Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[ginger2778]

Yes you can use 10-10-10. It works fine. It is purely chemical and will build up salts in your SWC so you absolutely should put it in as a strip so it can be found at the end of the season, and absolutely positively should be removed at the end of every season. Those salts build up some not so good stuff over time.
Your plants don't know their nitrogen source isn't organic. Lol.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Imthechuck

Has anyone just tried plain old 10-10-10 fertilizer in swcs? I am trying to reduce costs this year.

I'be been using 5-10-10 for vegetables but I can get a 40lb bag of 10-10-10 for like $15

I use 10-0-10, which I purchase from one of the big box stores for almost everything in the garden. Once in a while I use some starter fertilizer for seedlings but 10-10-10 for everything else. I don't have any SWCs but I have raised beds, native soil and lots of pots of various size. In the past I used fish emulsion but to me it didn't seem to do much but stink.
Larry

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Yes you can use 10-10-10. It works fine. It is purely chemical and will build up salts in your SWC so you absolutely should put it in as a strip so it can be found at the end of the season, and absolutely positively should be removed at the end of every season. Those salts build up some not so good stuff over time.
Your plants don't know their nitrogen source isn't organic. Lol.

Marsha - This got me thinking about something else you said; about not having to remove the fert strip if organic was used. This seems totally logical to me but what about the first 5" that we always discard b/c of salts. Is that unnecessary too if organic was used? Can we basically reuse the entire box going forward?

I transplanted into my first EB of the season 2 days ago. I used 4 Cups (3 TT/1 C Plant Tone). We shalll see. The recipients Dusky Rose and General Lee (Thanks Marsha).

I also have 6 other plants in their final homes (SunGold, ICD, Painted Pink, Brad's Mix, Wild Fred, and not-NBD). Holding off on many others ready to plant because it is SO hot and harder to control the shade when not in 4" pots.

I have flowering plants already; I can't even imagine Ginny's right now.

Also need to get out a cactus stub in the backyard to get plants off the blazing pool deck.

Morning and Evenings are definitely getting better;

[Fiishergurl]

I must be crazy. ..


Brought the teenagers in because of rain and didnt want them all wet on the trip to Florida.


Loaded up in the back seat...




Ginny

[Barb_FL]

Ginny - when do you begin the journey home? Drive safe.

We got torrential rain right before dark today. I was going to leave all my tweens out, but at the last minute brought them under the porch. Only the 6 teenagers in their permanent homes were left out. The EB was on casters so I was able to roll that back under the porch. I'm so glad I did. Huge heavy rain and threat of hail which I have never seen at our house.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Marsha - This got me thinking about something else you said; about not having to remove the fert strip if organic was used. This seems totally logical to me but what about the first 5" that we always discard b/c of salts. Is that unnecessary too if organic was used? Can we basically reuse the entire box going forward?

I transplanted into my first EB of the season 2 days ago. I used 4 Cups (3 TT/1 C Plant Tone). We shalll see. The recipients Dusky Rose and General Lee (Thanks Marsha).

I also have 6 other plants in their final homes (SunGold, ICD, Painted Pink, Brad's Mix, Wild Fred, and not-NBD). Holding off on many others ready to plant because it is SO hot and harder to control the shade when not in 4" pots.

I have flowering plants already; I can't even imagine Ginny's right now.

Also need to get out a cactus stub in the backyard to get plants off the blazing pool deck.

Morning and Evenings are definitely getting better;

Barb, you actually remove the first 5"? I only remove just the top layer, then dig out the fertilizer strip and discard. Then a cup opf dolomite mixed into the entire remains, then push a mounded up amount near the tube side length. Then I make a trough, put in my 3 cups only of TT, and add Promix BX to fill in and top off until its a well rounded bread loaf.
BTW- I bought one EB stand a few years ago, and I am so glad I did. I haven't gotten the severely sore back I used to suffer with anymore.

The EB forum does say you dont have to dig out the organic fert. Strip, but I do anyway, because that is the only place my promix gets muddy. The rest is damp but yet still has that grainy not soggy feel.
I am replenishing my boxes now, 3 per day.

