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Growing Tomatoes

The EarthTainer 'Farm' Photo Update - May 19 (pics)

14 years ago

About 3 weeks since my last update. Cold and (un)typically rainy for N. California this time of year. Anyway, the "Farm" continues to make progress:

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Paul Robeson is now 65 inches tall with prolific flowering:

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Danko is my lead fruitset producer with more than 10 now visible:

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Bloody Butcher has multiple fruitset:

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With even Japanese Black Trifele getting into the act:

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The Fertilizer trials are showing early differences in plant growth, but too early to weigh in on which brand is the winner. Identical Goose Creek with Brand "A" in the 'Tainer on the left, and Brand "B" in the right 'Tainer:

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Again, Brand "B" Goose Creek in the 'Tainer on the left, and Brand "C" fertilizer in the 'Tainer on the right:

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I think it is apparent that Brand "C" is taking the lead in plant growth and vigor.

The Bell Peppers that I over-wintered and cut back a few weeks ago are re-growing nicely, and I think I will do the same again next Season, as they are showing blossoms already in mid-May:

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My NuMex Heritage 6-4 Peppers are now starting to flower:

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Corn is growing more than one inch per day, even with this crummy weather:

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Starts every 2 weeks should keep me in sweetcorn from mid-July on through the Fall:

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So, in spite of the poor weather, life is good down on the "Farm":

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Raybo

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Comments (6)

moms_helper_2008
14 years ago
Great job Raybo. Simply outstanding!
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sprtsguy76
14 years ago
Looking good Ray! Can we have a warm spell here already?! Dont look now but we might get a little more rain next week! How about that Danko, it really fires out the fruit early and often. I dont remember if I asked you this before but, did you pull out and replant those over wintered peppers or leave them in the same mix and tainer?

Damon
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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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structure, I am still experimenting with different ratios of the potting mix, bark fines, and perlite. I've got some of the 'Tainers in the 3:2:1 ratio (like the Big Beef in the photo above), some in a 2:2:1 ratio. A few is a 3:3:2 combo mix, then some with a 3:4:2 ratio. So far, the 3:2:1 combo mix is kickin' it! Raybo
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star_stuff
14 years ago
So jealous! Look how lush and green everything is! And a ton of blossoms!
0
rnewste
Original Author
14 years ago
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:

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Today, one Month later foliage and buds all over the plants:

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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
0
kdc95014
14 years ago
Very impressive garden! I am thinking about growing Danko next year. How is the taste compared to other early varieties (ie. Early Girl)?
Thanks,
Karen
0
rnewste
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi Karen,

This is my first year growing Danko, so I can't comment on taste. Maybe Damon can give you his opinion. Candidly, I am growing Early Girl as well and Danko is far outproducing it in terms of number of tomatoes as of today.

Raybo
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