wow that is some set up

beautiful plants and interesting set-up.

hope they didn't scare the doggie away

Ahhhh,

I even see plant clips this season!

Looking good!

I've got a few fruit setting on some of mine, any baby fruit showing yet Bing?

Hey Sirdanny, Greenhouser2...This is my third year with this set-up and I've proved (at least to myself) that this self watering system is no fluke. I always have beautiful plants and don't get any of the soil borne diseases like wilt, etc., you normally get here in Florida planting in the ground. The only problem I ever have is with some blossom end rot on my Park's Whoppers...the other varieties don't even get that. This system grows big, beautiful tomatoes...and plenty of them!!

Gringojay...doggies (Little-Man and Puddin) are tough and keep the squirrels away from my deck. Will try to include them next time.

Timmy...got some clips and also am going to try the tomato cluster hooks. Lost some clusters last year from heavy fruit bending the stems so thought the hooks might work. I really like the tomato clips...much faster than tying. I've got my first tomato...a Big Boy. Have a bunch of blossoms so I bet I'll have a lot of small tomatoes when I get home this weekend. Saw you PICs post but am on a govt computer here at work which won't let me see them. Look forward to seeing them this weekend on my computer.

cheers all

Bing

Wow...anyone want to donate me $1,500 or so for me to set one of those systems up? ;)

tn veggie,

Tell your Spouse that in the long run, letting you spend $1500 for gardening is far cheaper than chasing wild women at the local bar, etc. I ALWAYS get away with that line.....

Raybo

hahaha...i'll give it a try & see what she says. ;-) *slap!* lol

bingster, finally got on my computer at home so I could view the pictures. Getting better every year and looks like your going to give timmy1 a run for his money this year. I started using tomato clips 2 years ago and thats the only way to go. I noticed timmy1 is using the clips to attach the plants to the stakes versus a string hanging down as you have done. Maybe the string comes later. Anyway, beautiful plants and a very sanitary setup. Well done. Ami

I really enjoy all the posts here especially yours, Timmy1's and rnewste's. Learned a lot. So I am growing tomatoes in bins, with twine, leave only one stem, growing 4 big beefs (1 or mostly two for all other 40+ varieties), growing corns...Want a outdoor hottub now. There was a Brazosvallygardener here before too but can't find him anymore:(
Where do you all get that fancy tomato clips? Can't find them in HD or Lowes. I always train the tomatoes so tired of tieing them after work because the mosquitoes just love me. I need those clips.
NGTX

Looks like a terrific season underway...good to see yours again! Can you reveal your current soil mix recipe and fertilization routine. Thanks.

newgardener,

BV Gardener seems to have disappeared from this Forum, as well as another tomato one. Too bad, as his pictures and reports were quite informative. Maybe the Economy (I think he was in the Computer biz) bit him. Anyway, I hope he rejoins the GW Forum, as he is missed.

Raybo

Bing,

I've never had problems with clusters breaking off on Big Beef. Although I have used the cluster "j" hooks (I call them Truss Gussets) before.

Did someone say something about plant clips?

Take a handful or two!

Anyone guess how many in this box?

9,998-1/2 Timmy...Closest wins a?

great setup Bingster, please do let us know your current potting mix. I'm going to try a few buckets besides my garden this year and again in my greenhouse this fall. John

dude...Timmy...Please let us know where you get the plant clips. :) This bendable metal wire with plastic coating ain't cuttin' it.

Crop King and Johnny's are two sources that sell tomato clips. Ami

ok...Johnny's...cool...thanks. =)

Morning all,

Couple of questions to answer today.

Veggiegardner:
Timmy1 and Ami gave answers on clips and hooks. I bought mine on-line from Berry Hill Garden Irrigation up in Virginia, I bought 300 clips and 200 J-clips for $59 which included shipping and received them within a week. I'd recommend these guys and believe their prices might be better than Johnny's and Crop King...but you can compare yourself.

