How often have you been watering? And how much water? And what kind of temps inside? And where are you abouts?

When dealing with ferts you need to be talking TBS not tsp. You also should provide something like compost to provide nutrients like calcium & mg to the Promix BX.

I use both drip and the EZ-Flo/E-Z GRO.

I have likely not been watering enough it seems. Once every 5 days? The mix has still felt wet an inch or two down. I add about two gallons to each bucket. Temps are in the low to mid 80s peak and down to the mid 60s at night. I am in Charleston , SC. I would be grateful for any experience...thanks!

Here's my experience, since about the beginning of this millenium using this method.

First, I grow outside, not in a greenhouse. I grow in both raised beds (most are 3x8, 3x7, or 4x7 or 4x8, all anywhere from 11.5-13'' deep), as well as 4 gallon and 5 gallon buckets. Most I drill a lot of holes in the bottom or sides just above the bottom.

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I usually put a couple inches of municipal compost from a nearby town in the bucket. Then I mix the Pro-mix BX about 2 or 3 to 1 with more compost, trying to have about a third compost and the rest BX. I use a cheap cement mixer, (~$180, a good investment over a few years), and I mix everything in it. It does 3.5 cu ft so I can do four 5-gallon buckets per batch.

I add about a couple handfuls to a cup of Osmocote 14-14-14, Expert 17-17-17, Miracle-Gro Shake & Feed for Roses 9-18-9 or other time release fertilizer for about 3-4 containers, so about 1/4 cup or less per 4 or 5 gallon container. I also add some cheap granular like 9-12-12 to work with the compost more quickly.

I fill the buckets and shake them a little & top them off. I use a bulb cutter and insert it about half way down the bucket, twist it, and remove a plug of mix and add about another teaspoon or 2 of time release into the hole and insert the plant, then kick the bucket to settle around the plant and eject the rest of the mix from the bulb cutter around the plant and tamp.

I then, depending which I have available, mix up some Neptune's Harvest 2-4-1 fish fert (1 TBS/gal of water) or Maxicrop 1-0-4 seaweed powder (1/2 TBS/gal of water) and drench the containers. It's easiest using an Ortho Dial N Spray hose end sprayer, set sprayer to 4oz, add 4 TBS Maxicrop and fill the sprayer to the top; if using the fish, set at 4oz, add 8 TBS, fill sprayer to top.

I then use a pH meter and it's 6.2 to 6.5 99.9% of the time.

As for the drip irrigation, I use 1gph to 1.5gph worth of drippers per container. (Some are 1.5 drippers, otherwise I use 1/4'' dripline with preinstalled/built-in 1/2gph drippers, spaced 2 per container.) The timer comes on in the morning for 20 minutes and afternoon for 20 minutes. THEY ARE WATERED TWICE/DAY. This equals 2/3rds gallon to 1 gallon per day, EVERY DAY.

The smaller 4 gallon containers get the higher amount of water.

The compost provides the calcium and mg. You can also add Gypsum (calcium sulfate.)

As for the EZ-FLO, I had the smaller one but a few years back bought larger 3 gallon model. These can't be contantly under pressure so they need to go after the drip irrigation valve(s.) I have 3 different zones so I use 4 solenoids/valves, 1 as a master and the EZ-FLO after the master but before the others; wire the master to turn on at the same times allows the water to go thru the fertilizer injector and immediately thru/to a zone without getting pressurized and exploding.

I grow mostly tomatoes (60-75) peppers (40-45) plus a few other fruiting type veggies or fruits, so the fertilizer in the injector is similar for everything. I start out the first month with a hi-P "starter" fertilizer like a 10-52-8, this promotes strong roots and lots of blooms, then I switch to a more balanced fert like Plantex 15-15-18 for Soilless Mix but you can use something like a "tomato" fertilizer like 18-18-21, etc. If you can't find a ''starter'' type fert, then use a ''Bloom Booster'' like the old Miracle-Gro 15-30-15 (now they call it a Bloom Booster.) For a balanced fert, try Peters 20-20-20.

The trickiest part of container growing is enough water & food. If you keep them watered & fed they should do fine. You must water regularly, at least daily, and fertilize at least regularly because containers get flushed by the water draining, and so does the food.

I usually set the EZ-FLO to the middle setting for the initial fertilizing and then I turn the knob down to the minimum ''trickle'' setting (I believe 1000 or 10,000:1 ratio of water to fertilizer, depends on model of EZ-FLO/E-Z GRO.) This will maintain a minimal amount of fertilizer applied daily, which I've found works great, better than a weekly or bi-weekly larger dose. It's such a minute amount but adds up similar to weekly recommended amounts.

I've grown some 2lb+ tomatoes in as little as 4 gallon buckets filled just 3/4 full, and cherry tomatoes in just 6-quart pots using these methods. I grow about 30 tomatoes and 25 peppers in containers directly on my blacktop driveway. The rest are in the raised beds but using the same drip fertigation.

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Hope this helps.

bogaat,
Did you say that you watered a 5 gallon bucket about every 5 days, it was wet 2 inches from the top, and you added 2 gallons of water most times? did I get that right?

Do you have very fast draining buckets with lots of holes and a light weight potting mix? do you use a meter?

I am new to this, but after being gone for a week; my un- watered 'maters were very happy. The ones watered by a neighbor after 4 days were looking sickly. this after several weeks of my slight over watering.

I would wonder if you used a meter, and why you think this might be under-watering?

d

Thanks for the above feedback, korney19. So where am I going wrong now and what to correct? I am planning on more frequent watering, but what about the BER? Should I add something now or wait until next week when I fertilize again? Any suggestions on the fertilizer application, etc given what I have already started? I want to get things set right immediately out there if possible and work on getting some happy tomatoes :) .

