EarthTainer 'Farm' Update - May 23 (pics)

14 years ago

It has been a wonderful week in N. California (other than our State runs out of money in 2 months).

All of the plants have put on another 7 to 10 inches of growth in the past 8 days since my last photo update:

Bloody Butcher and Buckbee continue to lead in the height department:

But Goose Creek is "flying high" as well (New Tomato-tone on one side; Old Tomato-tone on the other - You call it!):

Even though Big Beef (left) and Celebrity are on a shaded deck with a 50% lattice cover, they are coming along quite robustly as well. I used a 50/50% Old and New Tomato-tone blend on these two plants, and this combo is looking pretty promising so far:

Staged plantings of sweet corn are doing fine in the full sun now:

And the Gurney's Gotta Have-it: is sporting silks now:

I am VERY glad that I planted only 15 stalks per 'Tainer this year, as they all look "happy" in their home this year:

So far, no major pest problems. I have sprayed with Serenade as we have an outbreak of Powdery Leaf Mildew here this Spring.

Now, time for a work-out session in the Hot Tub!

Raybo

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Comments (8)

earthworm73
14 years ago
Nice pics Raybo. What kinda temps are you seeing in your area?
rnewste
Original Author
14 years ago
Earthworm 73,

Temps are in the moderate range this week. Mid 70's to low 80's. Just perfect for outdoor activities (and pollination, as well).

BTW, I am going to be employing your corn pollination technique with the Ball jar and "sock-puppet" this week. I am thinking about putting a light spray of Pam on the corn silks before wiping on the pollen. What do you think? I saw where Duane used vegetable oil, although I never heard if he was successful with this approach.

Raybo
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RJ, The EarthTainer holds 3.3 cubic feet of potting mix. This season, I spaced the stalks at 6" distance from each other. Regarding last season, the plants exceeded 6 ft.: Production was satisfactory, but I spaced them too closely, something like 24 stalks per 'Tainer, and several of them never fully matured. The ears that did fully mature were about 6" to 7" long: This year already, the 15 stalks per 'Tainer really look healthy, so we shall see what kind of yield I get. kandhi, I use Miracle-Gro Potting Mix WITHOUT Moisture Control. The version with MC wicked up too much moisture in my early trials, and the one without MC works fine. It is also 25% cheaper on a cubic foot basis. Next year, I would like to experiment with some of Al's mix formulations to see if they improve on yield and longevity of use. I do agree with his view of bark fines, and as you can see in the above photos, I use bark fines during the growing season to screen the black moisture barrier from the sun, but when I pull out the root ball, I will let the bark fines fall into the hole, and mix them in with new potting mix for next season. Raybo
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Thank you both for your insights. In the drought run we've been on for the last couple weeks I have held back watering and the 2nd plant in the container all the way to the right is actually starting to 'come back' and some new tomatoes are forming on the flower buds. The first plant on the right in the front actually had a really low sucker and it has also sprung to life looking very normal. Not sure what to make of this, but the soil in that ET is very wet (inexplicably). I've not added water to it in a week now. I did cut off the dead stuff and tossed it in the trash instead of compost. If it is diseased I don't want it around. Raybo.. some of the bark I used was very new. Some wood pieces were mixed in and they did have a sappy kind of feel. I picked them out as I was sifting. Bummer... sounds like I goofed. My neighbor gave the mulch to me as they decided to go with stones out front and not the bark. I think instead of cramming the extra 5 gallon earthtainers all the way to the left (in the pic, some out of frame) I need to instead spread the 5 tainers apart further and make sure the ETs are perfectly level. It'll let more air in and minimize another potential cause of problems if they are spread out more. farkee, it's a semi old mix. I used the soil last year, but it has been amended with more perlite and pine bark fines. The seeds I used in these Earthtainers were exclusively from Raybo and as you can see how fantastic his plants are, it's very unlikely he gave me a disease on my seeds. I had yellowing last year too, but the moisture of the soil mix was thought to be responsible. I can't justify paying $40 in testing for the small number of plants in my tiny back yard, but thanks for the suggestion. I'd be better off supporting local farmers at the farmer's market with my $40 and buying their tomatoes. I did hedge my bets by also growing tomatoes in the ground in case something happened. I put them wherever I could find a spot. Here's two of them: From 070710
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Help Â I need the advice from a SWC expert. Last weekend I built two SWC containers. Mind you, IÂm not a talented builder of any sorts. So at any rate Â after deciding to try 17 different tomato plants this year, and having had my share of dreaded BLER , I decided to give the SWC a try (funny how things in February when it is rainy and cold seem like a good idea Â just like my 50Â x 20Â lasgane garden idea) At any rate Â I had plants I started from seed that absolutely needed to get in the ground. In my area, I could not find the 4 pronged tomato supports, so I decided to invest in the Texas Tomato Cages Â Well, I followed the direction pretty much to a tee on the first container Â right up to filling the container. Well with the Texas Tomato cages, there is only about a 4 inch gap between the first ring and the top of the container. Needless to say, filling the container was a real PIA!!!!After struggling with filling the first container in 100 degree heat, I realized it would be much easier to fill the container if I simply added the black plastic after I filled the container Â Can I remind you it was 100 degree, and those bags get heavier when the temp goes up. O.K. now on to the second container. After building the first container, I learned a few things along the way and the assembly went much faster.. I was able to finish the second container in about half the time as the first (now it is above 100 degrees and of course I need to fill the container in direct sun) o.k. Â so now I have proudly planted the rest of my tomato crop only to look up on my porch to see the two 4" PVC support parts that are used to support the aeration bench!!!!!!!! UGHHHHHHH Â So now what do I do? Do I dig up the plants, take out all the dirt, undo the whatever type of bolts those are that hold the aeration bench to the container and put the supports in? Or do I risk it and just let it be????
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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
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tammysf
14 years ago
Looking good raybo. Aren't u loving this weather. Perfect for fruitset.

