Llama poop to go please
 

Hi All
I know it is a bit of an old thread ,buuuuut i m going to try something new with an Homemade EB,
Llama poop, it can be used fresh,will not burn plant, no odor, no bugs, :wink:
i m going to make some EB cuz i ran out of room and have many maters left over that did not sell, go figure? LOL
I htink i will add maybe 6-10 cups of Llama poop in it and see how it goes. Then give them a good drink of Vitamin B1. will keep you posted.
sue

[quote=timcunningham]Hi Emaewest,

I saw a documentary on Rubbermaid's relationship with walmart and now I understand why. Wallmart basically put them out of business. The documentary may or may not present all the facts, but Rubbermaid now makes everything overseas, and it seems the quality has suffered.[/quote]

Tim, you might watch that documentary again. Rubbermaid was told by wal mart to lower their price, but the only way they could do that was through cheap chinese labor. They refused and lost out to some other company. Sterlite or something. I have two Rubbermaid containers on my deck. Both say "made in the usa." Lowes and Home Depot still sell Rubbermaid.

Wal Mart sells only things that can be made cheap. Most of the time, that means "made in China."

I apoligize for this post, I came on here b/c I'm struggling with containers of tomatoes on my deck. I just wanted to say that Rubbermaid was not thrown from wal mart b/c of quality. It was over a couple of pennies.

Tim is right, wal mart did nearly, and still may, cost Rubbermaid its business b/c they no longer have shelf space at wal mart.

I was incorrect in saying that Rubbermaid makes [b]everything[/b] overseas. Rubbermaid makes some of their products in the USA and some overseas, due to pricing pressure. Walmart did put them in bad straights because they expected a price decrease every year they carried their products, regardless of the costs involved to make the product. One year a basic ingredient involved in making Rubbermaid products had a shortage and the price went up. Walmart still insisted, that Rubbermaid continue to do its yearly price decrease.

[quote]U.S. companies shutting down and moving to China and other countries tend to be large, profitable, well-established companies—
primarily subsidiaries of publicly held, U.S.-based multinationals, including such familiar names as Mattel, International Paper, General Electric, Motorola, and [b]Rubbermaid[/b].
[url]http://www.isa.org/InTechTemplate.cfm?Section=InTech&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=9458[/url][/quote]

Matermama, sound like a good plan. Hope they do well for you. I have used organic fertilizer (storebought) in the earthbox . The instructions said 3 cups to be mixed in the potting mix but I was reading on another site that the instructions have now changed--they want you to use a granulated organic fertilizer and go with the 'strip' of fertilizer on the top.

6 cups sounds like a good amount to experiment with. Good luck!

Mattermama,

One thing I found from hard learned experience is not to make my soil too fertilizer rich.

Last year I had two tomatoes each in 18 Gal Container. I used a mix of Peat Moss / Vermiculite / Compost. The compost I used was mixture of mushroom compost / cow manure / and homemade compost. So my soil is already is a lot more rich than regular potting mix. To that I added the fertilzer strip of 10-10-10 about 2 cups.

I had the worst Blossom End Rot, which I believe was cause by over fertizilation. So I added some lime to the resevior and dug up the fertilizer strip and filled it in with peatmoss. Eventually the BER cleared up.

This year I did an experiment, one container with store bought potting mix and granulated fertilizer, one with very rich composted soil - no fetilizer, one "over fertilized" like last year.

So far the overfertilized box has BER pretty bad, so I once again did the remedy I did last year. The other two I see no BER and no big difference in production.

Certainly not a scientific experiment, but it does confirm my gut feeling.

good to know
 

Hmmm good to know this stuff.
Thanks for all the info , it does help when you are giog to experiment, when someone else shares experience.
thanks
sue

Tim, you are right overfertilizing does contribute to BER. (see below)

But I was curious , do you add the 2 cups of dolomite as instructed by the Earthbox people per box if growing tomatoes?.


causes of BER
"The following conditions may increase BER: low soil Ca, high N rates, using ammoniacal sources of N, high concentrations of soluble K and Mg in the soil, high salinity, low humidity, inadequate soil moisture, excess soil moisture, damage to root system by nematodes, disease, mechanical means or heavy pruning. " (U of FL BER brochure)

Very interesting experiment Tim and thanks for sharing. I was wondering just how to go about loading my boxes as I haven't used them before. As you know.
I have homemade compost and the nursery around the corner sells bags of the best compost I have seen in a store. I think I will go with a rich compost mix in a couple and store bought potting mix and fertiliser strip in the other two. Your experience with rich mix and fertiliser strip has put me off that path. Thanks again.
Must go and check if you have put any more pics of your harvest in the other thread :D

MsCowpea,

Sorry I didn't mention that, yes I did add the recommend lime to the soil, in all cases.

