I don't know anyone personally who tried growing tomatoes in bales personally, but I have read some other blogs/forums where a couple people discussed it. Most were disappointed and stated they wouldn't do it again.

Teresa I went to that web site, but couldn't find a price. Here's my take on this:

1) It is good to enjoy growing things and the satisfaction of doing it just might not have a price.

2) For some folk, just a grow box might be just the ticket.

3) But, if one has the physical ability and time, it is probable that they could do as well, for a lot less money.

I'm hesitant to say "don't do it," because I can imagine a number of cases where this could be a wonderful thing for a person. But if you can, I'd recommend that you chat with some of our members who do container gardening (I don't) and/or ask on a GW forum which specializes on container gardening.

George
In Tahlequah & enjoying his second cup of coffee!

I saw the ad for the Grow Box as well. My thoughts were "Cool.." then "Hmmm.. I bet I could do this a lot cheaper".. then "I bet I could not only build it cheaper, but add some improvements" I do some container gardening as well as my in ground and raised bed gardens. I've found that really, if you want to do the Grow Box type thing, you can get a self watering planter from Wal~Mart cheaper. Generally, if you're container gardening, you won't have weeds in it, but either a layer of weed barrier or newspaper works just as well. You get the same chance of fungus control in using a plain old self watering planter or a planter with the lip to pour the water in. Aqua Globes are also good for keeping the soil moist for long periods and for ease of watering... an empty soda bottle works well too. With a self watering planter, the water is still going to move up towards the roots either as the soil dries and it draws it up, or as the water evaporates, creating humidity for the plant that can be absorbed by root or foliage. You can either use your own homemade potting soil, or a commercial potting soil, or even just a plain old top soil/manure mix. I've even done container gardening with just aged manure and it worked well for many things. You get all of the durability (especially if you buy the more expensive, thicker walled self waterers), ease of use/checking/watering and portability. With the Grow Box, you're going to have to put it on a table or wall or something to avoid bending and stooping (it only measures 12" in height) You can accomplish the same thing with a self watering planter. The only aspect of the Grow Box that I personally saw that was a little interesting was the Nutrient Patch,but they don't give any real idea as to just what is in this patch, whether the additives are organic or if they are geared more towards veggies, annuals or perennials, fruits, etc. You can more accurately manage the same thing by adding a few Miracle Grow sticks geared towards what you're growing in it or just making sure that the soil you use is balanced. You can find the self watering containers in just about any gardening arena a lot less expensively than the $29.99 they are asking for the Grow Box. And you can find different shapes and colors and often larger containers than they're advertising.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just giving my thoughts on the product. You can also make your own. I'm linking some good instructions on how. :)

Kathy ~ Just my two cents

Here is a link that might be useful: Making a Self Watering Planter

Teresa,

I really think it would be a little hard to keep a robust tomato plant happy in an Earth Box in our climate. I just don't think they are quite large enough and the watering reservoir probably would have to be refilled almost daily. I also am not a fan of any system, in general, that wicks moisture upward into the soil (or soilless mix) because it generally keeps roots too wet--they like to dry out a little every now and then. Roots that stay continuously wet are more prone to disease and other problems.

There is a gentleman named Raybo who posts often on the Tomato forum here at Garden Web who makes his own version of the Earth Box, and he is not the only one. Kathy already linked one set of instructions, and you could google and find many more. What is nice about using Raybo's threads as a source, though, is that he is actually growing tomatoes in his containers and he reports frequently on improvements to the system, how his tomatoes are growing, the varieties that do well for him in his Earthtainers, how much his tomato plants produce, photos of how-to-make-them plus photos of them in use, etc. So, I've linked just one of Raybo's threads below. If you want to read more, you can go to the Tomato forum and type the words Raybo Earthtainer into the search box at the bottom of the page, and it will bring up all the previous threads in which he discusses his Earthtainers. There's about 40 old threads there.

