Opinions on wicking in SWCs

wxcrawler · May 16, 2012

Last year was my first year trying SWCs with a 4" wicking basket in 14 and 18 gal totes. My different tomatoes did fairly well considering the heat we had here in Oklahoma last year. But most of the time, my tomatoes showed varying signs of stress that I think was due to overwatering from the large wicking basket.

This year, I decided to use 3/8" nylon rope for wicks instead of a basket. I planted different varieties from March 16-30 in 5 gallon, 14 gal, and 18 gal SWCs using the 3:2:1 mix and using one wick in the 5 gallon buckets and 2 wicks in the 14 and 18 gallon totes. My tomatoes are doing fairly well again so far, but are showing signs of overwatering again (leaf curl and roll, a little low-stem yellowing, etc). I also had LOTS of BER on my first tomatoes on just about every plant. That seems to have fixed itself now, thankfully. The stress isn't real bad, and I have lot's of tomatoes. But it bothers me that they are stressed.

I'm seeking opinions on what I may have done wrong or what I may do differently next year.

Thanks.

Lee
Tulsa,OK

May 16, 2012	#1
wxcrawler Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 115	Opinions on wicking in SWCs Last year was my first year trying SWCs with a 4" wicking basket in 14 and 18 gal totes. My different tomatoes did fairly well considering the heat we had here in Oklahoma last year. But most of the time, my tomatoes showed varying signs of stress that I think was due to overwatering from the large wicking basket. This year, I decided to use 3/8" nylon rope for wicks instead of a basket. I planted different varieties from March 16-30 in 5 gallon, 14 gal, and 18 gal SWCs using the 3:2:1 mix and using one wick in the 5 gallon buckets and 2 wicks in the 14 and 18 gallon totes. My tomatoes are doing fairly well again so far, but are showing signs of overwatering again (leaf curl and roll, a little low-stem yellowing, etc). I also had LOTS of BER on my first tomatoes on just about every plant. That seems to have fixed itself now, thankfully. The stress isn't real bad, and I have lot's of tomatoes. But it bothers me that they are stressed. I'm seeking opinions on what I may have done wrong or what I may do differently next year. Thanks. Lee Tulsa,OK