What is the best way to get minerals...

[Tomatovator]

into an earthbox. I am having a problem with some of my Earthbox tomatoes as the leaves are turning purple as are the stems. I posted pics today in the disorder section. I don't think it is a disease but think it is some sort of nutrient deficiency. I tried spraying kelp extract (Bonide) with no help. Should I try fish emulsion or something else?

[dice]

Sounds like phosphorus. You could try spraying some kind of
soluble blossom booster (usually high in phosphorus; some
have a fair amount of ammonium sulfate for nitrogen, too,
so watch out that you don't overdose them on that).

Alaska Fish Fertilizer MorBloom (actually a Lilly-Miller product
these days) has 10% phosphorus and potassium (from
phosphoric acid and muriate of potash) with no nitrogen.
Around $5/quart. The label does not mention any trace elements
or micronutrients, so you might mix the Bonide kelp and a
teaspoon of molasses with it if you try that.

If soil pH is too far outside the ideal range, soluble phosphorus
in the soil can become insoluble by combining with iron and/or
aluminum (low pH) or with calcium (high pH).

Are the plants small and growing very slowly, too? That is an
additional indicator of phosphorus deficiency. Other
deficiencies can cause the purples, but it is usually pretty
obvious when it is a phosphorus deficiency. A lot of people
see it in cold weather in spring, even in soils with sufficient
phosphorus, and then watch it disappear as the weather warms
up.

[mdvpc]

for minerals, you can use azomite. you can also use espoma tomato tone or espoma garden tone-its got all major and minors.

[amideutch]

Check out the Spray-n-Grow perfect blend. I'm using it this year and the results look promising. Ami

[mdvpc]

Ami-is the chemical analysis posted anywhere on the Spray and Grow website? I couldnt find it.

[Tomatovator]

Thanks for the suggestions. I sprayed Kelp extract (Bonide) a few days ago with no noticeable results. Today I picked up some Alaska Fish Fertilizer and just sprayed them with it. I used 1/2 tablespoon in 48oz. of water. By the way could this be a negative reaction to too much Lime? I had several fruits developing BER so as per the Earthbox website I added lime to the water reservoir about a week ago. The 4 affected plants are NAR, Paul Robeson, Steak Sandwich and Supersonic. Interestingly, the hybrids look alot worse than the OP's.

[dcarch]

I have a few bottles of expired multi-vitamin/mineral pills.

I put a few in the fertilizer each time I water.

I don't know if that helps or not.

dcarch

[amideutch]

mdvpc, the perfect blend is a mix of Bill's Perfect Fertilizer 6-11-5 and Spray-N-Grow plus Coco-Wet which is a nonionic wetting agent which is applied as a foliar spray. The Analysis of the Spray-N-Grow is Iron (Fe) 0.10% and Zinc (Zn) 0.05%.
Ami