[ContainerTed]

Salty, hello from Northeastern Georgia, USA. Just above Atlanta.

Because of Juglone in my soil, I'm am Containers ONLY. Here's what I do with containers and this includes my SWC's.

At Plantout time, I don't fill the container full. An example would be a 5 gallon bucket. It would have about 6 inches left at the top. This is still plenty of growing medium for the seedling. Then, as the plant grows, I trim lower leaves and add more MIX. By the time the plant is half to two-thirds its normal full height, I will have filled the bucket to within 1.5 to 2 inches of the top. I've found that this encourages deeper and larger root systems and that usually equates to healthier - more vigorous - plants.

The MIX that I conjur up is simply sterile potting MIX (no SOIL of any kind). As I do the planting out, I put some mix in my wheelbarrow, add a bit of dolomite lime and some slow release 10-10-10 fertilizer. When I do the addition of mix during early growth, I add some Tomato-Tone. This sits at the top and its beneficials are moved down into the mix as watering occurs. And, Yes, my SWC's are included in this method. Rain and an occasional squirt from the watering hose helps to move the nurtrients down.

So, Fertilizer in the mix (not a strip), Fertilizer in the top-offs, and then, about once every three weeks, a bit of Miracle grow for tomatoes as a boost. Yes, some of this goes into the water reservoir of my SWC's.

Now, I watch my plants individually for bursts of greenery growth. This may mean a quick drain of nitrogen. If I suspect that, then I have some Miracle grow Organic fertilizer that is Nitrogen only. It can also be used in the MIX or as a foliar feed.

So, there you have still another approach. Probably the unique thing about my method is the part about adding growing medium (MIX) in a manner that gets me deeper root systems.

So, welcome to Tomatoville

Ted