Dave - Thanks for letting me use your pictures. How many squash plants did you put into your DIY boxes? EB suggests 6 - although the DIY boxes are usually not quite as long as the EB (30"), they are usually wider, so I think it's still feasible to put the same amount, but perhaps to stagger them, if you know what I mean. I put some seedlings into my squash DIY box, and those seem to be doing pretty well. If the transplanted ones don't recover soon, I'll try to grow more seedlings and replace the transplants. I've never grown squash, so I'm glad you mentioned how fragile they can be. I think I have them in a decent location, so I'll probably leave them there. It sounds like I don't have much of a choice once they start growing. Do you have any pictures of your squash in the DIY boxes? How old are they? I don't have an outdoor greenhouse, but I did come up with an idea that I think may work. If I put up stakes on all four corners of the box (put them into the ground around the edges), and then put 4mil or 6mil plastic onto those stakes, wouldn't that work pretty well too? Didn't you use 6mil plastic around your greenhouse?
Joe: The tomatoes were pretty full when we put them into my Mom's box - they had been well rooted in a 4" pot at the we transplanted them. Actually, they may have been a little fuller than the ones you'd planted mid-May. I couldn't believe how quickly they had grown! They are also starting to flower already. I'm going to have to bring my camera with me every time I visit her, just so I can show the progress. I'm wondering if the different DIY design had anything to do with it. I am using aeration tubes, rather than the aeration screen. I also think this helps to prevent the sides from caving out as much, because I use cable ties to attach the PVC pipe. We used the Miracle Grow potting mix in her box.
Started tomatoes in DIY Earth Boxes ©
Dave and Red - how are your DIY EB's doing? I haven't seen any pictures for a couple weeks, and am curious to see how they look. Please share!
Deborah :-)
Ok Dave, I'm FINALLY attaching photos of one of my finished DIY EB's. Sorry it took so long.
Hi Deb,
Sorry for the late reply, have been travelling for work. I put 6 squash plants in each container. I did notice more cracks in some stems, most likely from wind blowing the squash plants around while I was gone. I wrapped more twine around them for more support.
Nice box! Your plants look great too :).
I used 8 mm polycarbonate panels for the GH, so far I'm very happy with it. Looks like I can get a solid two month headstart on things.
Here are some pics, squash first :).
Dave
This message was edited Jun 19, 2006 7:42 PM
Another squash pic.
Here are the tomatoes as of today.
Sweet 100's ready to pick. Not bad for mid June in NH :).
Here are some Azoychka.
Nice going Dave....Great looking plants!!
Thanks Tplant...here are some Marianna's Peace hiding in there. I haven't done any pruning, so it is pretty thick in there..lol. It is hard to find them until they get bigger or change color.
Got any pics of your EB's?
Dave
One more of my peppers. I got them out late because of the traveling. I'm going to keep them in the GH, so they should do ok. They are in original EB's. My in ground garden is looking pitiful compared to the containers. I'm really thinking of doing all containers next year. Much easier to maintain and the plants seem much healthier.
Peppers are self-pollinating..right..LOL.
Dave
This message was edited Jun 19, 2006 8:08 PM
Hi, all. I'm new here and have been reading with much interest. I used to have a pretty good-sized in-ground veggie garden, started all my own plants from seed, etc. Built a new house and my health isn't what is used to be, so containers is a good compromise. I don't have EB's, but I have 4 of Gardener's Supply self-watering tomato planter kits, which are basically the same principle. Got a late start, and ordered a 3 pack of Big Boy's from Burpee and a 3 pack of 'Orange Belle' peppers. Finally got the tomatoes planted on June 4 and the peppers on June 7. Just hoping for a few fresh tomatoes and peppers this year and maybe I can expand it next year. Here's my Big Boys (still pretty small)
and the eensy-weensy orange belles
The leaves on both plants in my DIY boxes are starting to get 'droopy' and discolored. I fed it some Miracle Grow through the watering tube to see if this helps. Anyone else have this problem?
Here's the other.....
Red --- It looks like it's not syphoning up enough water or the root are getting too much water. Is it possible the roots are in the water? Check the top
3 inches of soil. It should be damp but not moist. As a matter of fact the entire box of soil should be just damp. The EB people say never to add liquid fertilizer to the resevoir? There must be a reason for this though I'm not the expert on the construction. Do you have a moisture meter?
Tplant, I have a moisture meter, and was wondering what is a good reading for the mix in my DIY box. Do you know what reading I should be getting? Also, I was wondering what the reading should be for fertilizer. Should the fertilizer reading be pretty low, since it is a slow release?
Red, if tplant is right about too much water, then are you sure you have your drain hole low enough? I've noticed that in my DIY boxes if they are not sitting level, the water creeps up above the screen on one side. On a few of them, I've had to drill a hole slightly lower than my original drain hole for this reason.
Don't know the type of meter you have but it should read moist, not wet. As far as fertilizer is concerned, as long as you placed it in a two inch line opposite and as far away from your plants as possible you are OK as it will dissolve slowly as the plants needs require.
