General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.
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May 29, 2018 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 2,000
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May 30, 2018 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2006
Location: N. California
Posts: 701
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"For container gardening, the solarizing gives you something to do with the mix while you wait for the new season. I almost think of it as worthwhile storage."
That makes sense, but I find myself wanting to use them year round. Here are my fall-winter-spring peas (sweet peas, sugar snaps. I still grow favas in the ground. . I also do shallots, garlic, potatoes in the cool season. Ths year I will try to rest a few boxes August and September. ETA One of these things is not like the others. #5 doesn't belong. Last edited by Shrinkrap; May 30, 2018 at 05:32 PM. |
May 30, 2018 | #3 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Indialantic, Florida
Posts: 2,000
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May 29, 2018 | #4 |
Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Co-Founder
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: The Niagara Frontier
Posts: 942
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Sounds like this became the EB Forum. Does anybody here use Larry Hall's Walmart fabric bag rain gutter system, or just 5-gallon buckets with drip?
I never completed an EarthBox yet... tried about 8-10 years ago--had (2) 18 gallon Sterilites, bought some net-pots, a stick of 1.25" PVC, zip-ties, etc., but never finished one---it seemed like many conflicting ideas (many got BER, don't use compost, only certain fertilizers, cheesy hardware store tomato cages, etc.) everything was the opposite of what I had in stock/already bought, so the outlay for 60-80 plants was unaffordable for me, not to mention using 2 Rubbermaids to make one EB. Oh! And pine bark fines are some magical item that only appear in a leap year during a full solar eclipse only visable above the 43rd parallel, that or they are just non-existent here... |
May 29, 2018 | #5 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
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May 30, 2018 | #6 |
Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Co-Founder
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: The Niagara Frontier
Posts: 942
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May 30, 2018 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
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May 30, 2018 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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OT. For all you southerners, don't ur plastic EB's get brittle over time ? Unless you don't move them much so the edges, etc you don't see how brittle they can get ? I swore off plastic containers a long time ago. The only ones I have is 2 really large double walled (insulated) containers that flank the garage doors but these actually come with a 10 yr warranty from the manuf.
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May 30, 2018 | #9 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
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May 30, 2018 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: 7B
Posts: 281
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interesting......
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June 1, 2018 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Allentown, PA
Posts: 349
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I have three EarthTainers. Two have survived 2 years in the northeast and 4.5 years in Florida, the other one just 4 years in Florida. They look a tad rough but have yet to crack or stop functioning in any way. I'd say I got my money's worth. I clean them out once a year.
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July 11, 2018 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Posts: 302
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Ginger I have a question (or 11) about your post on 1 teaspoon calcium nitrate and 1/3 teaspoon epsom salts weekly... is that per plant? Mixed with how much water? What are the epsom salts for?
I have been learning more about fertilizers in my containers but still have problems understanding it all. One year I used 20-20-20 blue stuff. My plants were 15' tall but never flowered. Now I start with 10-15-10 but have moved to15-15-30. But what is the difference between that and say 18-18-21 (I have a Miracle Grow with that mix) or say my Shultz 4-5-8??? I am still confused but the plants look great. We have a short season so not much room for error. Our last frost this year was June 15th... Any help is appreciated. Most of my toms are in 5 gallon pails (19 litres here... metric always sound so much bigger, lol!). My peppers are in 9" pots. Thanks, Pete in PEI Canada
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Thanks; Iron Pete "We can agree to disagree." |
July 11, 2018 | #13 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10
Posts: 9,283
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I think you need to learn about what role N, what role P, and what role K play in a plant's development, flowering, and root formation. You want a low nitrogen once it starts flowering, a slightly higher phosphorus, and about twice as high Potassium as Nitrogen. 4-6-8 for example. |
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July 12, 2018 | #14 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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Organics have all sorts of microelements and also a good amount of calcium (especially chicken), but it's never mentioned how much. Calcium is important depending on your watering water and if you don't add it it will be problematic for taste first. |
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July 18, 2018 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Chicago
Posts: 70
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I have been using some processed chicken poop, earthworm castings and Neptune Fish and Seaweed liquid fertilizer on my tomato plants at a rented plot in a Chicago suberb. I have some tomatoes and flowers at the top of the plants. I have been fertilizing every two weeks or so up to this point, switching products. Somebody said I need to lighten up on the nitrogen at this point. Should I switch to a product like Tomato Tone, and, if so, how often should I fertilize? Signed, Baffled and Very Humbly Yours.
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