Hi Big Red...Starting to set fruit, look what I found today on the sweet 100's:). Too cool...setting fruit mid may in NH :). Looks like some of the others larger varieties are not far behind, lots of blossoms.
Dave
Started tomatoes in DIY Earth Boxes ©
Deborah, I totally missed your questions from your previous post. The depth of the potting mix in my boxes are around 11" on the sides and more like 13" in the middle, I crown the top for drainage. I use a 10-10-10 fertilizer for the strip.
The screen is 1" above the water, so there is an air gap for aeration and excess water to drain back into the reservoir. I read a thread that explained how air is drawn into the soil as water moves downward in top watered containers. I'm not sure if this is the case, but with the upward movement of water in the EB's maybe it is reversed? Air is drawn into the mix from the bottom as water wicks upward? Just a guess so don't hold me to it..lol.
Did you find a pic of your EB setup?
Dave
Here's a pic of EB #2 just 2 weeks after setting out.
I gotta admit T, that they sure are growing fine! They're growing neck & neck with those in the straw bales, set out the same day.
Here's one planted in straw.
Hey Red...did you just shove them into a bale of straw? What is the theory with planting in straw, just keep it wet? Fertilizer?
Dave
Yup, use a trowel to open the straw, stick in the plants and pull the straw layers back together again.
Here's a link to my journal which shows how I did it. http://davesgarden.com/journal/d/t/Big_Red/2612/
Big_Red, goosh, silly me I thought you were joshing us-Not! .Great idea thanks for linking us to your diary page and sharing with us the interesting and mind openning pictorial of planting in hay bales.
DaveNH, what can I say EXCEPT,"I'm envious" (green all over) with of where you and others are with your plants and the DIY boxes. Nice pictures, ingenious use of lids and an overall super presentation/tutorial. What are those black barrels?
I'm wondering if a new DIY EB thread is coming because this thread is better'n most TV programs for me? LOL everyboby.
Bernie
Nice Big Red! I had no idea you could grow veggies in plain ole straw. Great job with your journal. Very interesting and unique project :).
Thanks Bernie...they are 55gal barrels filled with water. I wanted to plant in the GH in April, but didn't want to heat it. So I put a line of barrel in there to absorb heat in the sun hoping they would release enough heat at night, so far so good.
Dave
If anyone is interested in straw bale gardening, there is more info in the Vegetable Gardening forum, Parts 1, 2 and 3. Lots of DGer's are trying it !
Red, I'm anxious to see your results at the end of the season. Just to clarify, you are planting in Earthboxes, Hay Bales, as well as in ground, correct? It will be great to see if there is a big difference when these are put side-by-side.
Big Red...that is quite a thread! I finished the first part last night. I might try a couple :).
Dave
dmd1120.....Yes, I have Amish Paste in the Earthboxes (2), in straw bales (2) and in the ground (3), as well as two in open containers. I've also got Mexico, Better Boy and Stupice, both in the straw bales and in the ground.
Dave.....Go for it! Careful though, you may get hooked! Interesting, huh?
our homemade EBs from last year were very successful:
pics and info in the middle of this forum:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/492482/
they sat out all winter and are fine - just finished planting out our first tomato.
gonna make some more this year too. good luck everyone
I got me a homemade earthbox all set up now too.
Cherokee Purple and Brandywine OTV.
Hi, I just joined here as this seems to be the best place on the web to discuss Earthboxes. I built two DIY boxes and then got a real one for my bday. So far everything is growing great, especially my sweet corn which I planted from seed 23 days ago in my first DIY box. Check out the pic. I also have 2 tomatoes in my actual EB, and a tomato and an eggplant in another DIY that I made. My third floor balcony has no more room!
Also I've got the staking system coming for the EB, but for the DIYs what are you guys doing for staking/cages?
Here is my actual EB with a little Momotaro Tom on the left and a Sweet 100 on the right. These were transplanted a little over a week ago and have grown significantly. This box is using Sta-Green potting mix with dolomite and fert purchased with the EB. The corn in my pic above is growing in Miracle Grow potting mix.
