The EarthTainer Guide Rev. 3.8 Now Available

rnewste · April 26, 2013

Updates to the Construction Guide are now posted at this link:

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

Raybo

Vespertino · April 26, 2013

Thanks, Raybo! I'm growing my first tomatoes in an earthtainer. So far so good!

rnewste · April 26, 2013

Once your plants get to be about 3 feet high, prune the bottom 12 to 14 inches of foliage. This will encourage better air flow and delay the onset of fungal issues.

Raybo

Vespertino · April 26, 2013

Thanks, will do! The guide is very helpful! I'm building a second earthtainer this weekend with some mosquito-proofing.

feldon30 · April 27, 2013

Ray,

First thanks for the Earthtainer guide!

If I can make a suggestion. I'd move the "Shopping List" right up to page 2, convert it to a bullet point list, and spread out the text a bit so it's a little more readable. I ended up making multiple trips to Lowe's as I was building "on the fly" and missed a couple of key items.

Also I know you feel that the Dupont Landscape Fabric is crucial, but not only is it absurdly expensive for only 1-2 Earthtainers but it's just not available locally that I've been able to find. I ended up buying the Lowe's stuff that's medium duty thickness and $15 for 150 ft. It seemed fairly rigid to me.

Otherwise, I'll say as a noob to building an Earthtainer, it took me about 3 hours with a Dremel to cut all the plastic, screw pieces together, vacuum up the mess, etc. before I even got to the soil filling stage. Maybe I've lost my touch of gardening after 3 years away.

With the cost of the two tubs, plus the landscape fabric and other parts, and you add up the labor, it's not that far off from an Earthbox if you are just making one. But I can see how it would be cost effective if you are making 3 or more of them.

Chrissykin · April 28, 2013

Raybo, I just want to say how awesome you are! You devote so much of your time to helping others. I am an earthbox girl but I still read these guides and learn so much.

I just got 12 more earthboxes delivered today and am anxious to use your info to get maximum results from them.

FrozenFlame22 · May 20, 2013

What are the differences between version 3.8 and 3.7? I finished making 6 version 3.7s last month and I'd like to know what tweaks have been made to the design.

The only problem we've had so far is we had the drill at a too low speed when drilling the aeration holes which caused some cracking. It isn't horrible but I can tell that this particular EarthTainer isn't going to last as long as the others. Once we locked the drill on a higher speed then we didn't have any more problems with cracking.

I had some difficulty finding parts. As you know from a previous post you kindly responded to, I couldn't get ProMix BX in my area. ProMix HP is available at all Lowes, but they won't special order BX. I used Sunshine Mix Advanced #4, which I understand won't work as well because of the coir, but since it is already bought and installed with perlite and fertilizer, I can't really take it back now. I'd love to see more more notes about grow media and what we should be looking for when evaluating alternatives. None of the local Lowes, Walmarts, or Ace Hardwares (they have mini nurseries in my area) sell dolomite lime, perlite, tomato fertilizer, starting fertilizer, or the 7" mesh net. I'm amazed at how big these gardening centers are and yet they lack the basics!

I finally found 7" mesh net at a hydroponics store (same place I found the lime, perlite, fertilizer, and Sunshine Mix) and I picked up a product I wasn't sure about. Last night when reading through some older posts, I came across one that you included a photo of the product you use. It was the same one I had bought! Could this picture be included in the guide as well as the product name in the parts list?

I'm very excited about my first year growing tomatoes and I really appreciate this detailed guide! For the most part, this was very easy to follow, even for someone who is completely new to gardening. I especially appreciate all the notes on fertilizer and grow media amendments. Thank you!

rnewste · May 20, 2013

The differences are minor. Just new photos.

Sunshine Advanced Mix will work fine - I just had better results with Pro-Mix. BTW, the Pro-Mix HP can be used as well, but dial down the amount of added Perlite since it already contains a lot. You can get the Dolomite Lime at Home Depot (Espoma brand). I was trying to keep the Guide at 19 pages in length - perhaps I should add a better planting section in a future update.

The Lowes Centrex containers will not crack when drilling - I can only assume you used a different container.

The mesh netting which I know will fit the cages is Dalen 7 inch netting:

http://www.amazon.com/Dalen-Gardenee...s+mesh+netting

The Hydrofarms brand netting web is too small and will not fit.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Raybo

FrozenFlame22 · May 20, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnewste

The differences are minor. Just new photos.

Sunshine Advanced Mix will work fine - I just had better results with Pro-Mix. BTW, the Pro-Mix HP can be used as well, but dial down the amount of added Perlite since it already contains a lot. You can get the Dolomite Lime at Home Depot (Espoma brand). I was trying to keep the Guide at 19 pages in length - perhaps I should add a better planting section in a future update.