As far as the old bales of straw: could you tell if the plants had been planted directly into the straw or if the straw had sort of been hollowed out and filled with a good-quality soilless mix? In some parts of the country that stay significantly cooler than ours in the summer, growing in hay bales can work pretty well. I would think it would be hard, though, to keep them moist enough here. I suspect that anyone growing in hay bales is either letting the roots creep down into the soil beneath the bales, is adding potting mix and a granular fertilizer to the bale, or is feeding weekly with a water-soluable plant fertilizer. Hay bales alone, especially if they are fresh and haven't started to decompose yet, most likely could not give the plants the nutrition they need. And, if bermuda grass plagues your gardening area, the hay bales can turn into a mess. If the hay bales have enough water/nutrition to grow tomato plants, then any nearby bermuda grass will creep into the bales and grow into them too. I know this from experience because I use a lot of hay bales in my garden, and any bale set on top of bermuda grass becomes infested with bermuda grass.

Hay bales are a whole can of worms in and of themselves. In general, I only buy (or accept as a gift--more about that later) bales of hay from people I know or from a reputable supplier. Here's why: In the early 2000s compost made from hay/straw that had been sprayed by a particular broadleaf weed killer got into the compost distribution system, including compost made by cities from collected yard waste and then either sold/given to residents of those cities. That weed killer had a very long half-life in the compost and damaged/killed people's gardens. The garden plots were unusable for several years. Once it was determined just which broadleaf weedkiller was the problem, I was (and continue to be) very careful to ask people if they have sprayed their hay with that particular chemical and steer clear of their hay if they have. A very similar thing happened in Great Britain last year, leading to that broadleaf weedkiller being voluntarily removed from the market while the regulatory agencies studied the issue and tried to determine how to proceed. What about all the gardeners whose gardens were ruined though?

Also, if you use "old" straw or hay that has begun to decompose, that can present issues in terms of fungal disease. I use a lot of old straw and hay, but I am careful to watch for developing disease issues and move aggressively to combat them the moment they first appear.

Living in a rural area, I have lots of friends, neighbors and acquaintances who often have old, leftover hay that's no longer fit to feed their cattle or horses. Sometimes they give it to me. I've been given as much as 30 to 40 squares bales at one time and one guy gave me 4 huge round bales my second summer here. I am always careful about using these, but they do make great mulch and, as they decompose, they feed the soil. Once again, though, I make sure they haven't been sprayed with a broadleaf weedkiller OR I make sure they are at least 3 years old, because in 3 years time, the broadleaf weedkiller residue should have dissipated. Hay can contain seeds of weeds (broadleaf and grassy) so I always put a layer of newspaper or cardboard between the soil and the hay/straw to help prevent the seeds from sprouting. (And, sometimes they sprout anyway and give me weeds I didn't need.) If you put down a layer of hay/straw, you can lessen the number of seeds that sprout by scattering an organic pre-emergent agent on top of the hay/straw.

Ruth Stout used bales of straw laid on top of the ground both as mulch and to enrich her soil for decades. She was a very successful gardener and she had beautiful soil, but she laid the mulch on thick--at least 12" I think, and then pulled back the mulch and planted into the soil or the lower levels of straw that had partially decomposed. The very depth of her mulch kept a lot of weeds from sprouting, and if they sprouted, she piled more mulch on top of them to smother them. That would work with some of the weeds we have here, but it wouldn't work with bermuda grass.

I hope this info helps.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on Raybo's Earthtainers

Thank you all for your valued information and 2 cents worth.
I think I will just keep doing what I've been doing and hope for the best. Five gallon buckets were given to me but just the potting mix and prepping the soil can become expensive. We also live in a rural area and our water costs us almost triple what city residents pay.

We did pruchase a 108 gallon tank last spring to catch rain water in but when it's dry I drag out the hoses.

Bermuda grass is a problem here too. It almost took over my strawberries last summer. I think I spent several hours pulling bermuda out.

Thanks again,
Teresa