Always like seeing your 'tainer pics. Hope the growing season goes well, keep posting pics as they grow...

Lookin nice, as always! =) Keep us updated.

Thanks folks, It has been a lot of hard work emptying out most of the 'Tainers, and refilling with mainly the 3:2:1 Combo Mix. However, in about 6 of them I am experimenting with 3:3:2, 2:2:1 and a few other ratios to get a distribution curve around the 3:2:1 Combo Mix.

In a week or two, into the Hot Tub for the rest of the Summer....

{{gwi:5497}}

Raybo

Looks great Raybo! I enjoyed following your pictures last year. How do the double inverted cages work for you? If you don't mind me asking, what size are the cages, and any problems with wind?

Paul Robeson and Japanese Black Trifele are among my top picks for next year. I also recently planted California Wonders in a container...what is your preferred spacing for peppers? I love to pack 'em in LOL, they don't seem to mind. Impressive amount of corn in those containers too!

star,

The cages I use are the Glamos 54 inch high, by 18 inch diameter (top hoop). Walmart carried them 2 years ago but stopped last year for some reason. You can still find them at higher end Nurseries.

The double inverted cages work great. With them securely anchored to the EarthTainers that weigh 140 pounds, they don't even budge in a windstorm!

Raybo

LOL...You're livin the life over there, Ray! Hot tub & beautiful garden. =) Where's your drink? lol

Good job on the containers and the mix experiments Raybo. I'm going to try to compare fertilizers with my 3:2:1 mix. I found a nursery that still carries the old Tomato Tone. I'm going to compare it to a 5-10-5 fertilizer that was recommended to me at another nursery. I think I will even use both ferts in a container, one for the fert strip and the other mixed into the potting mix to see if that makes a difference.

BTW, I agree with you on using just the heavy duty cages for the containers. I just stick my cage down into the SWC and then tie it to a 8', 2" X 2" wooden stake that I hammer a foot into the soil by the SWC's. Two years ago a very strong storm came thru our city. It snapped a large branch out of my next-door neighbors tree and broke another branch out of another neighbors tree. Yet it didn't budge my SWC's an inch. Keep up the good work.

Joe

biggjoe,

Please buy all of the Old Tomato-tone you can find. I will take it from you for a handsome profit!

Raybo

Nice work.

are you running 15 corn plants per 'tainer?

Did you do the same last year?

How'd it turn out?

els,

Yes, I am currently running 3 rows of 5 stalks each. I did this plant pattern last year and it worked fine.

Later this Summer when the Sun's angle is higher, and longer sunshine, I will go to 3 rows of 6 stalks each.

Raybo

Ray, what do you think the cost is to make/fill/cage/feed 20 Tainers? I started modifying a different brand 18 gallon tote a few years ago and never finished, that was back when everyone was trying to build self-watering containers much, much cheaper than the commercial unit out there. Back then, I think the goal was under $10-$15.

I grow mostly in raised beds and 4 & 5 gallon containers with drip, about 35-40 tomatoes and another 20+ peppers are on the driveway in buckets. I'm looking to see what it would cost to convert...

Thanks.

Mark

P.S. I'll post this at the other place in case I miss you here.

Mark,

Many folks have the (wrong) impression that homemade SWC units are "cheap" alternatives to commercial units like the Gardener's Supply SWCs. The EarthTainer design is clearly MORE expensive than buying a commercial SWC from several vendors.

The real benefit of the EarthTainer is that it holds 3.3 cubic ft. of potting mix (vs. 1.6 cu. ft. for another commercial SWC). This means that one can grow large Heirloom plants that can be a challenge in smaller SWCs. Secondly, the EarthTainer design incorporates a rigidly integrated cage system over 7 ft. tall. I am not aware of a commercial SWC that supports such a cage system.

Fortunately, the new 31 gallon "Rugged Tote" ($9.97) carried by Lowes is $5.00 cheaper than the previous Rubbermaid tote, and as you use 2 per 'Tainer, this knocks $10.00 off the previous cost. So bottom line, if you want the absolute lowest cost basic SWC, go with a commercial unit. If on the other hand, you want to grow really big plants, consider a homemade SWC design.

Raybo

Hi,
Its been windy past 10 days up to 45mph I have two tainers and one is growing really slow it has cherokee purple and brandywine. Cherokee purple is just slow but thickening stem but very short the taller one is the brandywine its stem is worrying thin grows slow and has browning and cut leaves. Is this because the weather or there something I need to do?
Thanks in advance

{{gwi:1322701}}
{{gwi:1322704}}
{{gwi:1322708}}
{{gwi:1322712}}

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2114/4512370815_b729e8f5db_s.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2008/4513008358_3329d9f0f4_s.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/4512365567_ae131347be_s.jpg
my containers are working pretty good. I am impressed by your design though. How much water do you use per each plant?

Here is a link that might be useful: robs urban farm

ok Im a retard but I thought that would work, can someone spell it out for me really simple, southern simple please!!lol.

spaml,

I've never seen this type of leaf damage before. On one of the photos, it looks like some insect was eating the leaf on the far right.

I would post your photos on a new Thread to draw more opinions what could be the cause. Make it a "general" leaf damage topic.

Organic,

You need to size your photos as 600 by 800. Then, for GardenWab, you need to copy and paste into your text the "HTML" version of the link (not "IMG" or HTTP).

Raybo

You need to use html tags. To get the pic to show, you need to use img src= "www.blahblahblahthename.jpg" all in for the pic to show.

Here's one:

Looks like that's the wrong URL, maybe that's the URL for the thumbnail instead of the fullsize pic?

I have some plants with some similar looking damage. I think it was caused by the leaves constantly smashing against the cage in the high winds. We had nearly a week of winds constantly 20 mph with gusts to 45 every day. No plants are happy about that and when they contact other items, leaf damage is inevitable. Maybe the ropes/strings you have we hitting the leafs in the high winds? The undamaged leaves on my plants look great. YOurs?

yeah, I reread the instructions. That picture looks exactly like my squash plants in 5 gal styrofoam coolers 1.99$ at walmart. its a redneck garden! My tomato plants look good too in their orange home depot pots!
{{gwi:1322717}}

jerry, the rest of the brandy wine new leaves are slow but not east tell yet if they will have this. The other tomato is a Cherokee purple has this on part of two leaves. The other tainer doesn't have these issues and sit right next to it. Are Cherokee purple and brandy wines usually this slow?