The pics did not work so Lets try that with links instead.

I'm 40 years old and have never gardened before - till last year when someone gave me a topseturvy. Well, while researching that thin I came acrows Raybo's Earthtainer and decided THAT was the way to go. I built 5 this year for my patio (I am an apartment dweller). I've got some good results but need a little help.

Some maters and sweet corn and my Honey. (extensions to be added tomarrow)
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/L1A1Rocker/HPIM1090.jpg

Speckled Butter Beans. (extensions to be added tomarrow)
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/L1A1Rocker/HPIM1093.jpg

Now some questions. I've got these on my corn plants right now.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/L1A1Rocker/HPIM1097.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/L1A1Rocker/HPIM1098.jpg

So what do I do with these to make sure the corn makes correctly?

I've also got what appears to be Blossom End Rot on two Roma tomatos.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/L1A1Rocker/HPIM1099.jpg

I've got about eight romas on this plant and only two are showing this. Should I worry or just see how things develope? I built the Earthtainers according to the 2.0 guide and did use the recomended amount of dolimite.

Thank you folks for the help.

alrocker,

You need to link the HTML Code version of the picture to work on this Forum. As soon as we can see pictures - - we can then help you.

Raybo

Here is some help with your pictures!

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Here is a link that might be useful: The Pepper Guy's Blog

That's very common with Romas, especially among the early fruit. You should prune off the bad ones (no need for the plant to put energy into a rotten tomato).

OK, try this with the HTML code - third times the charm as they say. . .

I'm 40 years old and have never gardened before - till last year when someone gave me a topseturvy. Well, while researching that thin I came acrows Raybo's Earthtainer and decided THAT was the way to go. I built 5 this year for my patio (I am an apartment dweller). I've got some good results but need a little help.

Some maters and sweet corn and my Honey. (extensions to be added tomarrow)
{{gwi:33821}}

Speckled Butter Beans. (extensions to be added tomarrow)
{{gwi:33822}}
Now some questions. I've got these on my corn plants right now.
{{gwi:33823}}
{{gwi:33824}}

So what do I do with these to make sure the corn makes correctly?

I've also got what appears to be Blossom End Rot on two Roma tomatos.
{{gwi:33826}}

I've got about eight romas on this plant and only two are showing this. Should I worry or just see how things develope? I built the Earthtainers according to the 2.0 guide and did use the recomended amount of dolimite.

Thank you folks for the help.

alrocker,

When I look around your yard in the photos, it appears to me that your 'Tainers are not in full Sun, especially the corn. Also, corn is a heavy feeder and you need a high NPK fertilizer. What fertilizer and how much did you apply when first planting? How frequently have you re-applied?

Raybo

Raybo. Thank you for the responce. I'm a little building locked for sunlight. I've got a 7 foot fence that blocks the morning light and the apartment building blocks the evening light. I've been able to arrange things so that everyone gets as much light during the day as possible. It was also very overcast the day I took those first pictures.

Here is a pic of the corn getting their share of the direct sun light.
{{gwi:33829}}

I built the "corntainer" to the specs of the Earthtainer 2.0 guide. I used Merical grow and Stay Green (in equal proportions) potting mix and Miricle grow perlite to make up the tainer mix. I used dolimite from a local nursery and Espoma Plant-tone fertilizer was recommended as an equivelent type fertilizer by that same nursery.

So what should I do with the two peaces of this corn plant to insure germination? I looks like small brown things on the top and lots of silk threads comming out at around the middle.

Thanks for the advice. Also, do you have any additional input on the Blossum end rot on the romas?

Some more pics after the extension were put on today.
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Additional to your questions on the fertilizer: I mixed it in with the soil along with the dolimite (as per Guide 2.0) and made a trough down the center and put two cups of fertalizer in that. I have added nothing since planting.

alrocker,

I see a lot of shade in your photos above. Corn really needs Sun a full 10 hours a day. Compare your corn stalks with those in this picture:

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These get full Sun all day long. My recommendation to you is to use your CornTainer to instead grow cucumbers, or Peppers which will do well in your shaded conditions. Frankly, using you valuable EarthTainers to grow corn is a low return-on-investment. I only do it because the nearest cornfield is 100 miles away from me, so if I want fresh sweetcorn, I don't have much of a choice. You will get far more ROI using the 'Tainer for Peppers or cucumbers.

Raybo

Thank you for responding Raybo. Do you have any input on the B.E.R. on the ramos?

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do with these two?
{{gwi:33823}}
{{gwi:33824}}

I'm getting lots of the little brown things at the top and LOTS of silk and want to insure that germination takes place. How should I do this?

alrocker,

You can break off one of the tassels and rub it on to the silks below. I would repeat this process every few days until you run out of them.

The diameter of your ears looks quite small, so I don't think you are going to get anything to really cook up and eat.

