Looking for advice

Asimov · May 23, 2015

Newbie here, I will apologise in advance for what will probably be a long winded post, but I will post everything that might be relevant and see what people say.

Okay the situation is: The gardening bug bit me and the wife this year, but neither one of us are really good at it. I havent met a house plant yet that we havent managed to kill. Im pretty sure we have some fake plants that died on how. HOWEVER, we want to overcome that and we bought a bunch of trees and shrubs (Cherry, plum, haskap, blueberry, strawberry, pineberry, haskap, spearmint, dill, chives, if you were curious). I planted some peas from seed, and finally, a Rapunzel tomato.

Ok, so while we at the greenhouse we came across something called a 'Tomato Barrel' which blew my mind at the time with the whole wicking from the bottom-self watering-thing (further research has revealed that this is NOT new technology, and I have some EarthBoxes currently in the mail, but I digress)

A bag of coconut coir came with the Tomato Barrel, and one of the Tomato plants on display was in one of these containers, planted in the coconut coir. There wasnt very good instructions with the thing, so I dont think I packed the coir into the wicking area properly, therefore I am not sure it is wicking properly and I dont think I can fix it without disturbing the plant a lot.

Ok, so fast forward roughly a month or so, and here are my questions.

1) It looks like perhaps a 100% coir medium was not a good idea, if I wanted to is it possible to re plant this without hurting it terribly, and if I can, should I?

2) If I cant move it, or if I simply dont want to move it, what should I do to give it the best chance at survival / thriving?

3) How can I tell if the plant is unhealthy? I meant it LOOKS fine to me, but I am about as far from an expert as it gets. I figure in roughly a month it has grown about 3 inches. From maybe 6-7 inches to 10 inches (roughly), and it is putting out flowers.

Other possibly relevant info off the top of my head:

I live in zone 3, I have probably about 3 months ahead of nice warm to hot weather (77F-95F, 25C-35C most likely)

Last frost was last weekend (I brought it into the shed overnight)

Thanks for reading and any advice

KarenO · May 23, 2015

Hi there, welcome to the group

I am not too far from you. Coir has basically no nutrients in it so you will need to fertilize your tomato regularly. If you can post a photo I can help you better.
KarenO

Asimov · May 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarenO

Hi there, welcome to the group

I am not too far from you. Ccir has basically no nutrients in it do you will need to fertilize your tomato regularly. If you can post a photo I can help you better.
KarenO

Will be happy to post one in the morning

Asimov · May 23, 2015

Ok here is a picture of my Tomato, taken this morning.

BigVanVader · May 23, 2015

Yep looks like nutrient deficiency. I don't feel qualified to tell you how to correct it but some fish emulsion with kelp would help. Not sure if you could use a granular in coir? Others better educated in container growing will chime in soon I'm sure.

Asimov · May 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

Yep looks like nutrient deficiency. I don't feel qualified to tell you how to correct it but some fish emulsion with kelp would help. Not sure if you could use a granular in coir? Others better educated in container growing will chime in soon I'm sure.

Ok what makes you say that? I mean I could have guessed, given there is none in the medium, but how can you tell by looking at it?

BigVanVader · May 23, 2015

The slight discoloration/yellowing of the leaves. A foliar feeding would likely correct it as it isn't to bad right now. My seedlings always look like that if I go to long w/o feeding them.

Asimov · May 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigVanVader

The slight discoloration/yellowing of the leaves. A foliar feeding would likely correct it as it isn't to bad right now. My seedlings always look like that if I go to long w/o feeding them.

I will give that a try. Ive got some handy.

PaulF · May 23, 2015

As said already, non-nutrient mediums need to have nutrients added on a regular basis. A full range of fertilizer, no matter the type or brand is what most folks use in container plantings. I would suggest a water soluble plant food with a lower nitrogen content that often comes with a description of "bloom buster" or some such. The one I have on hand is 15-30-15.

You might research container gardening for some helpful tips. We use soilless mix in containers for both flowers and tomatoes and fertilize every ten days or so even if the mix has a slow release fertilizer in it (like miracle-gro). Not enough nutrient to really do much. A foliar feeding would give a jump start to a nutrient deficient plant. If coir dries out quickly or the water runs though fast you may want to fertilize more often.

Your tomato looks OK and should recover fairly quickly. Good luck.

ps: my favorite author has the same name; another fan or related? I have more than 100 of his books.

Asimov · May 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulF

Your tomato looks OK and should recover fairly quickly. Good luck.

ps: my favorite author has the same name; another fan or related? I have more than 100 of his books.

Big big fan here

Foundation series, Robot series, even his non fiction works I like

This is what I have:

and i have another kind as well some kinda granular with kelp added

wormgirl · May 23, 2015

I'm not expert in SWCs like this tomato barrel, but when you add water to the res is it wicking up to the top? (Is it getting moist at the top?)

I guess you could always top water it if the wicking isn't working. I hear it's a little tricky sometimes. Food looks great, try going 1/2 strength with it!

Asimov · May 23, 2015

I dont think its wicking? definitely not moist at the top (on the other hand would it be, even with the sun on it most of the day?)

I have been top watering just because I dont trust that it is wicking properly and I dont want to 'find out' by letting it dry out. I wasnt assuming if I didnt go nuts I wouldnt over water it (after all there is an overflow)

I just sprayed it with the fertilizer. Lets see how she does.

wormgirl · May 23, 2015

If it were me, I would probably just top water. The res will overflow if you overdo it so it should be ok? (Again I have no experience with SWCs so... take my advice at your own risk!)