Hi Big Red,
No problems here, but maybe the boxes are getting too hot in the sun? Do they look better in the morning? I was thinking of draping some white plastic around my boxes to keep them cool. One issue I noticed on my lettuce was slugs. They had climbed in the boxes and were killing the lettuce. Maybe you picked up some critters.
Dave
Hi, BigRed. I'm new here, but I will throw in my 2cents. If it's not a moisture problem, it could be a wilt. Is your tomato variety disease resistent? Have you grown them before with no problems? I've had tomato plants do that. They should be better off in the EB's than in the ground because they won't have disease spores splashing back up from the ground, etc. But it's still a possibility (hope not). Someone here must know more than I do about it though. Just from looking at these gorgeous huge plants i'm sure of it. gram
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/PhotoPages/Tomatoes/Tom_Vertic/Tom_Vertic1.htm
T, Nope, I don't have a moisture meter but the soil seems to be just damp and not water soaked. It doesn't look like a water problem but rather a lack of something. The leaves are leathery, slightly purple colored and the whole stem is twisted so that they are turned nearly bottom side up. Both boxes developed the same problem at the same time so whatever the problem, it has to be the same problem in both boxes.
dmd1120, That could be the problem, my boxes are both slightly tilted, I'll level them up and drill another hole slightly lower.
Dave, I suppose heat could be the problem, but Tplant, Chip and others don't seem to have this problem even as far south as Florida. No critters on my plants at all.
grampapa, don't think it's the wilt because I also have 2 Amish Paste plants in open containers, 2 growing in straw bales, and 3 in-ground plants. None have this problem and all the seeds/plants came from the same batch.
I had nearly the same problem earlier this spring with the plants in the open containers. I watered in 1 cup of blood meal and 1 cup of Dolomite lime to each and it seemed to fix the problem. Could I have the same problem in my boxes even though I added lime and used 10-10-10 fertilizer as instructed? Could be they need something?
Thanks for help gang!
Red
Hi Red, I have grown in Earthboxes for years (along with other containers).
This is my 2 cents on what MAY be going one with your boxes.
I think your mix may be way too dense. Earthboxes are orginally designed to use 100% soilless potting mix. I never buy anything that says soil in the title. ie potting soil, top soil, garden soil, etc. These products are much cheaper than the true soilless mix.
You said you used Miracle gro garden soil--is this soilless (ie contains only peat, perlite, vermiculite, maybe bark?) Labels can be confusing--people say they use Miracle gro but some of their products are soilless others are not. It is not my favorite mix but if you use it don't add anything that would contribute to poor drainage.
If your MG wasn't soilless it already does not have the best drainage but then you added 40# of cow manure which is extremely dense and way too much (in my opionion) to add. And it really isn't necessary anyway. The 5 shovels of peat would not be enough to do anything--maybe tons of perlite would have helped. Your mix may have been salvageable in a regular container as you can control the watering and withhold it but you can't do this with an earthbox.
The earthbox is keeping your very dense mix constantly wet--so I believe your roots are suffering. It may only seem moist to you but I think the roots are probably slowly sufficating in that mix. You NEVER have to add miracle gro liquid to the water --the 10 10 10 you started with is enough to last all season. Plus I believe the MG garden soil has fertilizer in it to boot.
In addition it may have the moisture retaining ingredients which is only making matters worse.
Once the roots are compromised it looks like the plant needs more water or fertilizer because the roots can't work properly anymore and utilize what is there already.
I learned all that I have written the hard way over many years. Next year I would start out with something like Lamberts potting mix or pro-mix (both completely soilless and no fertilizer added at all) and follow the EB directions exactly. Once you get the idea of what is going on you could play around with adding (though no reason to do so) one shovel of homemade compost or something like that if you wanted to.
Good luck!
This message was edited Jun 22, 2006 9:58 AM
This message was edited Jun 22, 2006 10:00 AM
Cowpea is right BIG_Red. I didn't see your thread on the potting mix. Go buy some Miracle-Gro Potting mix and mix two cups of dolomite lime plus 2 cups 10-10-10 in a 2" line away from your plants. Mix just the lime into the mix and not the fertilizer. Transplant your tomatos at once. I't's not to late to save them.
Thanks Cowpea, Tplant;
I'll get some tomorrow and transplant them.
Red
Big Red: I think Cowpea is right too.....I have over 30 tomatoes in self watering containers, and have for years...I always use a bag of Miracle Grow potting mix, some lime, and a couple of shovelfuls of composted cow manure, then mixed up in a wheelbarrow, and then in the containers. the MG Garden Soil isn't even worth using in the garden, and certainly NOT in pots.
I have been using more of the MG Moisture Control Potting Mix this year, since it has gotten a lot cheaper.
Michael
Thanks Michael. I took off the cover on one box and the soil on top was actually dry and didn't seem overly moist even when I dug down deeper. I didn't transplant them because my plants are nearly 5 feet high and it didn't seem practical. Many I'll just leave the top off and water it from above for a while and see what happens.
I only have 2 planted in the boxes so even if I lose them it's not as if I'm going to have a shortage of tomatoes with 125 total other in-ground plants. ☺