Tim, I also noticed in another post you said you put Miracle Gro in the water to boot. That stuff's nitrogen source is 5.8% ammoniacal nitrogen and 9.2% urea nitrogen (I looked it up);

I did learn something looking that up--their product especially for tomatoes has much less ammoniacal nitrogen.

Good luck with your current plants.

MsCowPea,

I did do that last year, but only at end of season. The plants had seem to have given out, there was very little new growth. At end of season I added Miracle grow to promote some new growth and I had tomatoes until late november. By december, I figured it was to cold so, I made a huge batch of fried green tomatoes.

I am not sure which post you are referring to directly, but I do know I do sometimes add miracle grow to the water. Last year I overfertilized in general, with the compost, fert strip, miracle grow and Seaweed / fish emulsion spray. That would explain why I had such incredibly HUGE plants, I mean massive Jungle Growth, but the yields.. not so much. I mean, it wasn't bad yields. But there was a lot more plant than fruit.

This year I am trying not make the same mistakes and applying what I learned from this Tomatoville Forum.

Plastic container/tote prices are going up because of the cost of crude oil. Almost all plastics are derived from petroleum products, so if gasoline prices rise, so do plastic prices.

That's why containers/totes seem to be getting flimsier. Tote manufacturer's are using thinner wall thicknesses to conserve plastic in hopes of keeping costs down to appease Wal-Mart.

Rubbermaid lost its Wal-Mart business because Rubbermaid refused to absorb plastic resin prices that had doubled in 1 year. Wal-Mart refused any price increases in Rubbermaid products, and told them to hit the road.

Almost all LARGE plastic containers/totes that you see in stores, whether they are Rubbermaid, Sterilite, Sunshine, Cornerstone, ect. are still MADE in the USA. It costs too much to ship them in from overseas. Imagine how few totes it would take to fill up an overseas container. The going rate for a container from China to the port of Los Angeles is currently $14,000.00.

The collateral damage caused by Wal-Mart not agreeing to price increases caused by the rising cost of plastic raw materials was felt far and wide. Because Wal-Mart refused price increases, Target, Home Depot, and the other big box stores followed suit. This deciamated the USA plastics industry and caused hundreds if not thousands of companies to go belly up.

Cool.

How is your earthbox?

Yep. China is taking over the world one container at a time. It used to be one McDonalds toy at a time but I think they have upped the anty.

Cool.

How is your earthbox Mantis?

The broad beans are starting to get away.
The clear bottom tub has shown to be not so good as the light getting to the water has lead to algae growth. I will have to keep the light out of them somehow. Dont know if there are any paints that will stick to plastic , or I might have to wrap some cardboard around them or something.

During the Autumn season of 2004, I set out three Homemade 18 gal self watering containers. They were based on the JMALT, or paint pail wicking design. Two of the boxes were destroyed by hurricanes. The third, planted with an OTV Brandywine and an Ugly produced a total of 232 ounces , or 14.5 lbs.

During the Spring season of 2005, I went with five boxes. Three were of the JMALT design and two were of the JOSHO, or pond basket design. Box no.1, JMALT, planted with a Big Beef and Champion, produced 14.1 lbs. Box no.2, JMALT design,planted with a Champion and a Fourth of July, produced 11.9 lbs. Box no. 3, Josho design, planted with an Early Girl and a failed Andrew Rehart, produced 13.44 lbs. Box no. 4, JMALT design, planted with Ugly and Brandy Boy, produced 13 lbs. Box no. 5, Josho design, planted with Mule team and Sioux, produced 13.9 lbs.

During the Autumn of 2005, I set out seven boxes and planted just one plant per box. Plants were pretty well destroyed by a hurricane on October 24th.

This Spring season, 2006, I reverted to two plants per box. Box no. 1 with OTV Brandywine and Sioux produced 15.2 lbs. Box no. 2 with two Mule Teams, produced 12.3 lbs. Box no. 3, with Brandy Boy and Mortgage Lifter produced 13 lbs. Box no. 4 with two Brandy Boys produced 19.8 lbs. Box no. 5 planted with Red Brandywine(Landis) and Tomande produced 11 lbs.

All boxes were filled with Lamberts potting mix, a cup of dolomite lime, and either two cups of Tomato Tone 4-7-10 or two cups of 6-6-6 fertilizer.

Conclusions thus far: The JMALT and JOSHO designs work equally well. The 6-6-6 fertilizer works as well as the Tomato Tone 4-7-10. Production, less results of Autumn 2005, average out to 13-14 lbs per box. The only positive variance was the 19.8 lbs produced by the Brandy Boys in Box 4 this Spring season. It should be noted that the average production experienced is less than 50% of the 30lbs per Box claimed in ads for store-bought e-Boxes and other commercial types of self-watering containers. Maybe I'm missing something. Garaj

Conclusion: Hurricanes are bad for tomato growing!