At the stage yours are at, this is what they should now look like:

{{gwi:30891}}

{{gwi:33837}}

If you are going to get this:

{{gwi:33838}}

I would seriously consider yanking all of the stalks and instead planting cucumbers or Peppers now. You will get a "cash crop" from either of the two for the remainder of the Season.

Raybo

I appreciate your words on abandoning the corn project but I am going to ride this horse the full time. This project is about more than the end result to me. This is a learning endevor - and I'm having some fun doing it.

So to pollinate you brake off a tassel from the top and rub all the little brown bits on the silk of the SAME plant or an adjacent plant?

Please answer this question also. Do you have any advice on the Blossom End Rot on the Romas, or do you concur with the advice already given. That advice was not to worry about it because Romas are prone to do that with the early fruit and just prune them off.

Rocker,
the Blossom End Rot is generally caused by a calcium deficiency, which can result
from a number of causes - cold weather, temperature fluctuations, or a straight
deficiency of Ca. If your containers are heavily shaded, perhaps the excess moisture
and the cooler temps are causing the BER. Adding Calcium may not be enough, if the
other cultural conditions are contributing to the problem.

Another easy way to pollinate corn is simply to shake the stalks against eachother. In
close proximity, even the wind is enough.

Josh

alrocker,

What Josh says....

I know we have to play the Hand we are dealt, regarding surrounding trees and buildings blocking the Sun, but I would suggest for next Season, you focus on cool weather tomatoes like the Russian varieties, as they do well in limited sunlight. Also, I have good success with a variety called "Druzba" in low sunlight conditions.

While it is now too warm in TX, come early Fall I would use the 'Tainers for a "second Season" crop of Snow Peas. They do great in them, and your bean trellis as well as the tomato cages will support good growth and production:

{{gwi:12533}}

Raybo

Thanks for the responces.

Per Josh and Ferretbea I guess I'll wait out the BER on the Romas. I have the recommended amount of dolimite so we will see. . .

Raybo I am planing on a second crop but was thinking about letuce or some such. Did not know about the cooler weather tomatoes, that may be a much better option. The snow peas sounds like an excellent idea also.

Ya'll don't think that bean trellis is too high do you? I made it from a cattle panel ( I was inspired from some posts here). I cut off about a two foot section (5 rods up) and mounted it to the tainer using the removable cage idea. That was four feet tall and then I added another four foot section a couple days ago. This thing, while plenty stable is 10 feet tall to the top (the tainer adds a couple of feet)now. Does anyone see a problem here with it attracting lightning?

Thanks you all for your input (again).

I am very much like l1a1rocker, my wife has tried to raise tomatoes with poor to limited success for a few years, we just do not have a yard suited for it. So I saw the topsey turvey infomercial and tried the upside down approach but again poor production, broken stems and plants grow up not down as in the infomercial. Part way through the summer I found info on SWC and tried 1 in a 5 gal bucket with poor results. So this year I decided to do earthtainers. However, I have a few questions about using earthtainers. Has anyone tried an electric water heater to heat the earth tainer so it can go out earlier and how about a clear plastic bag to go over the cages to create a mini greenhouse? Also I did not have the Starter fertilizer when I planted and things are moving slowly, could I use a little water soluble fertilizer to get things growing quicker? I planted the 1st plants in early may and they got hit with frost and a little frost damage, so I did not plant the rest until about a week ago, It has not been great weather but the plants are growing very slowly, I would like to speed up and figure an economic way to plant earlier next year.

paul,

I used a pair of Aquarium Heaters last Winter / Spring, but mainly to warm the water in the reservoir to a toasty 78 degrees in February and early March before plant-out:

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They are quite easy to slip down the filler tube location:

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You just need to make sure they are flat on the floor of the container, and they are ALWAYS covered with water in the reservoir. If they get dry, they burn out.

I use them to give my seedlings an early start out in 2 IncuTainers:

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I made cold-frames out of 2 unused container sections and put a piece of Plexiglas on top of each one:

{{gwi:11597}}

When the Spring weather is nice, I remove the covers, but at night, I simply plop them back on to keep the plants warm.

Raybo

Thanks Raybo,
What do you think about water soluble fertilizer (bonnie Herb & vegetable 8-4-4) in the reservoir to help get the plants growing? The directions say a tablespoon per gal, I was thinking of a table spoon in the reservoir, I am keeping my reservoir at about 2". I am in the process of setting up a self watering system with a float valve in a 5 gal bucket siphoning out to the earthtainers, which means I need to have them all level with each other, which is the hardest to accomplish. I am not sure whether water soluble would ruin the mix or interact adversely with the present fertilizer. I did not have any starter fertilizer when I planted.

Raybo has any one called you a genius lately? Your ideas for heating the water and making the cold frames are simple and easy! Thanks for sharing what you do!
Precious

Paul,

I recommend EB Stone Starter fertilizer, or BioTone Starter fertilizer to give your plants a firm foundation when planting.

Precious,

No "genius" - - just a Silicon Valley tinkerer who like to experiment with things....

Raybo