Yes, it sure gets uncomfortable with the heat and humidity. I'd rather take it easy although we could still grow cherry tomatos but the quality isn't the best ....
Earth Boxes
Okay folks, I've finally got a chance to post up some pics from the earthbox farm. :) Here goes nothing!
All 10 boxes, a few weeks ago:
And here they are this afternoon (can you say squash explosion?):
The Squash & Zuchini have been really thirsty, drinking about 1/2 the Ebox a day. The babies are really tender, we lost one plant in a thunderstorm and had the best veggie pizza ever, with slices of zuchini and goat cheese on top... mmm. :)
The tomatoes have really taken off, even though they often look somewhat wilted. I can't tell if its just them getting used to the Virginia Humidity (horrible) or another problem.
I'm growing 3 varieties of Plum (sauce) tomatoes, two red and one yellow. We mostly use them for sauces, and I really like the plum family for this. Here's my biggest, Viva Italia. They've more than doubled in size since the first shot!
My girlfriends handiwork on the deck (she says hi to everybody)!
Great pictures VirginiaPesto and yes once they get going the squash grows like a weed. Mine are at least 3 weeks behind yours as I direct seeded them and the weather didn't warm up enough here till the Memorial Day weekend. Cucumbers are also at least 3 weeks behind last year again because of the strange Spring. What variety of yellow straightneck are you growing (I assume that's what is in the picture). I grow a variety called Saffron from Burpee and prefer them to green Zucchini although I have them planted also. My wife sautees them sliced with some olive oil, garlic, and fresh Basil. Never any leftovers! My tomatoes will start to look somewhat wilted on a very hot windy day but recover as soon as the sun goes behind the trees next door. When the tomato plants get large they will sometimes need to be filled twice in a day during very hot weather but I have found that if you fill them and wait an hour or two for some of the water to wick up into the soil, then top off the reservoir, you can avoid any problems.
Rich
Rich
Hey RIch, I'm growing Early Prolific Straightneck from Ferry Morse' Organic Line, and I've got a single black beauty in the same box. I also prefer the yellow, but the zucchini were a direct request from Mom. :)
I hear you on the leftovers too, there's not too much better than simple italian cooking with fresh ingredients! It's a sad day here when we have to start relying on Virginia's produce isles.
Re: tomato wiltage, I try to water morning and night on the hot days here, so hopefully that will keep them happy. I figured with as well as they've been growing, there probably isnt anything 'too' wrong with them.
Here's another pic of our deck oasis: mostly cilantros, parlseys, sages, some mint and strawberries! And more basil, always more basil. :)
Again...nice picture. Looks like I've found someone with more pots than me (lol). Here's a pic taken about a week ago of some of my herbs. Left to right: Silver Thyme, Creeping Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, Italian Parsley, Italian Parsley, Basil, Basil, Basil (all replants as the ones I planted in mid May all died because of the cold). Never enough Basil for me either and my Italian (Sicilian) wife would throw me out if that wasn't true. Right now I have 1 EB, 3 self watering pots and 8 12-14" diameter regular pots planted with Nufar Hybrid, Genovese, Lettuce Leaf, Sweet Petra Dark Red, Aroma 2 and Summerlong Basil. Italian Parsley is also a MUST and I have 9 pots of it growing. In mid July I will be starting 2 types of Radicchio and Broccoli Raab for fall crops.
Rich
Really nice looking plants everyone ! Growing with EBs really makes gardening fun. And speaking of fun I finally got a digital camera for my birthday which is June 26. A little early but greatly appreciated from my son and DIL. I will start taking pictures in the fall when I start my seedlings. Maybe I'll take some pics now as before and after shots. Anyway keep your plants well watered as this heat drains them of moisture.
Wow. I don't log in for a couple of days and look how many more pictures! I love it!! Everyone's container plants look wonderful!
tmm
Well it seems that my plants survived tropical storm Arlene, although the Juliett tomato plant is a little bit to the side because of the high winds but overall not that bad.
All the pictures look great, virginia Pesto I am impressed on how many earthboxes you have, I wish I could fit more in my miniature of a yard.
