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#391 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: California
Posts: 942
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RayR or B54red I've noticed that the DE you two are using look much more finer than the stuff i am using. Mine look more granular. Do you prefer the finer grain than the granular stuff? I did not buy the Ultrasorb. The one i picked up was a 25 lb bag and it was 100% DE.
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#392 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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Delerium the only one I have ever tried is UltraSorb and I'm very happy with it. I don't think I would want one that was finer because of its tendency to leak out of the watering holes and the increased dust when handling it dry.
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#393 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Idaho
Posts: 111
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my plants in DE keep dying off when i transplant them, The DE gets very crumbly and is hard to get them out of their cells with much DE attatched. Anyone else experience this?
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#394 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Cheektowaga, NY
Posts: 2,466
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They are pretty much bare rooted when you remove them from DE except for what is attached to the root hairs. |
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#395 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Idaho
Posts: 111
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guess i need to be more gentle. i did put them in an enviroment where it's about 60 degrees as opposed to 70+. i'll give it another go in a week or so.
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#396 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Cheektowaga, NY
Posts: 2,466
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Here's a pic of both types side by side for those who have not seen one or the other. |
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#397 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: California
Posts: 942
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RayR what are your thoughts of using something like OptiSorb in an earthbox? Do you think due to this wicking ability that the container will have a more uniform moisture throughout the mixture. The reason i am asking is for eg growing a tomato plant in a container usually has BER issues due to inconsistent watering. And since the Earthbox functions with bottom watering / wicking i wonder if BER issues would go away. I am thinking of trying this out with maybe 1 box and see how it does compared to your standard potting mix.
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#398 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Cheektowaga, NY
Posts: 2,466
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It works good as an amendment in my regular containers. |
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#399 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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One of the things I really liked about the DE is how easy it was to separate it from the roots when transplanting onions. I just let it get fairly dry and shook the onions after dumping them out of the pot and the DE just fell away and it was so much easier to separate the individual onions. |
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#400 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 637
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b54red,
How do you think the 'dense seeding' like the nctomatoguy does, using Metromix, only using DE instead, in the small cells? He uses the 50 cell trays and puts about 20 to 35 seeds in each 1.5 inch cell. I wonder how many seeds one could grow in the egg carton cell. |
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#401 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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This is getting really interesting. My peppers in 3 ice cube trays are nearly all up and growing. Today I sowed my tomatoes- I did a flat of 28 5oz clear plastic cups- 10 varieties with 2 seeds per cup, to be cut to 1 each later. I decided to mix half & half Ultrasorb & ProMix. It wicked up the water very well.
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#402 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California Central Valley
Posts: 2,542
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Also, you can use an old fork or spoon to help get them out of the cells -- whatever small tool you have on hand that can scoop the media out of the cell. So you prepare the new pot first. Then you have one hand supporting the top leaf (if necessary -- you may not need to touch it at all) and the other hand scooping, and you gently ease the seedling into its new pot, with whatever DE sticks to the rootball. Last edited by habitat_gardener; February 13, 2013 at 01:50 AM. |
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#403 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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The more plants in the small cell the faster the moisture is used up and they need more frequent watering. With the damping off problems I have had I just use more egg cartons and give my seedlings a little breathing room. I have noticed in the past that damping off can be much worse in densely planted trays so I avoid it when I can. Another great benefit of the egg cartons is how cheap they are. Just ask a few people to save them for you and before you know it you have more than you could possibly use. |
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#404 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 637
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Thanks for the reply b54red. I was thinking maybe 2 seeds in the egg cups. OH, believe me, I have egg carton savers out there! As I have already said, I can put 50 egg cups in one tray, 1 being a dozen and a half eggs, 1 being a dozen eggs, and I cut 2 1 dozen down with just 10 cups each. So maybe on the older seeds I'll place 2 seeds in to be sure I get a better chance of germination.
I'm going to Good Will today to look for the perfect 2 pronged fork type of 'pricking out' fork. Most likely I'll just use your scooping out with a spoon method though. |
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#405 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ohio
Posts: 4,350
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Use a sharpened pencil. You can write with it and use it as a pricking out tool. trust me, I am willing to do multiple jobs with one tool if it will get it done, not all this stuff to dig through everytime I lay something down. We used a pencil all the time when I worked in a commercial greenhouse.
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carolyn k |
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