That's good to know! I'll use ProMix HP next year since it is much cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnewste

The Lowes Centrex containers will not crack when drilling - I can only assume you used a different container.

Double checked, and it is the Centrex brand. The sticker was still on the side. I wasn't the one drilling at the time, but my husband said that the drill speed was very, very slow and he was using a lot of force. He was also trying to drill through 4 containers at once and it was the bottom one that cracked. It is possible that we just got a defective container.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnewste

The mesh netting which I know will fit the cages is Dalen 7 inch netting:

http://www.amazon.com/Dalen-Gardenee...s+mesh+netting

The Hydrofarms brand netting web is too small and will not fit.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Raybo

I bought the Dalen 5ft x 30 ft 7 inch mesh. I'm going to have to cut it down to size. I had only bought one because they were very expensive at the hydroponics store. Thank you for the Amazon link. I think I'll get the rest through Amazon since they were so expensive and my tomatoes don't really need them right away.

rnewste · May 20, 2013

My recommendation is to drill 2 or 3 max. at a time. The drill bit can go through a sidewall of the bottom container otherwise.

Remember on the mesh, you want to end up with panels of 3 good strings by 5 good strings.

Raybo

lapk78 · May 21, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by rnewste

Once your plants get to be about 3 feet high, prune the bottom 12 to 14 inches of foliage. This will encourage better air flow and delay the onset of fungal issues.

Raybo

Ray (or anyone), do you find that plants (esp. Tomatoes) grown in EarthTainers are more prone to fungal issues? Thanks?

Lyle

April 26, 2013	#1
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	The EarthTainer Guide Rev. 3.8 Now Available Updates to the Construction Guide are now posted at this link: http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pd...tion-Guide.pdf Raybo

April 27, 2013	#5
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Ray, First thanks for the Earthtainer guide! If I can make a suggestion. I'd move the "Shopping List" right up to page 2, convert it to a bullet point list, and spread out the text a bit so it's a little more readable. I ended up making multiple trips to Lowe's as I was building "on the fly" and missed a couple of key items. Also I know you feel that the Dupont Landscape Fabric is crucial, but not only is it absurdly expensive for only 1-2 Earthtainers but it's just not available locally that I've been able to find. I ended up buying the Lowe's stuff that's medium duty thickness and $15 for 150 ft. It seemed fairly rigid to me. Otherwise, I'll say as a noob to building an Earthtainer, it took me about 3 hours with a Dremel to cut all the plastic, screw pieces together, vacuum up the mess, etc. before I even got to the soil filling stage. Maybe I've lost my touch of gardening after 3 years away. With the cost of the two tubs, plus the landscape fabric and other parts, and you add up the labor, it's not that far off from an Earthbox if you are just making one. But I can see how it would be cost effective if you are making 3 or more of them. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

April 26, 2013	#2
Vespertino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Southlake, TX Posts: 743	Thanks, Raybo! I'm growing my first tomatoes in an earthtainer. So far so good!

April 28, 2013	#6
Chrissykin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: IL Posts: 87	Raybo, I just want to say how awesome you are! You devote so much of your time to helping others. I am an earthbox girl but I still read these guides and learn so much. I just got 12 more earthboxes delivered today and am anxious to use your info to get maximum results from them.

May 20, 2013	#7
FrozenFlame22 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 10	What are the differences between version 3.8 and 3.7? I finished making 6 version 3.7s last month and I'd like to know what tweaks have been made to the design. The only problem we've had so far is we had the drill at a too low speed when drilling the aeration holes which caused some cracking. It isn't horrible but I can tell that this particular EarthTainer isn't going to last as long as the others. Once we locked the drill on a higher speed then we didn't have any more problems with cracking. I had some difficulty finding parts. As you know from a previous post you kindly responded to, I couldn't get ProMix BX in my area. ProMix HP is available at all Lowes, but they won't special order BX. I used Sunshine Mix Advanced #4, which I understand won't work as well because of the coir, but since it is already bought and installed with perlite and fertilizer, I can't really take it back now. I'd love to see more more notes about grow media and what we should be looking for when evaluating alternatives. None of the local Lowes, Walmarts, or Ace Hardwares (they have mini nurseries in my area) sell dolomite lime, perlite, tomato fertilizer, starting fertilizer, or the 7" mesh net. I'm amazed at how big these gardening centers are and yet they lack the basics! I finally found 7" mesh net at a hydroponics store (same place I found the lime, perlite, fertilizer, and Sunshine Mix) and I picked up a product I wasn't sure about. Last night when reading through some older posts, I came across one that you included a photo of the product you use. It was the same one I had bought! Could this picture be included in the guide as well as the product name in the parts list? I'm very excited about my first year growing tomatoes and I really appreciate this detailed guide! For the most part, this was very easy to follow, even for someone who is completely new to gardening. I especially appreciate all the notes on fertilizer and grow media amendments. Thank you!