I just picked this tomatoes today, for some reason my better boys were cracking on top so I decided to pick them up earlier,
the juliett is so full of matters that it was hard for me to see whether they were all the way red or not, hopefully it will not affect its taste.
Sorry here is a picture of my better boys
I'm gonna go cry now.... *G* so many maters!
Oh well...the joys of living in Florida. I too am growing Better Boys (6) and was thrilled to see the first few marble sized fruits set on my plants while out in the garden this evening. There you are carminator1 with a plate full of ripe ones! Sliced ripe tomatoes, sliced red onion, fresh oregano and basil with a balsamic vinegrette made with a little Dijon mustard. There's not much better.
Rich
Nope toss me some feta on that plate and I'd fight ya for it..I didn't grow onions (except scallion type) so I'll have to use store bought, but I can use fresh cucumbers (ok these came from the farmers market buttt)
Looking good Rich! Those italian rarsleys are out of control, I'm glad to see you've recovered from the wierd winter. I lost so much basil this year also, I'm just happy we're past that.
Tplant, definitely practice with you're new camera before your growing season - I spent 30 minutes getting eaten alive by mosquitos to take my first pictures. :) You guys weren't kidding about the watering either, I feel like a kid with a science experiment. I'm still amazed at the amount of H2O the squash & tomatos consume.
And finally Carminator... you have no idea how badly I want a burger, seeing those big tomatos. Do not bring them near Virginia. ;)
Chris
p.s. pictures of my first earthbox banana pepper coming soon!
Here is the first Newsletter from the EB Researh Center. I don't know how often they plan on putting one out. Here is the link to their site: http://earthboxresearch.com/
Newsletter
The EarthBox Research Center
1023 Ellenton-Gillette Rd
Ellenton, FL 34222
Published By: Whisenant Family
March 25, 2003
Volume No. 1 Issue No. 1
Greetings, EarthBoxers!
Introduction
This is the first of hopefully, many more newsletters. The plants at the store are really growing fast as we are well into Spring! It seems Winter is long gone, also, El Nino has slackened its' wet and cold punch!
There are many plants to choose from for planting this time of year. Some are tomatoes, eggplant, beans, okra, corn, greens, peppers and many, many more!
It is is getting too late for cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and most lettuces, although Romaine should do fine. Don't forget that all of these seasonal recommendations are for Central Florida, as that is where we are located and live.
Flowers to plant this time of year include geraniums, wave petunias, zinnias, torenias, and many other spring annuals.
Do's and Dont's
* I would recommend putting the white side of the EarthBox cover up when the daily temperature is over 85 degrees. be sure and always keep the water reservoir full, so that plants are never stressed. The usage of water is related to leaf area and wind temperature, so as the plants grows they will need to be watered more.
* Also, one of the things that causes blossom end rot in tomatoes is caused by being wet and dry - so keep reservoir full!
* When weeding around boxes, keep Roundup away from plants; just mentioning Roundup can cause plants to go into a hard wit!
* Keep an eye out for fungus and insects and spray accordingly with labeled products only. It is recommended for funguses to spray on a preventive program.
Be Sure to stop by the store to say hey and look and look at the Garden, for the geraniums and wave petunias are SPECTACULAR! They also make a great Mother's Day and Easter Gift!
Please don't let those EarthBoxes lie idle. If you have any questions for planting just call the store at (941) 723-2911. Please visit www.EarthBox.com for purchases.
Latest News
We are proud to announce the American Horticulture Society has given the 2003 G.B. Gunlugson Award, a prestigious award, for contributions to horticulture, to Blake Whisenant for his EarthBox invention.
Happy Gardening!
Blake Whisenant & The EarthBox Crew!
Great newsletter from EB! Thank you for posting it.
