Help--fertilizer for tomatoes in an Earthbox
Kathy Bochonko
19 years ago
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garaj
19 years agoRelated Discussions
trimming tomatoes in earthbox
Comments (1)not unless you want to. When it comes to pruning tomatos you have to know if you are growing a determinate or indeterminate variety. you never want to prune a determinate as you will lose yield, but indeterminates can be heavily pruned. How much yield you will lose depends on a lot of factors, but in general if you prune unwanted growth before it flowers/sets fruit yield loss is minimized. When you say they are growing crazy, what do you mean? I assume you mean they have grown large, but are they flowering? If not what fertilizer are you using? The EB is capable of growing two very large plants that fruit heavily if you manage the water/nutrients/plant support properly so no pruning is normally necessary....See MoreOrganic Winter tomatoes in EarthBoxes
Comments (22)I have very good luck in the winter greenhouse letting the daytime temperatures climb into the high 90s so that I can heat my passive solar storage, and letting the night time temperatures go down to about 45. There are sunny days when the temperature goes over 100 with no noticable deliterious effects. I water automatically twice a day on a drip system, and grow in mostly 2 or 3 gallon containers. The plants become huge over time because I don't bother pruning suckers or laterals. Plants are spaced about 3' apart in a row, and trellised so that they grow up about 10', and then hang down again. The plants look quite messy and unkempt, but they produce lots of good fruit. Here are some of the current varieties I'm growing. Arbason is a mid-sized tomato with very vigorous growth. It, like almost all the varieties I grow, is resistant to blossom end rot. There are a few heirlooms that get BER even with the regular doses of calcium nitrate I use in the fertilizer. Fruit is still good tasting, just ugly. Verona is a small tomato, larger than a cherry, with good production as a salad addition. Sun Gold is a yellow cherry that visitors often really like. It has a low acid taste, and is quite productive. Yellow pear is probably the favorite tomato of visitors; it produces huge numbers of low acid fruits on a vine that sprawls all over the place. One plant is well over 8' wide, and trellised at several points. This is a tomato that even those who say they don't like tomatoes like. I grow Brandywine, and find the flavor ok in the winter greenhouse, but it can get to be a bit meally, and I don't think it is as tasty in texture as some of the others mentioned. It is a quite large fruit, however. Other heirlooms also tend to get a bit meally during the winter, and I am slowly moving toward growing more of the modern varieties specifically bred for greenhouse production because of the better textures and flavors in the winter. Renais...See MoreCan I use a tomato spiral in an earthbox?
Comments (6)On a impulse buy, I bought some tomato spirals years ago... Trying to get rid of them now. I would not recommend the spirals or any of the variations of them, and no, no need to get Texas cages for earthboxes - though I would recommend them for larger in-ground plants. Like tomatovator said, there is a staking system for the earthboxes, but you could even probably improvise something using the standard cone-type cages (thickest gauge wire available, preferably) clamped together like people do for homemade earthtainers....See MoreHelp! Maggots in my Earthbox & tomato plant is GONE
Comments (15)Bonnie, I am sorry you tossed it out. I agree with bdobs now--don't think they would have been a problem. Just cover with a bit more potting mix. And no you can't use the earthbox without the cover as rain would wet all the fertilizer all the time which you don't want. I have seen people do that but then they would have to mess with adding more fert. as it leaches down and that defeats the purpose of fertilizing once and then forget it. People should maybe put that organic fertilizer they send in the freezer for 24/48 hours before using --that would kill the larvae if it was already infested. Then when you use it be sure and cover with potting mix so flies can't get to it. Don't be too disappointed--they really do work great. I have used organic fertilizer with no problems at all....See Morerobt5625
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