question about removing the roots and fertilizer

Wow, now that is a job cleaning out the EBs, totes and 5 gallon buckets to reuse the potting mix next Spring. Does every little root stem have to come out, you should see the roots on some of these things, the big ones are easy to get, the small tiny ones are not. I will admit this right now though, with the coconut coir, you just grab the roots and holding it above the container you are putting it into to store, a good shake or two sends all the coir right into the container and you just throw the root you have left in your hand out. Not so easy with the potting mix or the fertilizer strip. I will use panty hose to put my fertilizer in next time, I'm standing there pecking out all the old fertilizer specks. Do you have to get all the used fertilizer out? I tend to be a perfectionist when I get to going; but, even I'm questioning the reasoning behind this.
joy

No, Joy. Grab the main tomato stem and them sift whatever stems you can catch in your fingers. Same with the fert. Just use a big plastic spoon or your trowel and scoop out the area where you spread it along the rims. Not every spec or root needs to be removed...

Gymgirl: Whew, that 's nice to know, I bought three totes with lids, they are on sale for $3.50 at Walmart, they are colored and I have certain ones I'm putting my used coconut coir in and then using the other colors for my potting mix and one for my mixture of potting mix and coir. I have been using a huge bowl to put the mix from the EB, or HEBs into the tote and sifting around in it like I'm digging for gold, breaking up everything and taking all the roots and used fertilizer I can find out.
joy

Oh, Joy!
The first year I used my EBs for tomatoes, at the end of the season I just loosened the soil with a digging fork, enough to grab the dead stem and pull it out. I didn't even touch the bottom 2/3 of my potting mix. Simply added more more fresh potting mix and dolomite and my fert strip and replanted.

Now, I do have to tell you that after that 2nd year of growing my huge heirloom tomatoes, I had a real pressing urge to break those EBs down completely to clean them. Well, don't you know that those huge indeterminates had sent roots down through that plastic grate and into the reservoir which was almost completely plugged up with dead roots, like a gynormous hairball!

Which is exactly why I won't ever again grow the indeterminates in a container smaller than 24" across and at least 18" deep, or any bucket that doesn't have at least an 18" lateral spread.

Gymgirl: Thanks, for letting me know that, I'm going to be putting my fertilizer into panty hose stockings this time, that way it can just come right out in one piece. I am contemplating growing my tomatoes in smart pots #10's and #15's also, as I have some indeterminate ones also, and of course my 5 gallon buckets. LOL The two square footers definately are not large enough, when I pulled the tomatoes i had in there out, the reservoir was plumb full of roots to the point there was no room for any water in there.
joy

Gymgirl --- Don't worry about the old roots as they rot and the new roots just grow through. I change my mix every three to five years without any problems and when you do clean the grates just keep your EB full of water prior and it is much easier to clean when the grate is wet or spray or soak the dry grate with plenty of water and it peels right off. It is much easier to clean when the mix is still wet.

I'm using stockings this time around for the fertilizer strip, the roots shake right out when you use coir, when you use potting mix it's a bit more cumbersome. TPlant: Did you say you used Bug B Gone to prevent bugs on your plants and that it worked well for most bugs?
joy

Your horticulturist neighbor would know more about this than I do!

TPlant: He advised me on some things already and since I was slow in asking and getting around to it, wound up pulling out the big guns this time, the malathion. It worked for a while; had to treat again though.
joy