I would use the fertilizer as a soil drench next time you water, too. Feed it at both ends

Asimov · May 24, 2015

I could just be seeing what I want to see, but I think the fertilizing has made a difference already, it seems taller, or at least standing straighter or something. Im pleased! I hope it starts growing much taller soon.

Sun City Linda · May 24, 2015

I am not familiar with your planter but given that you did not add any ferts at planting time, and there does not seem to be any cover to keep it a "closed system" as so many self irrigation planters are, I agee that you may as well top water it and add ferts.

I have about a dozen Earthboxes. You will be very happy with them. they do come with VERY SPECIFIC directions so be sure and follow carefully. If you have questions, post here under an Earthbox headline. There are quite a few EB users on this forum.

May 23, 2015	#1
Asimov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Lamont, Alberta Posts: 17	Looking for advice Newbie here, I will apologise in advance for what will probably be a long winded post, but I will post everything that might be relevant and see what people say. Okay the situation is: The gardening bug bit me and the wife this year, but neither one of us are really good at it. I havent met a house plant yet that we havent managed to kill. Im pretty sure we have some fake plants that died on how. HOWEVER, we want to overcome that and we bought a bunch of trees and shrubs (Cherry, plum, haskap, blueberry, strawberry, pineberry, haskap, spearmint, dill, chives, if you were curious). I planted some peas from seed, and finally, a Rapunzel tomato. Ok, so while we at the greenhouse we came across something called a 'Tomato Barrel' which blew my mind at the time with the whole wicking from the bottom-self watering-thing (further research has revealed that this is NOT new technology, and I have some EarthBoxes currently in the mail, but I digress) A bag of coconut coir came with the Tomato Barrel, and one of the Tomato plants on display was in one of these containers, planted in the coconut coir. There wasnt very good instructions with the thing, so I dont think I packed the coir into the wicking area properly, therefore I am not sure it is wicking properly and I dont think I can fix it without disturbing the plant a lot. Ok, so fast forward roughly a month or so, and here are my questions. 1) It looks like perhaps a 100% coir medium was not a good idea, if I wanted to is it possible to re plant this without hurting it terribly, and if I can, should I? 2) If I cant move it, or if I simply dont want to move it, what should I do to give it the best chance at survival / thriving? 3) How can I tell if the plant is unhealthy? I meant it LOOKS fine to me, but I am about as far from an expert as it gets. I figure in roughly a month it has grown about 3 inches. From maybe 6-7 inches to 10 inches (roughly), and it is putting out flowers. Other possibly relevant info off the top of my head: I live in zone 3, I have probably about 3 months ahead of nice warm to hot weather (77F-95F, 25C-35C most likely) Last frost was last weekend (I brought it into the shed overnight) Thanks for reading and any advice

May 23, 2015	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	Hi there, welcome to the group I am not too far from you. Coir has basically no nutrients in it so you will need to fertilize your tomato regularly. If you can post a photo I can help you better. KarenO Last edited by KarenO; May 23, 2015 at 07:32 AM.

May 23, 2015	#9
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,295	As said already, non-nutrient mediums need to have nutrients added on a regular basis. A full range of fertilizer, no matter the type or brand is what most folks use in container plantings. I would suggest a water soluble plant food with a lower nitrogen content that often comes with a description of "bloom buster" or some such. The one I have on hand is 15-30-15. You might research container gardening for some helpful tips. We use soilless mix in containers for both flowers and tomatoes and fertilize every ten days or so even if the mix has a slow release fertilizer in it (like miracle-gro). Not enough nutrient to really do much. A foliar feeding would give a jump start to a nutrient deficient plant. If coir dries out quickly or the water runs though fast you may want to fertilize more often. Your tomato looks OK and should recover fairly quickly. Good luck. ps: my favorite author has the same name; another fan or related? I have more than 100 of his books. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes. Last edited by PaulF; May 23, 2015 at 04:37 PM.

May 24, 2015	#14
Asimov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Lamont, Alberta Posts: 17	I could just be seeing what I want to see, but I think the fertilizing has made a difference already, it seems taller, or at least standing straighter or something. Im pleased! I hope it starts growing much taller soon. Last edited by Asimov; May 24, 2015 at 12:42 PM.

May 23, 2015	#5
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Yep looks like nutrient deficiency. I don't feel qualified to tell you how to correct it but some fish emulsion with kelp would help. Not sure if you could use a granular in coir? Others better educated in container growing will chime in soon I'm sure.

May 23, 2015	#11
wormgirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 245	I'm not expert in SWCs like this tomato barrel, but when you add water to the res is it wicking up to the top? (Is it getting moist at the top?) I guess you could always top water it if the wicking isn't working. I hear it's a little tricky sometimes. Food looks great, try going 1/2 strength with it!

May 24, 2015	#15
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	I am not familiar with your planter but given that you did not add any ferts at planting time, and there does not seem to be any cover to keep it a "closed system" as so many self irrigation planters are, I agee that you may as well top water it and add ferts. I have about a dozen Earthboxes. You will be very happy with them. they do come with VERY SPECIFIC directions so be sure and follow carefully. If you have questions, post here under an Earthbox headline. There are quite a few EB users on this forum.