Tomato Leaf Roll (you can find much about it under that name) is a physiological response of any tomato plant to stress. There are several possible causes but the most common cause is inconsistent soil moisture levels (too wet followed by too dry etc.) So if the leaves were rolling before you moved the plants that would likely be the cause. Other less common causes are excess nitrogen, pests, diseases, etc. in other words anything that causes the plant stress. I will ask if there is any fruit set on that plant? Given it's size I would expect to see fruit. If not then I'd make sure you aren't over feeding it or using a high N fertilizer. As for the moving - while its not beneficial in any way and should be avoided it sure shouldn't do any permanent or long term damage. Dave PS: hornworm season here begins in about 7-10 days so likely they are already in your zone. I'd get your plants dusted with Bt and begin daily checks.

I got some first-hand evidence of how the Smart Pots seem to work. I had transplanted a Quercus michauxii seedling around April 1 into a Smart Pot. It was bitten off by a critter this weekend, so I decided (since I have more michauxii seedlings than I need anyway) to just sacrifice it, and dump and check out the root system. There was one long, slightly "thick" root going down at an angle off the air-pruned tip of the taproot that had reached the bottom and worked its way into the fibers. The root had not emerged from the outside of the pot, but instead seems to have gotten "stuck" there. No side roots had branched off of this particular root yet, but I imagine that the Smart Pot works both by airpruning AND 'trapping' of the root tip.

As to the claims that the CFLs produce as much heat as a HID I respectfully disagree. I am as cynical as anybody regarding advertising and the like but I know MH and HPS bulbs get extremely hot and will send you to the ER if you are unfortunate enough to touch one while it is on. In my experience the CFL gets slightly warm near the ballast but the bulb could be touched and it won't burn you or your plants. I can keep tops of plants about 3"-5" away from the CFL but about 15" from HID due to heat scorching the plants. The 125 watt Vitalume which emits approximately 10,500 lumens (this is not the equivalent to a 125 watt incandescent which is actually only 42 watts and emits about 1750 lumens) works excellent for plant growth but as others stated it only covers an area of about 2' x 2' effectively. They work great in the hobby greenhouses especially if you line the inside with mylar or something similar. But HID offers most lumens per dollar. For example, 400 watt HPS with hortilux bulb about $275.00 for 58,000 lumens or a budget MH 400 watt with std MH bulb about $200.00 for about 30,000 lumens.

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