[Barb_FL]

Marsha - On 'top layer', do you mean the mix above the rim (the loaf part)? Mine isn't too loafy at the end of the season.

I don't have the EB success that you do, but one thing we are doing different is I add the promix more in the middle, so the bottom is reused mix, then promix, then reused mix for the very top and loaf. I probably thought of this since I'm ditching so much of the mix each time and want to get more than 1 use out of the new promix.

On my one EB I filled this year, I'm trying to keep the mix much more 'pressed'. The bottom is pressed hard from the solarizing, then the new Pro-Mix, then the reused mix. I pressed harder than usual but not to the extent I did solarizing thinking the plants would need air.

I really want to have success with the earth boxes this fall.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Marsha - On 'top layer', do you mean the mix above the rim (the loaf part)? Mine isn't too loafy at the end of the season.

I don't have the EB success that you do, but one thing we are doing different is I add the promix more in the middle, so the bottom is reused mix, then promix, then reused mix for the very top and loaf. I probably thought of this since I'm ditching so much of the mix each time and want to get more than 1 use out of the new promix.

On my one EB I filled this year, I'm trying to keep the mix much more 'pressed'. The bottom is pressed hard from the solarizing, then the new Pro-Mix, then the reused mix. I pressed harder than usual but not to the extent I did solarizing thinking the plants would need air.

I really want to have success with the earth boxes this fall.

Mine isn't much of a loaf either, it settles to below the rim. No I just remove the top that is present, it looks awful and discolored. Then the entire mix gets remixed from top to bottom with a cup of garden lime (dolomite lime). That way my most recent mix is reused. Lastly, brand new on top to fill in after the fert.strip is added, piled high.

[Zone9b]

This is a very good example of a Tomatoville page to bookmark. If you use Earth Boxes or ever plan on using them, the exchange of ideas here will be of significant value. I may use them one day and therefore it is bookmarked, so I don't have to attempt through endless searches to find the conversation again.
Larry

[Barb_FL]

Your right Larry - Marsha is the queen of EB. I think the info provided by EB must be for determinate tomatoes. I've been following it for seasons now for tomatoes, even buying many packs of their refill kits. I even bought 2 EB worth of their potting soil (very light on perlite).

Marsha - Thanks for the response. The only part of mine that looks yucky is < a thin frosting on a cake. Too late for this season, but I will keep more of the mix going forward.

Marsha - Are your babies in full sun yet? Since mine are still on the pool deck with all that radiant heat, I'm still throwing the shade cloth over around 11 AM unless there is a mixture of sun/clouds.

I also removed a lot of my pepper plants. I don't want to deal with white flies this year. A few weeks ago when I posted about some of mine with ratty looking leaves and Kay said to get bone meal (I did). I removed all the leaves from 2 of them and they are coming in so nice now.

Kay - That Buena Mulata plant has to be the most productive pepper plant in the world. I like it better when the peppers are bright purple; but they are too hot for me.

[kayrobbins]

Barb, it is a beautiful and productive plant. It would be worth growing just as an ornamental. You should made the Salsa Morada hot sauce. You only use 8 ounce of the purple peppers that have been seeded and 1 1/2 pounds of green bell peppers. It has just a little heat to it and the chocolate in it makes it so good. Even my friends that can't handle much heat at all love it. I can't remember if I sent the recipe with the seeds. If not, I can email it to you.

[Barb_FL]

Yes, please do - I checked once before and I think because they ran out of seeds, they must have taken it off.

[Fiishergurl]

On my way!! Left at 4am.

[ginger2778]

Full sun, Barb. They will be 1 month from seed sow on Saturday.

[Barb_FL]

Looks good Marsha - Are they your Enjoya plants? they really look good.
Do you leave your seedlings out now in all weather even tons/ huge rain?

---
Ginny - Drive safe and report back when you are home.

Larry - any more tomatoes fruiting? Kay - any fruiting other than the micros?