Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old August 14, 2020   #1
Billm302
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Phoenix
Posts: 8
Default Prepping containers in advance

I have 20 self irrigated containers, Earthboxes, city pickers and homemade. I like to prep my boxes in advance of planting. That way I can do a few each day rather than all at once.

How may days (weeks) in advance is the max? My method is to cultivate the potting mixture to loosen it up again then add the lime and cover. I don’t add the fertilizer until I am planting the seedlings.

I am in Phoenix and with our heat I can only do a few boxes a day before it is just too hot to continue.
Billm302 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 21, 2020   #2
shatbox
Tomatovillian™
 
shatbox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles County, CA
Posts: 258
Default

From my experience, as long as I keep the mix moist I hardly have any problems. You know how hard it is reviving a block of something like promix.

I like prepping my containers too and include organic fertilizer mixed throughout. I don't know if it matters but I like giving the container time for biology to establish. As for lime, it reacts according to the peat so I don't worry is it sits for a month or two.
shatbox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 24, 2020   #3
zipcode
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
Default

I think a bit in advance is good, that initial organic fertilizer I mix in will have some time to be broken down. Not too much in advance, maybe one month max, I don't want to degrade the mix unnecessarily (it will compact during a season, quite visibly).
zipcode is offline   Reply With Quote
Old August 26, 2020   #4
GrowingCoastal
Tomatovillian™
 
GrowingCoastal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC
Posts: 1,253
Default

In the spring, I mix in advance and cover the pots so they don't get washed out with rain. I keep them dry until they are planted. That's not bone dry as the mushroom compost is wet and so is the used soil part and the promix hp I use has a wetting agent.
GrowingCoastal is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:27 AM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★