alisande, This is my first year growing cucumbers, and they are a hoot. Must be my imagination, but they seem to go from a tiny "pickle" to 8 inches long in a week. Surely, this can't be true, and I've got to pay more attention, but in the photo above, I was really stunned to find four of the Burpless that had developed so quickly. Guess I am used to the long cycles for tomatoes and Peppers. Ben, I will concur that Goose Creek is more "sensitized" to disease versus a variety like Big Beef (above), so that is why I grow a range of varieties. Next Season, I am going to try to isolate the Goose Creek Tainer far back in the yard to see if separation from the other tomato plants will help it resist fungal disease a bit better. Raybo

mangled, I have found that the EarthTainer extends the Season for me - both in the early Spring, as well as the late December crop. For reference, here is a photo taken on June 19 several years ago of plant status: Contrast that with the photos in my first post. The grow media in the EarthTainers warms up much earlier in the Spring as compared to the raised bed, so I am harvesting tomatoes now 4 to 6 weeks earlier in the Season. Also, the consistent water and fertilizer feeding in the 'Tainers helps the plants achieve constant growth. The Paul Robesons have grown 63 inches in the past 70 days. Corn is growing more than an inch a day. Likewise, later in the Fall I am able to grow crops like Snow Peas as the Sun's warmth on the sides of the 'Tainers keep soil temperatures higher than would be in the ground: I am also observing less soil borne disease and bug infestations vs. what I had experienced in the raised bed. Maybe the bugs just haven't figured out how to climb the sidewalls of the 'Tainers yet, but to date, I have yet had to pull a single weed. I am also saving a lot of water on my Bill as there is virtually no run-off (nor feeding weeds) as was the case in the raised bed. There are downsides, to be sure. Getting the right grow media combo mix has been an ongoing "science experiment" as straight Potting Mix keeps the plant's roots too wet in a self-watering container application, and the tomatoes can have a watered-down "hydroponic" taste. So this is an ongoing trial and error "tweak" to fine tune the 3:2:1 Combo Mix of Potting Mix, Decorative Groundcover Bark, and Perlite. My goal is to starve the plants with just enough moisture so they start to wilt on really hot days, but then recover overnight. As the Vineyard owners in Napa do with their grape crops in the Summer, this restriction of moisture provides the sweetest fruit. So it is with tomatoes as well. Balancing out the Combo Mix ratios and ingredients is what I am now working on this Season. Stay tuned..... Raybo

Damon, As I mix 2 Cups of 14-14-14 CRF in with the Dolomite Lime about 6 inches deep for the Pepper and CornTainers, it made sense to simply pull the over-wintered Peppers, and put them in a new 'Tainer after the Lime and fertilization process was done. They really looked terrible in February, but I just cut all of the leaves off but 2, and trimmed the stem to about a 6 inch height. This is what they looked like on April 18: Today, one Month later foliage and buds all over the plants: Your Paul Robesons, JBT, Druzba, Early Girl, GRS, and BW-S are all doing great. While you and I may not be happy with the recent weather, the plants are apparently liking it. No disease or bugs to deal with - yet. Raybo

johnny, I experimented with aquarium heaters in my Spring IncuTainers 2 years ago. What I discovered is that here in San Jose, the weather warms up considerably quicker (this Spring was an exception) so that using them in February / March did not really make much of a difference to first harvest. However, for those in Upstate NY or similar climes, the aquarium heaters *may* be a worthwhile experiment to get a jump on the Season. Raybo