And finally my 2nd DIY with a Japanese Eggplant on the left and a Beefsteak Tom on the right. Transplanted these two weeks ago. Also Sta-Green potting mix, but with store-bought generic dolomite and granular fert. I'm taking pics of each box once a week so I can see how well everything is growing. I probably went a little overboard in my first year, but I have high hopes that it will be fruitful :)
handhelpers,Wargamer777, joekun...Nice boxes! It will be great to see photos of everything growing in them. I spent the day doubling my garden size for a container section :). It will be mostly DIY boxes. The Azoychka in my DIY EB's are setting fruit already. We had no sun for a week here, so not much growth. They should start taking off again now that all the rain is gone. We got around 15" of rain last week. Our house was ok, but lots of flooding everywhere.
I'm doing a trellis for my DIY boxes. I'll line them up with a fence post on each side of the line. As the plants grow I wrap nylon line around the posts and plants.
Dave
joekun --- Welcome to the group! As for going a little "overboard" there is no such thing for a tomato grower. You see "We never grow enough!" Wait a while and you will understand all there is to know about TOMATOITIS.
Thanks for all the great info and photos. I have finally decided to give my EB another try, and I made one of my own. Got them both planted today with Tomatoes and Basil with some Calendula for color.
This is the homemade one. Day one.
And this is the brandname box. I got it 4 years ago and it was always a flop. New gardener that I was, I had filled it with garden soil from a garden center. Not peat based. Guess that's why nothing ever grew in it!
T-Plant
My homemade Eboxes didn't do so well last year, not their fault. I didn't put enough soil in em. This year, my maters are growing like crazy, coz I added more dirt...I'd take pictures but everybody elses look so good, I would be crushed if somebody laughed at mine. But Im happy with the little guys. They are a lot bigger now than they were this time last year. When I put them in the Eboxes, they only had 4 little leaves, now they really look like mater plants. The lemon boys I planted, I bought. They were the miracle grow maters. Had that big miracle grow pot, had 2 plants in the pot. Good golly, those look like the lemon boys that ate Louisville, they are huge. I guess it was 2.98 well invested, coz it about killed me to pay that much for mater plants.But I did it, just this once.
The ones I planted in the straw bales are doing well too.
Kathy
This months issue of Practical Gardener has an article on bale gardening. Too late for me to start this year, but if I can find bales next year I'm going to give them a try. Great end of season addition to the compost pile too!
Anyway, I have a question for you seasoned EB gardeners. Last year, I made strawberry containers by drilling 1 1/4 inch holes in the sides of 5 gal buckets. If I line the drilled buckets with screen, would they work as the inner part of a self watering container? Would the air let in on the sides be enough aeration? Or would that be too much air? Would I still have to drill lots of little holes in the bottom of the inside container? Right now there are 25 holes in the side of the bucket and 5 small holes in the bottom for drainage. Any thoughts?
Thanks
Updated photos. These were planted just one month ago.
Box #1.....
Box #2.....
Keyi, do you have a picture of the bucket you'd used for the strawberries? How far up and down the sides do the holes go? You may want to use that as the main bucket. I only use one bucket when making my DIY EB's. I know some people use two, but it seems like a waste of money, and I can't seem to get these buckets for a reasonable enough price. I use the lid to separate the water and soil (or should I say nonsoil?) sections. I then use two PVC pipes with several holes, and place that in the soil section to aerate. I attach these pipes to the sides of the bucket too, so I think that adds a little extra support for the sides of the bucket. This way they're less likely to cave out from the pressure of the nonsoil.
This is only my first year of really gardening, so I do not claim to be a seasoned gardener. However, I've learned a LOT in the past several months.
-Deborah :)
Nice pics Big Red! Here are a couple I took of my monsters today..lol. They have been in since 4/7, little over 7 weeks in the boxes. So far lots of flowers and small tomatoes going. The greenhouse is helping them a bit :). I'm not pruning, so this is going to be a big tomato wall. I'm setting up my outside DIY containers this week. 8 with tomatoes (two per container), 2 with squash (summer and zucchini), 1 with cuks, 2 with herbs and 3 with peppers (hot and sweet).
How are your bales doing? Curious how they are comparing to your DIY boxes.
Dave
Here is another.
Dave
One more.
Dave
Hi Dave! Nice looking 'mater plants. Mine have just started to blossom, no 'maters as yet.
Here's a pic of my Amish Paste in the straw bales taken yesterday.....
