That's a good looking tomato plant. I'd really like to try some earthtainers, but all I get from Mr. H is "Why?". I'll have to work on him ;-)

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

My tomatoes were both planted in homemade earth*tainers, or SWCs. I wouldn't plant tomatoes any other way in a space challenged garden. I think I will build another next year.

The biggest thing to remember is that as a tomato plant grows it requires expontially more water. At transplant I filled the reservoire twice a month. By full height it was every day hehe. Kinda like teenagers I hear.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure!

Carolyn - that is a nice looking plant, how do you like the earthtainer so far? I built 4 this week, and can't wait to try them out next spring. BTW, what did you do with your left over material? You know, the 2/3 of the tote that doesn't get used? I've got an idea for mine....

Sinfonian - that's good to know on the watering...I was wondering how often water would need to be added.

EG

ROFL, I agree sinf, AND it's so easy to get lazy when you have a week where it doesn't need any more water to just not look! I'm just amazed at how much larger and healthier it looks at this stage. Even the early girls were nowhere near ready at this stage to fruit.
OK, my tomato questions are as follows:
1. These are heirlooms. They have no disease resistances or bacterial resistances. By this stage in the other tomatoes (all of them) I had fought off at least one or two fungal diseases and two diseases in the early girls. This seems counter-intuitive. Do you figure it's just the earthtainer? Can I expect to have serious troubles with disease, etc, using heirlooms in sfg? Do any of you guys have lots of heirlooms experience? I'm pretty partial to the idea of using different kinds of heirlooms in my gardens.
2. EG, I heard that the new SWC includes some kind of tubing for filling the water chamber. How do you get water into the tubing? Does that sound dumb? Both of mine were made with pvc, but it's so small that I have to navigate through the branches to fill it. Is there a better way? I ask because of the "E" in engineering, lol.

Carolyn - there's all kinds of ways to fill your water reservoir. Did you use the 1-1/2" pvc like Raybo recommends? I can think of at least 20 different ways to fill it, even automatically - if you'd like. It's no problem at all to do. Let me know if you need some ideas.
I have ordered some heirloom tomato seeds, and will try several varieties next spring. They are:

1. Opalka - Large paste tomato
2. Giant Oxheart
3. Mortgage Lifter
4. Cherokee Purple
5. Brandywine - Red

About the left-over part of tote....I'm planning on using mine to plant things in. I'll just lay out a piece of landscaping fabric on the ground, and set the 4 leftover pieces on top - then fill with soil. Voila! 4 instant planters, that equal 11-1/2 square feet of 16" deep space. Here's a photo of them laid out together, on the ground.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful:

I was planning to do the same thing EG! Great minds, eh? I couldn't make the dirt stay in the one I have so far. I is lighter than the boxes and the dirt sort of comes out from under them. How do you plan on dealing with that?
Yes, I used the 1 1/2" pvc from Raybo, but I think he's changed since, too, lol.

I've saved my ends for the same reason, but I plan on letting my kids plant in them. Give them their own garden to tend. Of course I didn't think of it myself, I just copied Judy's experience. hehe.

Cool Carolyn! That's funny....I'm gonna drill a few holes thru the lip around the outer edge, and drive 12" spikes thru them, and into the ground. Of course, the landscaping fabric will be in place before I do it.

EG

I was going to suggest landscape fabric that came up a couple of inches inside the container. You could just tape it in place, which would hold it until it was filled, and it should keep the dirt inside just fine. I also would run a spike or two down through the handles, into the ground.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Please tell me where I can find the instructions to make one of these. Thanks!

Betty - you can find the instructions at the site below. They are at the bottom of the page.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful: website

Try this one

Here is a link that might be useful: This one works

That's where I'd go, too eg. They have plans for the thing for math guys like eg and a video for the math challenged, like me. rofl. BTW: I am loving this, too. Because I changed SO many things, I can't say why this plant seems so much healthier. Those leaves on the bottom of the tomato are larger than my hand. It grew to nearly six feet AND put in baby tomatoes within a span of just over sixty days. I'm sure it has alot to do with the heirloom, but wow!

Thanks EG, I will check it out!

I wonder how long these last...seasons I mean. I wonder if they'd get brittle and break with the weight of the dirt after awhile. Some of those look like they are already bulging...what do you all think? I'm wondering about cost I guess compared to in the ground. and about diseases. I think I've read that tomatoes carry lots of diseases and that you shouldn't compost tom. plants. So at the end of the plants life, do you "dispose" of the dirt or do you replant in it? More tomatoes...I'm new to gardening and I kind of like this idea for alot of reason...I wonder to if I could do herbs too...what do you think?