Mantis, you might try Krylon Paint for Plastic it comes in spray cans and you could then leave a strip unpainted to help see water level.

Mantis,

I am not 100% sure that blocking the light will stop the algae. I don't use clear bottoms, and at the end of the year there is invariably some green sludge in the water reserviour. I don't think it hurts anything, just looks ugly.

It's virtually impossible to stop ALL light from hitting the water, but the more you can cut down on it, the better off you will be ultimately.

Also, even those 'opaque' tubs are not 100% opaque. The dark blue ones still let light through, so even on those, you need to take extra measures. :o

The best way to do it is actually using a multi-step approach. I've found that using two/three layers of spray-on paint will give you near perfect light stopping ability. 8)

First, if you can get it, a can of spray-on rubberizing black paint, like what you might spray on a bumper. Most walmarts and similar stores have it. it's thick, it's heavy, it works..

If you can't get the black rubberized stuff, then TWO coats of regular black spray paint will do fairly well.. but make sure it's a heavy flat black. It needs to have some thickness to it. :D

...problem is, it's BLACK which we all know is very bad for the roots in direct sun...which brings me to step 2.

Second, spray with a nice even coat of white or other very light colored paint. This will reflect most light which will both keep the container cooler, as well as reflect much more light than it lets through.

Ultimately, what the white paint doesn't REFLECT will be blocked out by the black paint underneath.

I've even tried it once on the pvc watering tube, but only once as an experiment. Really made a difference. ;)

Give it a go, it's works nicely. 8)

- Eric

Does anyone know if algae has any detrimental effect on growing tomatoes and other plants ? The water generally, at least here and during the summer, gets refilled twice daily. I would think that this "flushing" process prevents any type of stagnant environment, which I think could pose some problems. I'm sure algae has formed in mine, but has always "overflowed" clear water when I fill it. I've changed water containers for many an animal and pond over the years and swam in algae filled creeks..the key being cosmetically "clear" looking water..with no problems or ill effects.

Anyone know what problems could arise ?

I am not sure if it will cause any problems. I just read on a hydroponics web site that you shouldn't use clear containers because of algae build up.

Mantis, live and learn--sure seemed like a good idea.

Garaj, I love to read comparison reports like this. Always find them interesting. I would guess that the yield difference between the ads and your own DIY boxes may just be due to variety selection.

(totally relate to all the hurricane damage :( )

Its all good. It has happened before tomato season so I will remedy the situation some how. Erics advice above seems really good. I have used that rubberised paint before and it does stick really well. Thanks Eric.

I container garden(sort of) my tomato garden has 35 double tire with sides cut out. I have a 4" field tile pipe under the tires for each row(5 double tires in row) I water by putting hose into end of pipe and let it run until the water comes out around the tires. Each double tire has a double fence wire around them for steaks. this makes them 9' tall. On top of fence cages all the rows has Bamboo run across them north south east and west. The bamboo are spaced 14" apart this gives the plant some shade. All of this setup was free accept the field tile it cost 3.00 for each 10' peace. This works well for the tomatoes.
jackman

[quote=jackman]I container garden(sort of) my tomato garden has 35 double tire with sides cut out. I have a 4" field tile pipe under the tires for each row(5 double tires in row) I water by putting hose into end of pipe and let it run until the water comes out around the tires. Each double tire has a double fence wire around them for steaks. this makes them 9' tall. On top of fence cages all the rows has Bamboo run across them north south east and west. The bamboo are spaced 14" apart this gives the plant some shade. All of this setup was free accept the field tile it cost 3.00 for each 10' peace. This works well for the tomatoes.
jackman[/quote]




Got any pics? :arrow:

Here are the bootleg-Earthboxes that I made myself:


[url]http://i10.tinypic.com/3zc179c.jpg[/url]



I followed the JMSHO method (I think that's what it's called...
it's the one with the pond bucket!) :idea:


You guys have given me ideas on how to improve my
current staking system... which consists of 1/2" PVC
pipe & some thicker bamboo purchased from HD.

I cap the water tube with some aluminum foil to keep
the mosquitos away.

Ok, we are well into the season down here and the plants in the swt's are doing better than any of the others be they in the ground or pots etc. To block the light from the resevoir, I wrapped some black plastic around the bottoms of the tubs. It seems to have kept the sludge growth to a minimum. I love these things and will make more of them for next year. Just hoping to find more durable tubs somewhere because I don't think the ones I have will last too many seasons.
Check the last page of Springs Commin a Callin thread, I have posted pics of my tubs in action there.
Cheers Mantis

bydsign,I do have pictures,but can't figure out how to get them on the site.