Boo hoo!! You guys are making me so jealous! My tomato plants still aren't quite ready for the EB's. Yesterday I was able to transplant two squash plants, though. The one in the front is zucchini, and the one in the back is spaghetti squash.
Dave, sorry I hadn't posted a picture of my EB's yet. I don't have a pic of an empty one, but I have to build about 12 more over the next few weeks, so I'll make sure to get some pic's for you.
And here's a pic of another DIY EB with lettuce. I had planted the Black-seeded Simpson lettuce around 5/4. The one on the front left was actually transplanted on 5/4, whereas the others were started from seed on that date. That's why it looks so much bigger. The other 3 in the front are romaine - I'd transplanted them about a week later, but I think I would be better off starting lettuce in the EB's rather than inside. Live and Learn.
Red and Dave -
I am currently taking an HTML class in college, and I've decided as my final project to develop a basic web site devoted to DIY Earthboxes. Since I don't really have any success pictures yet, I was wondering if either of you would mind if I were to use a couple of your pictures for my site. I'd really appreciate it.
I'm in the process of making about 10 more boxes, so I should have a photo of the completed box (before adding soilless mix) for you, Dave. I know you had been curious about the design I'd used.
Thanks,
Deborah
Deborah,
Feel free to use my photos.....Mine are working so good I'm planning to make more and will take step by step pictures this time around. Good luck with your project!
Red
This message was edited Jun 10, 2006 10:08 PM
Thanks Red. I've found that it is much easier to build 10 boxes at one time than it is to build 1 or 2 at a time. I've got it down to a science now. Once I have my directions for DIY Earthboxes, I'll post a link for you.
I transplanted my squash plants, and then we had some very hot days, and they don't look so well now. Have you ever transplanted squash to an earthbox? If so, does it take several days for the plant to overcome shock? I'm guessing that's what happened. I tried to avoid shock, but I don't know if I was successful at that. The lettuce seems to be suddenly growing rather quickly - they look much larger to me than they were only 4 days ago. I have to get my other boxes built quickly so I can transplant. I still have 4 boxes already built, in which I'll put snow peas, pole beans, broccoli/cauliflower, and red/gold cabbage.
-Deborah
Deborah,
Nope, never tried squash as this is my first year using earthboxes and only started tomatoes.
Everybody's EBs are looking great! Thought I would share an update on my corn. It's really taken off and is probably 4.5 - 5ft from the top of the box now. My tomatoes have really taken off too. If things keep up like this it will be my first successful year growing anything (it's the first time I've used self-watering containers). I think I'm addicted, as I've already picked out what I want to grow next year :)
This message was edited Jun 3, 2006 2:21 AM
Joe, this is my first year at gardening, nevermind using the self-watering containers! I really took on a big project with this, as I am just learning some great info on starting seeds and have built 6 DIY EB's so far, and am currently working on 10 more of them. I hope to have at least 20 by the time I'm finished. Luckily, it's still very early in the season here, so it's ok that I don't have everything completed yet.
For Mother's Day, I had built one of the DIY EB's for my Mom. I wasn't able to bring it to her until about 1 1/2 weeks ago, when I helped her to prep the box and place her tomatoes in there. I don't remember what type of tomatoes they were - I know she'd mentioned that she wanted Early Girl, but that's not what the tag had said. Anyway, I wish I had a picture from when we had first placed them in there, but they have grown to about 3 times the size since we'd planted them! Here's a picture from today of the tomatoes in my DIY EB. She had purchased the plants, but I really hope the tomatoes I'd started from seed will grow that nicely!
Deborah..feel free to use the pics. I have some squash in the DIY boxes, they were ok at transplant. Problem was leaving the box in the greenhouse, big plants :). I had to move them outside yesterday and broke some of them. The leaves get big and heavy, easy to break them. When I moved the boxes some of the plants rolled and broke their stems. I got them outside and replaced the broken plants, then staked some lines around the boxes to keep the Squash plants supported. I was afraid the wind would roll the plants around and break more of them. I'll see how they do outside. Next year, I'll put them outside much smaller :).
Dave
Wow, that's only 1 1/2 weeks of growth? It's growing faster than my tomatoes! They're doing pretty well though. I'm envious of your space, I only have enough room for 3 boxes on my balcony.