I'm not trying to be a naysayer...I believe they work, just looking forward. thanks.

i;d think it'd be smarter to put the smaller marigolds in them, but that's just from what i've seen, also EG you shoulda asked, i had purple cherokee somewhere, LOL and that mortgage lifter. the potato/tomato has no potato, i think the thing is tomato's are as big as potato's, that should have been the disclaimer. LOL
but i am gonna grow them next year though. just for the big tomatoe's!! LOL
next year i will grow them in the earth containers, i like that idea. although i am gonna put the chicken wire stuff around them so i won't have to deal with them.
~Medo

Actually Godsgirl, this is a place where you can feel free to be a naysayer if you want. This was more on the order of an experiment for me, in any case. I can't answer how long the container will last. I really have no idea, and I haven't read anything in my research on it. Hmmm...
I am planning on using the dirt just like you would use container dirt. I read somewhere that you put it in a plastic bag in the sunshine, but I do tend to think that I need to change it season to season: which is unlike sfg method.

I read somewhere that they use only the Rubbermaid brand of containers, as they are the only ones with UV protection that last in the sunshine.

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

That's interesting... I'd figure just a thicker container, rather than the less expensive flimsy ones, would last longer... just kind of makes sense to me...

Great plants, Carolyn! Thanks for sharing the pictures and the details.

Blessings,
Angela

LOL, we moved six times in four years, so I have bunches of the old containers laying around. So for me, this is also a recycling project. So, I should be able to speak in a year or so about the durability of even the cheap ones.

That's awesome! I love recycling... I'm recycling the icing containers from the HEB bakery here... they save them for me to pick up. I have some tomatoes in them and some squash.

It's funny seeing your post as I'm going to go grow Stupice as the first tomato of next season! It was a little disappointing that it took over two months, but that's still not bad.

Blessings,
Angela

I found out that where it says "50 days" on the label, that is actually referring to the time from when the plant is rooted in the garden: that is to say, from transplant age. So, this is really right on target for the plant. We'll see if it actually ripens. Right now, it has over thirty greens on it.

Wow! Over 30 already? AWESOME!

And, yes, you're right... I totally forgot about that date (DTM) being from transplant age... yikes... that is probably why my squash and other things aren't being "ready" on time for what I thought... they're probably right on, and I didn't know it. hmmmmm

Blessings,
Angela

My SWC (Earth*tainer is copywrited I believe) is only one season old but is still new looking. But the one I inherited from an online gardening buddy is 5 plus years old and still new looking. Frankly I wouldn't worry about it wearing out. But at $10 per you could replace it with a few hours work.

Good luck with them. I love mine and will build more.

That's awesome sinf. I'm loving mine, also, and I'd love to make one for a ton of folks, but I can never get the materials as cheaply as I've read some do. I find the bins for a minimum of $5 to $7 and the pool filters for $3 to $5. do you have a cheapers way on this? My bins were actually free, because I had them anyway, but I guess even at $15 it's cheaper than the $40 to $80 you see the other brand at.

Rather than pond filters I found $1 baskets at the dollar store work just fine. Save a few bucks and nobody will see the pink once it's built hehe.

I was going to suggest the dollar store. I have baskets that look like that in white, gray and black...there were lots of colors. I bought a set of three a couple years ago that are extremely sturdy, and would work great. I have never seen those particular ones since, the ones now are flimsier. Anyway, the ones I just bought would work, and they were 2 for $1.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Carolyn - I've been looking for information concerning the fill pipe revision by Raybo, and haven't found it. I know that he is currently testing a new design that has more soil mass, but that's it.....Where did you hear about this?

EG

I read it on a website, errr...lemme see if I can find it again. The long and the short of it was, because plastic is evil (despite a profound lack of data supporting this thesis), they have decided to move to a non-pvp watering thing. I'll get that eg.

Oh.....The evil plastic people.....Yeah, they're really starting to irritate me.

EG

Here's where I read on the pvc thing: http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm, I thought it was raybo's system, but maybe it was just linked in one of his conversations.

On the line of the plastic thing, have you seen this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c6HsiixFS8

Please, don't compare us crazy PVC nuts to the rainbow / sprinkler nuts... NO FAIR! LOL

Blessings,
Angela

Oh, oh, oh... and, Carolyn... How about an update on the wonderful 'maters? How are they looking now? Any more pics?

Blessings,
Angela

OMG...the rainbow/sprinkler nut is hilarious! C'mon, lady, we all need some rainbows in our lives. The rainbows in my sprinkler leads to the pot of gold that is my veggie garden!

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

EG, btw, check this out:
http://ft2garden.powweb.com/blog/?page_id=113

This is Judy, at the same place where sinfonian blogs, and at the bottom of the page she has an entire row of those "tops" from the swc's. ROFL, great minds...

Ok, i'll check it out...I have been to her blog several times, but could never leave any comments because of her requirements. I eventually quit visiting her site. I even tried to signup for the forum, and it wouldn't let me.....Maybe she'll read this, and I can get it worked out. Oh well....

EG