EarthTainer and Lettuce in Southern Arizona

14 years ago

Hi folks.

I am fairly new to the Earthtainer concept and I'm looking forward to doing some planting this fall and winter here in Southern Arizona. I will be building a few Earthtainers, but I do have some questions about the Earthtainer's suitability for certain crops in a dry climate like Arizona.

Most of the Earthtainer posts on this site discuss tomatoes, but what I'd really like to do is grow some lettuce. How well do the Earthtainers work for this? Would a Version 2 box work for lettuce or would the added moisture output of a Version 1 box be more suitable? I've thought about setting up a box specially designed for lettuce, with a shallower growing chamber and a larger water chamber to guarantee plenty of moisture. Would that be a good direction to go in, or would some other form of irrigation be necessary for uniform soil moisture? I am concerned with the soil surface getting too dried out by the arid winds in my area (in a valley where there are more windy days than calm ones.)

Also, how well do these work for bush beans? How dense can they be planted? I think someone mentioned getting 28 plants in one 31 gallon box.

I'll have shade cloth on frames over the earthtainers. Early August is the beginning of the fall planting season here in the desert, and it's still rather hot.

Raybo, if you're reading this, you da man! Your design inspired me to start gardening again. What happened to that Forbes interview?

Comments (8)

rnewste
14 years ago
light,

I know of an individual who I built 2 'Tainers for that is now growing lettuce around the two tomato plants in each 'Tainer. He is growing Bibb Lettuce.

What will be crucial in your area is a good moisture barrier to minimize moisture evaporation. Cut small incisions for the plants, then cover the plastic mulch with bark fines to further minimize evaporation.

{{gwi:16852}}

Regarding which design to use, while it may sound strange, you might try and build one of each to test in the "real world" where you live. I found tomatoes to be somewhat particular, and they don't like too much moisture. Lettuce, on the other hand, may thrive in the (wetter) EarthTainer I eco-system.

If you do find that the ET II does work better at the end of the season, it is only a 15 minute job to convert an ET I to an ET II model.

I don't know about bush beans, but Snow Peas seemed to do fair in 'Tainers:

{{gwi:16853}}

BTW, the Forbes interview went quite well, so with sustainable gardening in focus today, I hope the article gets posted on the Forbes.com page in the future. Brian Caulfield was the Technology reporter who visited the EarthTainer "Farm".

Raybo
lightfusegetaway
Original Author
14 years ago
Raybo,

Thanks for the info and photos. Your place gives new meaning to "urban jungle."

I threw together an 18 gallon Earthtainer last night from a few bins I had on hand and some other parts from the dollar store. Transplanted a tomato plant into it and it already looks healthier.

How did that Earthtainer corn turn out? Looks like it really took off.

-Owen
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rnewste
14 years ago
Owen,

The sweetcorn turned out pretty good last season:

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{{gwi:16854}}

This season, I have more than tripled the numbers of 'Tainers devoted to sweetcorn, and am trialing 5 varieties to see which ones do best in my local climate:

{{gwi:16855}}

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I've planted 15 stalks per 'Tainer this season, on 6" centers to give them more room to develop, so we will see if this is the best spacing.

Raybo
bcskye
14 years ago
Absolutely beautiful, Raybo! I've always been an "in the ground" grower because I have so much land to play with, but this year you've caused me to decide to have a lot of veggies grown in SWC.
rnewste
14 years ago
bcskye,

The advantages of growing in EarthTainers are a much earlier start to the season in that the potting mix warms up in the Spring considerably sooner than in-ground soil temperatures. Also, the constant moisture wicking allows the plant to consume just as much water as it needs, and I believe plants respond better with consistency in watering rather than flood to drought type situations in many gardens today.

What the "challenge" is later in the Summer is to minimize the heating of the exposed container top and sidewalls so one does not "cook" the root system, in areas of intense sunlight. Bamboo curtains or other protective materials can be used to shade the EarthTainers.

As an example, the last photo (above) of the CornTainers was taken on April 23. Here is the same photo taken on April 28. Five days of growth due mainly to the warmth of the soil:

{{gwi:16857}}

In your situation, perhaps a mix of a few EarthTainers for "early" harvesting, coupled with using your land for later season crops. I would really love to have some real land to grow on, but as you can see from the photos, I have a "postage-stamp" sized yard to make best use of.

Raybo
solanaceae
14 years ago
I never cared much for earth tainers for tomatoes since I often see them with two plants and wonder why have a two plant back breaker instead of a one plant system(hoping to garden in old age)? However those corn containers are a spectacular sight. That is a fantastic application. I guess a box truck takes care of the back. Just a nice container paradise.
rnewste
14 years ago
solana,

The reason I put two plants per EarthTainer is rather simple. I am SELFISH!!!

There are approximately 3000 varieties of Heirloom tomatoes, and I am focused on growing as many of them as I can before I die. Doubling up on the plants per 'Tainer means that I only have to live to 120 years old to get a chance to try them all!!

Raybo
gringojay
14 years ago
Hi rnewste,
May you live to grow all; just don't build 1,500 'Tainers next year....

EarthTainer and Lettuce in Southern Arizona

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rnewste

lightfusegetaway
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EarthTainer and Lettuce in Southern Arizona

Comments (8)

rnewste

lightfusegetawayOriginal Author

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bcskye

rnewste

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lightfusegetaway
Original Author