It is interesting the newsletter mentions blossom end rot. I thought blossom end rot was caused by calcium deficiency. The EB newsletter says it is caused by being wet and dry? This is very interesting because I just noticed one of my plants seem to be suffering from it. I think it just happend in the last few days since I didn't notice it before. It is slightly brown at the blossom end, maybe about 2 inches in diameter. And we have been having hot weather the last couple of days (in mid 80's instead of the usual mid 70's) and I have been noticing some wilting on top leaves. I mean, I fill the reservoirs at 8AM and by 6PM, some of the top leaves of tomato plants are already wilting! Imagine that. I am now watering them twice a day but maybe this hot weather - causing dry reservoir - causing these tomatoes to end rot? I am going to get a calcium spray (or something like that) just in case....
Carminator,
Your better boys look fabulous! The plant I am having trouble with is a better boy (the only better boy plant I got!) I have another problem besides blossom end rot with this plant but I am still hoping mine will turn out half as good of yours.
tmm
tmm fool and I are having problems with our BB's too...we've both have put it on the no grow list for next year *G*
My Better Boys did quite well in my EBs although I did have a problem with BER at first. I blame myself for this as I was pre-occupied with other tasks at the time and didn't water regularly as I normally would have done. As far as a calcium spray is concerned, SAVE YOUR MONEY ! They don't work ! Two years ago I sprayed my plants with that garbage and it killed most of my plants so stay away from it.
Tplant,
Thank you very much for letting me know about the calcium spray. I will not go get the calcium spray. So for blossom end rot, do you have any suggestions? Would making sure I don't dry out the reservoir be enough to remedy this? I have 4 tomatoes growing and 2 biggest tomatoes have the blossom end rot. The smaller two are OK so far.
I have 2 other tomato plants (-not better boy, and not counting the cherries) and they are doing OK so far too. I used the same combination of potting soil and fertilizer (tomato-tone from totallytomato.com) for all of them.
tmm
Picturelady...are you still out there?
I apologize for taking so long in getting back regarding the platform on wheels. As mentioned before my husband used extra thick decking boards and 3" wheels and basically constructed a mini skid/pallet. He made the width about 4 inches larger than the top width of the EB (for stability I guess). Very easy to make and have been very convenient to use.
Here's some pics for an idea:
Top side
and bottom:
I'm here toni...thanks so much...they look good and sturdy too! I will save your photos! I would like them for the EB's and also other containers!
Margie
tmm99 ---- I have never been able to prevent BER completely as it usually happens after heavy rains or inconsistent watering. However it only happens to the first few tomatos. Maintain proper watering schedules to reduce the problem.
Thank you Tplant.
I will make sure and fill the reservoir twice a day instead of once so the EB doens't have a chance of drying out. Hopefully the BER will not affect the newer blossoms. Like I said, the smaller two tomatoes are OK so far, so I am crossing my fingers!
tmm
Update with no picture (DW dropped camera off counter) Planted 2 Big Boys on May 10. Checked today and I have one tomato the size of a pea! I have had loads of blossoms over the past week with more coming every day. I'll be watching these mater(s) with interest as the days come.
Phil
To be perfectly honest folks, I have always had BER problems with regular tomatoes in an EB and never with cherry or grape tomatoes. My solution has been to plant the regular tomatoes in the ground as I have room for 6 plants in ground. I have used the BER calcium chloride spray (Bonide Rot-Stop). It may have had some slight effect but if you do use it beware. I found out the hard way that anything more than a very light spritz causes major leaf damage. If the BER is in fact due to uneven watering as opposed to lack of calcium, I wonder (and just may try next year) if planting a bush variety such as Bush Celebrity or Park's Bush Whopper would cut down on water uptake beacuse of the much smaller plant and therefor make it easier to keep the moisture more even.
Love those EB dollys toni. Luckily I don't have to move any on a regular basis for sun exposure and the few times I do move one usually because of space problems (put nothing near an EB planted with zucchini) I get a hold of my younger son who still lives with us and he becomes wheels 1&2 and I'm 3&4 (lol). Even moving them with 2 people is a hassle to be avoided at all cost.
Rich
Hello everybody!
Thank you for your comments on the tomatoe pictures that I took, actually I kind of cheated with the better boys I tried to place the bad side down, for some reason they started cracking on top so I decided to collect them early, I have no idea why though.
Also I wanted to comment on the taste, the Juliett is awesome, very sweet but when I tried the better boy I really was not that impressed, I could not taste a strong tomatoe flavor actually it was kind of blend,I am going to have my DH try one see what he thinks, maybe my taste buds don't work.
