The EarthTainer "Farm" - July 4 - Fireworks In The Garden

[rnewste]

I am at plant-out plus 3 months as of today, and very happy:



No bugs or fungal diseases as of today. Put up the Sun shade on June 25 as I did last year since we have hit 100 for a few days here.

The WBF BTD Pink continue to produce:



With the Brandy Boys coming on strong:





I am impressed with Applause Hybrid:





And the WBF Cascade Lava are developing nicely:



Sweet Success cukes are reaching maturity:



Harvesting some nice size fruits:



I started a second batch in an EarthBox a few weeks later And these are already topping over their 64" cage:



The NuMex Heritage 6-4 Peppers are thriving:



And the Bianca ivory Peppers taste pretty good:



Some of the July 4 harvest today:



Happy Camper!!

Raybo

[amideutch]

Ray, it don't get better than that. You have it down to a science and it shows. Besides your initial ferts you use on plant out how much supplemental feeds do you use during the course of the growing season.

Ami

[rnewste]

Hi Ami,

I have supplemented the TomatoTone in the initial fertilizer strip when planted, with liquid injection via an EZ-Flo:




I initially used a 20-20-20 fertilizer to build up foliage density, but now have switched over to a 6-30-30 ratio for better fruit development:



I also add some Calcium as well:



Results have been very positive:





Raybo

[RayR]

Raybo, what are you using for Calcium?

[AlittleSalt]

mewste, you have shown reason for me to start learning about supplements. The plants look wonderful.

[HCWithAltitude]

Very nice! I'll be making Earthtainers as my experimental ones made from 18 gal. Target bins wear out in a few years. How many tomato plants do you have in each one?

Where did you get the seeds for the lovely Bianca Ivory Peppers?

Thanks!

HWA

[rnewste]

I place 2 tomato plants in each 31 gallon EarthTainer.

I buy the Bianca Pepper seeds from Johnnys:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6904-bianca.aspx#

They have a very mild "creamy" flavor:



Raybo

[greyghost]

Ray, Your plants and fruits are just absolutely beautiful. I have never seen such perfection in any one garden!!! You're off to a wonderful harvest!
Did you purchase the support system/cage for the Earthbox or adapt fencing
as you did for the "Tainers"?
Darlene

[luigiwu]

When you say 100 is that what the weather person is saying or is that the reading you get on your personal thermometer? my thermometer reading is always sooo much higher than the newscast and it of course is dependant on what surface I have it against...
Once you put our shadecloth up, do you ever roll it up/back or does it just stay up until the end of the season?

[rnewste]

Hi Darlene,

I use the same cages as used with the EarthTainers. They require only one simple bend of 1/2 " to adapt to the EarthBox:



I clamp them in between the EarthBox stand:



If you are not using the stand, you can clamp the cage legs onto the top rim of the EarthBox with 4 or 6 one inch "C" clamps.

Raybo

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

When you say 100 is that what the weather person is saying or is that the reading you get on your personal thermometer? my thermometer reading is always sooo much higher than the newscast and it of course is dependant on what surface I have it against...
Once you put our shadecloth up, do you ever roll it up/back or does it just stay up until the end of the season?

Luigiwu,

Our temps on my WeatherStation in the backyard usually run 5 to 10 degrees warmer than our local weather reporting in San Jose, which is closer to San Francisco Bay.

I now leave the Shade cover on from June 25 until end of September as that is the warmest time here in Campbell, then take it off to help my Fall tomatoes develop.

Raybo

[luigiwu]

Raybo your garden is amazing.

I am all the way on the opposite coast in NYC but when I looked up the temp for your Campbell CA on weather.com, its telling me its 84 degrees today. That's pretty close to our 78 - its cooler today but tomorrow will be 85 and rest of the week will be in the mid-80s.... I wonder if I will do better with a shade cloth for the rest of my grow season but then I worry bout the plants not getting enough photosynthesis?? Only my 2nd year growing... and yes, I worry a lot. None of my tomatoes or other edibles as as ready as yours though (but I think I might be able to harvest my first cucumber tonight!!)
Where do you buy your growmore fertilizers and is salt buildup in the potting mix a concern for you?

[rnewste]

It is not so much the daily temperature, but here we get constant Sun from July through mid-October without any rain (nor cloud cover) so the Sun shade is used to protect against sunscald. In NYC, I don't think a shade is absolutely necessary (we lived in Somerville, NJ for several years and never had a problem with sunscald).

Raybo

[HCWithAltitude]

Originally Posted by rnewste

I place 2 tomato plants in each 31 gallon EarthTainer.

I buy the Bianca Pepper seeds from Johnnys:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6904-bianca.aspx#

They have a very mild "creamy" flavor:

Raybo

Thank you! +adjusts plant list for next year AGAIN+

HWA

[amideutch]

I have supplemented the TomatoTone in the initial fertilizer strip when planted, with liquid injection via an EZ-Flo:

Is this done all the time or do you it intermittently?

Ami