earthworm,

Yep, it is meant to feel "less than wet". Have you "initiated" the Mix by thoroughly saturating it initially when you filled the 'Tainer?

Also, as this Combo Mix will run drier than straight Potting Mix, you may have to top water it twice a week until the root system has had a chance to establish itself, and drill down into the lower portion of the 'Tainer.

The trade-off is worth it later in the Season to get really good tasting (rather than hydroponic) type tomatoes.

Also, do you have a Moisture Meter that you can take a reading with? I know they are not accurate - - but they give a relative indicator of moisture level.

Raybo

I think your 3:2:1 has been working great in my SWC's. I can tell a BIG difference between this years plants and last years plants. By this time last year all of my plants in the SWC's had lower leaves that were yellow and dying. This year no plant is like that. And I know my SWC is wicking water from the reservoir since I'm refilling with at least 1/2" of water every day on these very hot and humid days.

bigjoe,

Thanks for the feedback on the 3:2:1 Combo Mix for SWCs. I am seeing similar improvements in my 'Tainers this Season too. To be sure, more tweaking needs to be done to get it D.N.O., but I think it is getting close.

{{gwi:40119}}

Next, on to the Fertilization selection and routine in the SWCs to optimize this element of growing.

Raybo

Raybo, the 3:2:1 mix is ONLY giving me trouble with the Goosecreek, but not the NARX you gave me. The Goosecreek did exactly the same thing as last year where the bottom leaves yellowed (overnight) and then the vines died. On the plus side I have ripe tomatoes on the Goosecreek already, but more disappointing is the plants are done producing so that's it. I cannot fathom why only Goosecreek were affected like this. The NARX are AWESOME producing fruit not affected by BER either.. nice! I can tell you we had a wetter early May than we should have had, followed by a very dry 2 weeks of it at the end. Now we've been getting rain every 3-5 days. I'll post some pictures. It's a huge contrast and all earthtainers and soil mixes being equal.

Raybo,

What in the world do you do with all those tomatoes?

Is the Pro Mix BX what you use as your base when using the 3:2:1?

The plants look great

prestons,

Dear Wife has an "army" lined up to take them Sunday mornings - - so none ever go to waste. The sweetcorn however, is all MINE!

For Pro-Mix BX, as it already contains 14% Perlite, I would recommend a ratio of 8 parts Pro-Mix, 5 parts Decorative Groundcover Bark, and 1 part Perlite. That should approximate the 3:2:1 Combo Mix for Sta-Green and Miracle-Gro Potting Mixes (without hardly any contained Perlite).

Raybo

Prestons, I used Pro-Mix BX as my base in Raybo's 3 part mix. At the time he recommended an 8:3:1 (Pro-Mix,Bark Fines and Perlite). This mix has been working great. I have 6 tainers. Four of them have this mix, while the other 2 I experimented by cutting the Pro-Mix BX with equal parts Miracle Gro potting mix (helped subsidize the cost). So it was 4 parts Pro-Mix BX with 4 parts Miracle Gro and the rest of the mix stayed the same (4:4:3:1). These Tainers are doing just as well if not better. It has been hot here in Eastern PA for the last few weeks and when the thermometer goes into the 90's, the Tainers drink up considerably. The corn especially. I have my first silks coming through now. Anyway, Raybo was spot on with the mix he recommended me when using Pro-Mix as a base.

paknapp,

Thanks for adding in. As I've never used Pro-Mix (only "lusted after it" as it is not available in San Jose), I think you guys are the best experienced folks to trial some combinations, and report your results. I would recommend however, you stay in the range of 16% to 22% Perlite. The Pro-Mix to Bark ratio is something you need to use your own judgement on.

Raybo

Raybo and paknapp27, thank you for the information.

What fertilizers have you found to work the best in your SWC?

Raybo, You have mentioned that a tomato grown in a SWC tastes better than a hydroponic grown tomato. Can you please explain, I am curious.

prestons,

I have found I get the best results with Tomato-tone. While the old formula had more Micros, the new formula works about 80% as good in my EarthTainer trials. Still, better than anything else available locally.

My comment on tomato taste derives from tasting many hydroponically grown tomatoes over the years, and never remember one as tasty as an in-ground version. I would put the taste of the EarthTainer grown tomatoes close, but not quite as tasty as in-ground grown ones. So from my experience, if you have the dirt bed available and you don't mind the constant watering, weeding, etc. - go that way.

If you don't have a lot of time to devote to in-ground gardening, then a "hands-free" EarthTainer approach is a good compromise to evaluate. It all depends on your space available and other (job / travel) priorities.

Raybo

Prestons,

In my Earthtainers I have been using 3 cups of Fox Farm Tomato & Veg fertilizer. I made a few additions to the soil mix as well. I added 2 cups of greensand about 5-6" up from the bottom and scrathed it into the soil mix when I was filling the tainers. This was done to ammend the soil with a micro-nutrient base the plants can tapp into. I also added 1.5 cups of worm castings and Vermont Compost plus about 4" down from the top. All of my plants are thriving and have been baring a tremendous amount of fruit. I also made an above ground 4'x8' container garden to grow tomatoes. I used Garden Manure Organic Traditions from Espoma and Tomato tone (new formula). The garden manure has micros as well. It consisted of larger granules, which would break down a bit slower... thus delaying the nutrient release. In my in ground soil garden I ammend the soil with manure and use Garden Tone. This is my first year using SWC's. I am going to compare the taste of them to the garden grown tom's and the above ground container tom's. I am new to this forum and i have yet to sit down and learn how to post pics. Hopefully I will do that soon.

Good Luck

paknapp27

I love experiments with all the various amendments you mentioned--could you post some pics?

Farkee, as soon as I get a chance I will post some pics. I've been extremely busy with school, work and other stuff that I haven't been able to tend to my hobbies. Hopefully this weekend I can take some pics and post them.

I have been keeping track of the amount of water being used with two tomatoes in the EarthTainer. To date I am just about a gallon and a half per day with both plants (an early girl and a better boy)bearing fruit sized from a golf ball to a tennis ball. About 8 hours of sun here in the Napa Valley. The plants are about the size of those in this post. Al