Its supposed to be a little hotter next week.

I am about a month behind you in my plantout date but your plants are twice the size of mine.
duajones
14 years ago
Ray, I used mineral oil right where the silks meet the corn to try and avoid earworm problems that folks mention. I tried to do this once I felt pollination had occured. I have no idea at this point how well pollination went or if the mineral oil helped at all. The 25th will be 20 days from the point the first silks appeared so I am keeping a close eye on them. I did notice that the cob is peeking out on most and I am not sure if that is good or bad. Just have to wait and see, but I am hopefull that things are ok because I cant wait to bite into a buttered ear of sweet corn for the first time in my garden. Some success would definitely make me want to do it again.

Duane
rnewste
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the reply Duane. We don't have earworm problems here in Silicon Valley (no one grows corn out here), so I guess we don't have the "traditional" insects.

My thought on the oil treatment on the silks was to make the pollen adhere better to each silk. Sounds from your report that the oil is not for that purpose. Guess I will then just try to "paint" the pollen on to the silks.

Raybo
lantanascape
14 years ago
Wow, 15 corn plants per EarthTainer is impressive. Everything looks great!
earthworm73
14 years ago
Raybo, I think you got me confused with someone else. I am still new to earthtainers you don't want my opinion on anything if you want success.

Larrick
Pandorae
14 years ago
Thanks for the update. Very nice indeed!

I too am growing Goose Creek but ordered my seeds on Ebay and was worried they were not the real deal. Your past comments about the celery like leaves though have set my mind at ease. I am seeing the same foliage. Hope mine taste as good as your 2008 crop.

Also enjoyed the picture of your new grandchild. He really is adorable. Congratulations!

Pandorae

EarthTainer 'Farm' Update - May 23 (pics)

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EarthTainer 'Farm' Update - May 23 (pics)

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earthworm73

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