Raybo's 2015 EarthTainer "Farm" Planted - April 4

[rnewste]

Well, after a 6700 mile round trip to the East Coast all of March, I have finally been able to get the seedlings planted out on April 4. Here is my final planting layout:





I have 2 volunteer plants which reseeded themselves over our mild Winter and one has set fruit already:



Will be interesting to see what variety it turns out to be.

My Cascade Lava from the WBF collection is flowering nicely:



The NuMex Heritage 6-4 are planted in an elevated EarthBox to receive better Sun exposure:



And several Peppers have begun to develop:



Some of the additional EarthTainers:



Cukes (Sweet Success) and other Peppers are developing well.


The Early Thickset plant has a nice Pepper already:



I have moth-balled 13 EarthTainers this year due to the California drought (no corn, celery, or other high
water consumption vegetables). Even the Hot Tub will be out of operation this year.

Raybo

[JamesL]

Beautiful Ray! No hottub?!?
I read a SoCal article today that suggested a pool was a better use of water than a lawn....

[rnewste]

James,

I've got to find an alternate spot to "supervise" the garden this year.



Filling Hot Tubs is out of the the question this year and probably for several years to come, until we get a different Winter storm pattern here in California.

Raybo

[JamesL]

With no rain I envision a Lazyboy and umbrella. Maybe a grandkid with a big fan.....

[Tracydr]

Dang!
I've been wanting one of those tubs for awhile. Hoping my parents move here and bring their small tub with them. Oh, that would be nice after a hard day's work or working in the garden! My back,neck,hops and knees would be so grateful!

[rwsacto]

Ray!

Don't give up the hot tub!
1. Get a floating cover (bubble wrap) and stop evaporation
2. Put some bleach in after each use-don't drain
3. Don't take a shower after soaking!
4. Enjoy. After all this is the California lifestyle.

Rick

[aclum]

Hi Raybo,

Your garden looks beautiful - as usual !

I applaud your water conservation efforts! Your mention of not growing celery this season reminded me of something we heard on the radio (KGO) during the drought of 78. (I think that was the year of our last big drought). People were calling in with suggestions on how to save water and some guy called in and said that we could save water if restaurants gave people celery sticks when they sat down to eat rather than the usual complimentary glass of water. Talk about dim witted . I still get a laugh thinking about it.

My veggie garden will be somewhat reduced in size this year and we'll be cutting WAY back on the lawn and general landscape watering (if not eliminating it entirely). I may end up doing sort of a modified type of "dry farming" of the tomatoes out of necessity this year !

Anne

[peebee]

Raybo, why not create the Ultimate Earthtainer with the hot tub? With your expertise, if anyone can, you can. Think of how many tomatoes you can grow in that one! Drain the existing water in something so that you can reuse it later in the Hot Tubtainer.

[Vespertino]

Good luck with the tomatoes Raybo! Are any of the varieties you're growing this year new to the 'tainer garden?

[rnewste]

peebee,

I don't think I can figure out a cage system for a Hot TubTainer

Your Momotaro Fight (on the right) from the Takii Seeds you sent me is doing well, Momotaro F1 from Kitazawa Seed on the left:





Vesperino,

I have several first time Varieties this year.

Here is the Novcerkasskij 416:




Cascade Lava (left) and Dark Galaxy:



And Dragon's Eye:



All are greening up nicely.

Raybo

[SharonRossy]

Gorgeous! Love it!

[peebee]

Please do post your opinions on these varieties when the season's over. Also, please LMK if there is any difference between the 2 Momotaros.
As usual, your 'Tainers are looking good Raybo!

[lexxluthor]

Very nice plants and like those cages. Looks extremely neat and clean.

[dokutaaguriin]

Thanks for sharing the pics once again. I always enjoy seeing them as harbinger of what is to come for us up north.
Jeff