I have been having some problems with my plants, some of the leaves are getting eaten by who knows what and also I found little tiny black droppings in some of the leaves, it is kind of my fault though I have not been faithfully spraying the plants with ortho bug killer, I just don't like pesticides I guess.
I also learned that I have to water 2 a day, we are getting into the mid 90's and the heat is unbearable, I used to be able to water every other day but the plants have taken a beating because of that.
T Plant, if things continue like this I think that I am going to have to stop planting in the summer months and just like you use the rest of the months when the weather is not so hot.
Eaten leaves with black droppings on the foliage is almost certainly a tomato horn worm. I'd spray the plants right away as once they get going they can strip the entire plant in a matter of days and where there's one there are probably more.
Rich
Thank you ritchh.
what do you recommend for this type? I have been using the multi purpose bug b gone, but run out I am going to have to purchase some more. Do you recommend this or is there anything else I should be using?
Hey Ritch:
I have noticed that you place a red plastic on the bottom and the earthboxes on top.
I believe that one of the main reasons why I am having all this problems with bugs is because my earthboxes are surrounded by weeds that are pretty tall, I keep pulling them out but they keep growing with all the rain we have been having and the heat, I am thinking about cutting the weeds down and placing a plastic just like yours down, my question is where did you buy it and also with the temperature difference that you and I have whether the plastic will cause any root damage to my plants?
Rich,
It's great you posted about your experience with BER.
You said
"To be perfectly honest folks, I have always had BER problems with regular tomatoes in an EB and never with cherry or grape tomatoes."
Does the BER problem go away as the time passes or it stays around all reason? I have no room to plant tomato plants in ground (put too many flowers and shrubs there, plus it doesn't get as much sun) so I may just have to stay away from regular size tomatoes all together if I keep on experiencing BER.
So far though, Better Boy (I have 3 regular tomato plants - 1 better boy, 1 celebrity and 1 unknown - the celebrity is in a regular container) and Better Boy is the only plant that is suffering from BER. And yesterday, I must have forgotten to water that container with Better Boy and when I got home, the two plants in that EB (I have Sun Sugar cherry I think, in the same EB as Better Boy) were wilting. I frantically watered the inside the EB too but I might have already killed my Better Boy anyway at this point. Oh well. I will see how other plants turn out and decide what to do next year. Maybe I should have done the white side of the plastic. The temperature here is normally pretty mild (average of 78 for June, 80 for July and 80 for Aug) but it has been pretty hot lately.
Good to know you never had trouble with cherry tomatoes. I have 5 cherry tomato plants and I'm glad to hear that they will probably be safe.
Carminator,
Too bad you didnt' like the Better Boys. The side you put in the picture looks really great. Maybe you can send me some ripe Better Boys since I don't think I get to taste a Better Boy otherwise ;-)
You had better act quickly ! Those caterpillars are gluttons and can strip a plant over night. Dipel dust or hand pick them. Your choice.
Hi carminator 1,
The red plastic is supposed to increase tomato yields by 15-20% according to studies done at Clemson. It is a specific shade of red. I usually buy it from Johnnie's Selected Seeds although I believe Park also sells it. Can't say whether that is true as last year was the first time I used it and I had terrible problems with Early Blight. This year I am spraying the plants with Daconil every 7 days. It does warm the soil almost as much as the black plastic and I really can't say whether it would be a problem for you. It certainly is no problem here in NJ.
tmm99, the BER lasted about the first 50% of the season and probably affected half the fruits on the plant. I had the problem with Celebrity and Yellow Boy and haven't grown regular tomatoes in an EB since. As I said, cherry and grape tomatoes have no problems. Plum tomatoes have some problem although not near as bad as the full size ones.
Rich
I guess it's safe to assume that Juliette is a rank indeterminate. It's been in the EB for 5 weeks and already it's above my cage. It that the way it has grown for any of you who have grown it? I have an unused trellis behind the EB and it looks like I'll be training it up that if the growth continues this strong.
Rich
