I have a kiddie pool that is 5 ft across in circumfirance, is 12" tall in the inside of it and I was thinking of putting potting mix it in, dolomite lime and fertilizer and then planting up the rest of my tomatoes that I have left over in it. Here are my questions:
How much potting mix should it take? How much dolomite do I need? And how much fertilizer should I use? Also how many tomatoes will fit into that thing? I intend on using it this fall/winter also for cool weather veggies just like an above ground bed.
joy
How much medium do I need, how much dolomite and fertilizer?
That is a good question. I would say at least 10 cu ft or five bags of Jungle growth, eight cups dolomite lime and ten cups 10-10-10 or equivelant. You could always add more mix. Don't forget tomatos need good air circulation so how many depends on hybrid or heirloom. Personally I don't think it's worth it for more tomatos but would make a beautiful flower bed to draw bees for pollination.
One gallon [US, liquid] = 0.13368055556 cubic foot (dry)...
Quote from joy112854 :
I have a kiddie pool that is 5 ft across in circumfirance,
Is this a trick question? :) You mean diameter, right?
To find the volume of an container/cylinder....divide the diameter by 2, then square it. Multiply that number by pi(3.14159). Then....ah screw it. This aint math class lol
2.5 x 2.5 x 3.14159 = 19.63 cu. ft. / 1.5 = 13 bags of potting soil (1.5 cu. ft. each) or 20 bags of 1 cu. ft. bags.
19.63 cu. ft. x 7.48 = 146.8 gallons. So, if you are like me and thinking of it as a large container. I would put in a cup of 5-5-5 for every 10 gallons. I say about 16 cups. Which is right on par with what Tplant suggested. 8 cups 10-10-10 = 16 cups 5-5-5. You can always add more in 4-6 weeks, and you probably will need to. I only use fertilizers with a nice percentage of calcium and magnesium, so I always go light with the dolomite. The ph should be fine with good potting soil. You also might want to think about adding 2-4 cu. ft. of perlite.
You could probably get 6-8 tomato plants in there. Maybe 12-14 dwarf varieties. I would think about turning it into a pepper, bush bean and herb pool. Herbs on the outer ring and alternate peppers and beans in a swirl to the middle. Or just make it a cuke, melon or pumpkin pool. Regardless of what you do, harvesting/tending the middle of the pool could be a pain in the booty. Brings up a question.....how are you gonna water this? A drip system?
This message was edited Apr 5, 2011 5:13 PM
Ray Der Phan: I have some soaker hose I was thinking about burying into the medium I use in the pool; but was hoping to use potting mix, which would need dolomite lime added to it. I could put the soaker hose in about half way up, to make sure water is reaching the roots and I do have a long wand hose attatchment this year that I'm starting to like a lot. My thoughts were coconut coir/perlite/Jungle grow potting mix/dolomite and 13-13-13 since that is what I have on hand and I'm starting to use up all the funds I have already on my gardening supplies. Tomato plants is what I have in excess, so that is the reason I'm planting that. Besides, it has a staking system above the pool already in place for the tomatoes.
joy
Joy -- You should open up a farm stand with all your plantings. You will make far more money than you have already invested...No fooling!
TPlant: I checked with the local produce company's and was going to let my grandson sell them tomatoes; but they didn't want to pay much for them, so decided to freeze them, and put them all up the ones that my family, friends and neighbors couldn't use. Ann is growing a lot of beans and peas, and her and I will be sharing produce this Spring/Summer, as I don't grow beans and peas. Her tilled garden is bigger than my back yard! She has 6 acres and I do believe if she could would plant up the whole 6. LOL
joy