Dont you just love Korney's garden? One of the best uses of space I've seen on GW! Who needs grass? Not me.

You're probably a local tourist attraction, LOL! Thanks for posting your methodology.

This Is A Super Fantastic Package That Comes Complete With A Beginners Guide To Hydroponic And Audio... An Advanced 463 Page Guide To Hydroponics... Super Bonus Diy Gardening On A Budget Also With Audio

Here is a link that might be useful: hydroponic garden

bogaat, do you have an EZ-FLO yet or no?

I got mine from QC Supply, I think the 3 gal version was around $60 at that time. Here's the link, I think this was the cheapest site I found; the pic is wrong, it's actually about 2ft tall:

http://www.qcsupply.com/qcsupply/browse/productDetailWithPicker.jsp?productId=360316

Do you have lots of drainage holes in your containers? What color are they? I usually drill some 1/2'' or so holes in the sides too, about an inch up (CL) from the bottom. It's easier to see that they are draining properly that way.

Do you have access to any compost? I would maybe top off the buckets with a good compost and water it in, the nutrients will find their way down thru the BX. There's almost no nutrients in BX, possibly just an initial charge for seedlings, if that. It's mostly just dolomitic & calcitic lime and a wetting agent to make the peat get wet easier.

Can you post any pics of the "brown tips" on those plants? Did they just shrivel up & die? Did any of the plants ever wilt? A picture's worth a thousand words!

Perhaps the best tip to help against BER is even, consistent watering, both amounts and frequency.

My summers are similar to your in-greenhouse conditions, usually 80-85, 90 max, and nights usually in the 60's.

Star_stuff, thanks. I think the only grass left is about an 18'' strip along the fence by the blue tarp. I got tired of walking back there to weedwhack it, my neighbor has a bagging mower so I just told him to dump his clippings and leaves on that spot. lol

And I'm PROUD to be a tomato grower--we don't hide our cages for the winter like dem fancy overpriced collapsing ones! lol

Here is a link that might be useful: EZ-FLO 3 gallon fertilizer injector system

Perhaps the best tip to help against BER is even, consistent watering, both amounts and frequency.

korney nailed the vital point when it comes to BER. It isn't so much a question of too much or too little water. It is consistent soil moisture levels. And that is nigh on to impossible to achieve in containers without an auto drip/watering system of some sort.

Just think about how, in your 5 gallon buckets, the moisture level is fluctuating greatly during those 5 days between waterings. Hand watering usually means drenched-till-drains one day and then fading to almost totally dry before getting drenched again.

A simple drip irrigation system on a timer would solve your problems. Small amount of water automatically given to the plants on a daily basis will quickly stabilize the soil moisture level. And it is easy to incorporate the EZ Flo fert injector into it too. The two systems used in conjunction make all the difference.

Dave

Or make SWC's and fa get about it! I think its too much fert too soon! Even the time release stuff. I would rather you send me a check than the fert companys and I wont do anything for you either!

Hello...I do have the ez-flo (1-1/3 gallon) and a drip system...in the box! Hopefully I will be installing on Monday. So it sounds like I likely have water issues over nutrients. I need to sit down and do the math on those before I do anything too wacky to my plants. Thanks for the feedback!

Can I ask a couple of questions?

What is the soilless mix like when you stick your fingers in it? Is it compacted? Does it stay wet or damp for long periods of time? How long does it take for your containers to dry out? Do you think your roots systems are being suffocated, or is their anything that could be inhibiting their ability to function? Maybe your ingredients in your mix have decomposed very quickly, filling in air spaces that you once had..

Do you know how to mix all these fertilizers? Are you aware of how certain nutrients can work against each other if you apply to much of one thing?

Such as, if you use too much Epsom salts, you can provide too much Mg which can inhibit Ca uptake, and vise versa..

Why not use one simple all around fertilizer that provides all the nutrients you need? If you are providing added Ca, then you need to provide added Ma..

Is your mix limed at all? How much have you added? What is the Ph of your mixes?

While all my neighbors lost their tomatoes to ber, mine were never affected.

Thanks...

Mike

Promix-BX is over 75% peat with a tad of vermiculite and perlite. No bark. It's a very fine textured peat, at that. It does have dolomite added, as do most commercial potting mixes.

It's not a product that I would choose to use, that's for sure, and could very well be contributing to the problems.

Do these containers have sufficient drainage holes?

To answer a few questions
1) Not compacted...it does seem to hold moisture well thanks to the peat
2) Dry out completely in 5-6 days...maybe less now that it is getting hotter.
3) I am slowly learning how to mix fertilizers...I do understand the relationships.
4) I will be mixing a weak fertilizer solution to apply via drip irrigation on a continual basis.
5) The BX does have lime
6) I need to check PH..I just calibrated my meter two nights ago.
7) I have roughly 6-7 1/2 inch holes in the bottom of the buckets...do I need more? Maybe some on the sides as well?

I used the BX per recommendations from Timmy1. It does seem like a lot of peat, but others seem to have success with it. Thanks for all of the feedback!

I'm not growing anything in containers this year but i tried 5 gal SWBuckects last year with great results. They were filled with pro-mix bx, which IMO is a great growing medium for containers. Just have to remember it contains no nutrients (it does have lime for ph control). I did add additional lime and a 1 cup organic fert of some kind (it was a product similar to tomato tone, which cannot be bought here) to start. Later in the season when the plants got bigger and had lots of fruit and only after they started showing signs of nutrient defficiencies i started adding ferts with daily watering of MG diluted to 1/14th or less of the manufacturer recommended ratio. The biggest problem i found with 5 gal buckets and ind tomato plants was that once the plant is large and mid summer heat gets here, they need watering at least 2x per day. Hope this helps the OP in some way.