Crabbcat, Chalstonsc,

This is my third year with these boxes. When I filled them three years ago I used Miracle Grow potting mix (2 cu ft bags) with fertilizer cause that's the only miracle grow I could find. I leave the black plastic on over the winter. Last year I used the original mix and just topped it off with a little new mix to fill the boxes. This year, I did not add any new mix so what's in the pots is 3 years old. We'll see how it does...but so far so good.

My fertilizer mix is a cup and 1/2 of Fertilome tomato food which I get at Ace hardware. Also add a 1/2 cup of Epsom salt. I did mix in some lime into the mix to try and help with BER I sometimes get. It didn't help last year, though.

NGTX,

You'll really like the Big Beef...I think they're great and Timmy1 grows millions of them. He's the expert on them, I think! I'd grow only them if I could find seedlings locally, but I can't. See above for clips. Welcome aboard!! You'll learn a lot here...not from me, but there are others like Timmy1 who really know their stuff.

Mon AMI!!!!

Great to hear from you and thanks for the kind words! Everything is going fine so far so am hoping for a much more producative season this year than last. Hope all is great on the other side of the pond!!

cheers all

Bing

Bingster,how large are your containers?

Love your set-up Mr. Bing!

Hi Ralph and Nabcity,

Ralph...standard 18 gallon totes...I still plant two plants per container. Once the plants hit 5-6 feet it gets pretty dense with all the foliage but still workable.

Thanks Nab,

It works well but one of these days I'm going to build a PVC trellis system that's more of a box so I don't have to prune so much.

Vine clips at Cropking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cropking

My fertilizer mix is a cup and 1/2 of Fertilome tomato food which I get at Ace hardware. Also add a 1/2 cup of Epsom salt.

Hey Bing, is that per container? If so, what do you estimate the CF or gallon amount of mix per container to be?

Tom

meisen...thanks...bookmarked.

Hi tomncath,

I buy the 2 cu ft bags of Miracle Grow and it takes maybe 3/4s of a bag to initially fill the containers.

cheers

Bing

I've had pretty good luck arresting BER by adding Potash to the soil. I have noticed a marked reduction in the incidence of BER once it's added to the soil. Also, in those fruits that are affected, the BER does not seem to progress further into the fruit once the Potash gets into the soil and plants. (I still don't eat them!)

Maybe it's just luck, but it just seems to work well for me.

Cindy

Hey Bingster,

Each year, your photos show less and less deck planking, and more and more tomato plants. Looks like next year, you have room to expand by another 10 containers!!!

Raybo

Your going to need to get under that deck and add some extra bracing with that big fruit-load.:)

Timmy,

I think you need to "coach" Bingster on setting up a roadside stand, and selling all of those tomatoes. I just can't imagine what he will do with all of them this year.

Raybo

Morning all,

Thanks Cindy...will see how they do this year. I only seem to have BER problems with the Parks Whopper. My other plants don't get it...so I know some of it has to do with the variety. Some are more likely to get it than others. I'll keep the potash in mind though...thanks!

Hi Raybo and Timmy...you know what they say.."don't count your chickens..." Hopefully, beautiful plants will turn into loads of beautiful tomatoes. We'll see. Raybo, no mas, no mas...I can't handle any more containers. 28 is enough!! Talk about a set-up though...Timmy's set up is awesome...talk about lot's of tomatoes!! Hope all is well in RI and CAL!

cheers all

Bingster,

Roughly how many gallons of water do these containers hold? I guess it depends on how high up the aeration bench is.

I'm thinking about using 18 gallon Sterilite containers this fall or next year. Living in AZ, I would want a fairly good size water reservoir.

do the cucumbers climb naturaly or do ya need to help them along? mine just creep on the ground

Morning,

Mister Gin. My bench is about 5 inches up. I "wagged" this but figured 18" long by 14" wide by 5" deep equals 1260 cubic inches of water. 231 cubic inches per gallon equals 5.45 gallons. This is only a guess but I'd say 4-5 gallons.

Mn matt..there are two types...bush cucumbers and vining cucumbers...just like pole and bush type beans. Mine are the vine type which will wrap their tendrils around anything they touch. So...it is very easy to just train them my vertical twine.