[dfollett]

I have some questions for Raybo and others who need stepladders to harvest (the more I learn on the front end, the better chance I have of generating something others can learn from on the back end):

With the short growing season I'm sure plants won't crowd as much as when you grow them for 9+ months - given that, how many cukes and peppers should I plant per Earthtainer?

With cukes and peppers, I assume you put a fertilizer strip down the middle?

How do you handle the fertilizer with corn? I believe you do 3 rows of 5 plants?

I'm finding it difficult to locate the micro-bark for the soil blend. I found a locally produced product at Lowes a "Soil Prep Conditioner" @ $4 for a 2 cu ft bag. It is "80% composted micro-bark and 20% composted steer manure" according to the manufacturer. Do you see a problem using that as the bark component? I understand this is not an exact science and there is a lot of latitude for different products to work. This is a photograph of that product. Would you continue looking for pure bark or not worry about the 20% manure?

Thanks in advance for your help.