>> at the moment is hard summer so it's very hot most of the time and the area is very sunny. Hard time to start anything without copious amounts of water. Heck, itâÂÂs a hard time. Period. I would strongly suggest an airy mulch such as straw instead of a flat mulch such as bark or wood chips. Both can work well, but in your high temperatures you need insulation on the soil. >> should i use those small water sprinklers or drippers at the beginning? If you can, itâÂÂs easier to control the watering with slow drip emitters and you control the amount with time. Most plants do not need to have their leaves watered, so the less water that gets sprayed, the better. Sprays can be helpful when seeding, but I use lines of drip tubing (with the holes all along its length) covered with lots of airy-type mulch to keep the surface, and thus the small seeds, from drying out. It seems to work well. I do hit it with a hose occasionally. However, end emitter drip in the desert carries the possibility of a hidden problem. With very stingy drip and good drainage, such as with "sandy compost" ground, you can have underwatering in a way. You can drip water for an entire day and although the water has gone down quite a bit there might be no trace of moisture in the soil just one foot away. Be sure to check often for what is NOT getting watered. >> how long to water each session depending on what method will be used to watering. Your times depend on your results. HowâÂÂs THAT for a wimpy answer! We have had less than an inch/25mm of rain in the entire year so far, so the drip system is everything. At times I watered cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers every single day. Now itâÂÂs every three days at 100+F/39C+. The tomato roots are huge and the plants wilt at about four days in the full sun. Most everything else gets watered along with them since the drip system has only two circuits.

What your soil most likely needs is organic matter so spending money for something that contains a wee bit of organic matter and is mostly the mineral portion of soil that you already have is a waste of your time, energy, and money. The Mushroom Compost would be a better choice and manure, today, is probably not nearly as good a choice as nothing because of where animal manures come from (CAFOs). You may be able to find a good soil test lab through your AgCanada office and a good, reliable soil test would be a very good idea as would these simple soil tests 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. that can help guide you in making the soil you have into a good, healthy soil that will grow strong and heatlhy plants.

I am not sure what is meant by 'organic' here. Do you mean soil with a good amount of organic matter, or even pure organic matter (which is not good for gardens by the way), or do you mean Organic, as in chemical free? IMHO it is very unlikely that the residues of pesticides will have any measurable effect on your garden. (With one exception, persistent herbicides that are used on hay fields and can persist into cattle poop.) Even Organic farming certification doesn't include a requirement that composting ingredients be Organic.

I grow my tomatoes in containers as well and one indeterminate variety will fill a 25G black nursery container easily by the end of the season. And a regular tomato cage works perfectly well for that size container. I agree that a 5G container is a bit tight to get the best performance from any indeterminate tomato. Watering and fertilizing become much more of a major issue with such limited root space. I would also suggest that a granular organic fertilizer such as the several referred to above is not your best bet for the most successful container growing. Container soil - potting mix - contains NO real 'soil' and minimal decomposable ingredients so the occurrence of a healthy microbiology is just not present and a healthy, densely populated soil biology is what is needs to process the dry organics. Without the microorganisms to digest and process the ferts, they are unavailable to the plants and are just wasted. If you want to stick with an organic product, look for a liquid - although even these are not completely water soluble (don't require processing by microbes to release nutrients), they will at least provide some good. Most horticulturists and experienced container growers leave 100% organic gardening for inground situations and rely on a well formulated (with trace elements) synthetic fertilizer like one of the Dyna Gro products for any container culture..