Hi Kiee, No need to post pictures now: 1) I've only made four BWBs, four down, seventy six to go. We've just been through an extreme drought and I can't get home in time to water my containers daily without obvious heat stress, and the need for water conservation has made this move to BWBs a simple choice for me. 2) The garden is rather ratty now, just pulled out my two trellises of pole beans and started one trellis of yardlong beans as that's the only bean that will grow through our Florida summer heat and humidity. I've been container gardening for two years now but mostly in the fall and spring as not much in the way of traditional garden crops will grow in Zone 10 during the summer, Metki and Armenian melons in place of cukes, Calabash gourds and Tromboncino winter squash in place of traditional summer squash.... I have purchased enough 3.5 gallon and 6 gallon containers to build all my BWBs for the fall, this project should keep me busy for the summer ;-) Here's where I purchased my buckets, at the case price. FWIW, here's my basic garden layout. I'll be moving the BWBs into my bunkers.... Tom

wayner - It's good to see someone growing in buckets this fall - as I do the same each year, myself. Due to the size of the squash plants and the relatively low "N" content of the fertilizer, it's safe to apply it now. The beans should be ok too, I figure. I'll be growing cauliflower and broccoli in self watering planters made from buckets later myself, and you can follow my progress/failures at the link below. EG Here is a link that might be useful: click here

I had requested input from those that had more experience with SWC's because I was having such mixed results as you probably read. The tomatoes were specifically problematic as I said here: "...Due to the problems with the tomatoes, IÂm thinking that they should be placed into shallower, but larger containers like the 10-gal Rubbermaid Totes. Considering that the inventor of the commercially market EB specifically designed it to accommodate two tomato plants (within its 29L x 14W x 11H outside dimensions) the success of plants grown in this sized container speaks to this containers ability to provide ample room for the root system as well as being able to deliver nutrients and hydration. 10-gal Rubbermaid Totes dimensions are 24L x 16W x 9H. Since the soil depth for the commercial EB unit is approx 8", using a dual 10-gal system for ONE plant may work just as well, if not better than the commercial EB." I'm still thinking that the depth of the soil was indeed the problem. The tomato plants will continue to suck as much water as they can I found, even to the extent that the roots are constantly soaked. I don't believe that tomatoes really enjoy being that wet, but the hydration is driven by the complex root structure and that wet state can certainly be exacerbated by the potting mix. Ughh! I have been following a few gardening blogs and Green Roof Growers has a great one with SWC's (SIP's as they call them). This year, they decided that the tomatoes needed a larger water reservoir so they purchased 8-gallon buckets and grew in them. They had a terrible growing year...didn't we all...and their tomatoes did horribly. Looking at the photos, I thought they looked quite a bit like mine...rather spindly and not a lot of lush green growth. They posted that they weren't sure what the problem was, but maybe after they pull their plants they'll discover that the tomatoes were sucking too much water. Just a thought... As far as the mix goes, I'm going to try a little different mix in mine next year with more bark fines and less peat. I posted the question about "basic mixes" at the link below and got a little feedback, but I'm still going to experiment with Al's suggestion: "7 bark fines 2 peat 1 perlite 1 vermiculite 1 tbsp garden lime/gallon would probably be a very good mix for SWCs. For a fertilizer program, I would use something with a 3:1:2 ratio like MG 24-8-16 for the first month after potting, then switch to a 1:2:2 ratio like 5-10-10 or even a 1:1:1 blend such as the 14-14-14 you're using. Please be sure your plants are getting the secondary macronutrients and all the minors. Ca and Mg are particularly important." Does this help? Donna H. Here is a link that might be useful: Best 'Basic' Mix For Vegetable Growing

I'm the same way, I've used 7, 5 and 3.5 gallon black nursery containers until last year. At that point I moved into 5 and 3.5 gallon buckets to have options for both top watering and bottom watering. I still use Al's mix for top watering, it's extremely light and fast draining so picking up the buckets and moving them is not problematic. I'll post a few links below for review. Bear in mind that the concept can be use to either wick water into the mix or out of the mix if you make two bottom buckets, one with holes at the bottom to drain water out, the other with holes higher on the sides such that the bottom bucket is a water reservoir. I've been asked why the double bucket system for top watered plants, the answer is that the PWT (perched water table) drops down into the cup such that all the mix in the container stays dry enough that roots can occupy the whole container, this is why you can grow tomatoes in a 3.5 gallon container, it provides just as much dry soil as a 5 gallon container with a 3-4" PWT at the bottom of the bucket, and if you're makeing quite a few buckets it cuts down on the mix you have to buy or make. Tom How to make 5 gallon SCWs More on making 5 gallon SWCs>