osmocote, greensand and bat guano. My tomatoes loved it, but my peppers didn't. I am going to add some cow or horse manure this year as well.

[tomatoguy]

I use the hole method in my raised bed, whenever the soil is soaked at my ideal planting time. Even the improved growing medium I use still has plenty of Tennessee clay in it. My recipe is just my homemade compost, greensand and some rock phosphorus. Works like a charm.

mater