Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post - Indoor Garden 2018-2019 Revisited

SQWIBB · February 20, 2019

February 19th, 2019

I have quite a few tomatoes on the plants and the newest ones don't seem to have any signs of BER yet (fingers crossed).

I have kept the soil fairly moist the last few weeks, or at least I think I have lol. I am not convinced that watering is the problem and I haven't had any plants droop due to inadequate watering. I have barely lost any leaves or had any brown or yellow, everything is very green and lush.

My current setup is the grow bags sitting in 5 gallon bucket bottoms (1.5” high). The problem is that the tomato plants are in 3 gallon grow bags and fit pretty snug in the 5 gallon drip trays so I can't really bottom water or even see if water has made it to the drip pan, there is no room.

When I water the plants, sometimes the water comes out of the sides and lands in the drip tray, so even if I could see water in there, it really wouldn't be a true indicator of the plants being watered thoroughly. I have been going by the weight of the grow bag and using a finger testing for moisture.

The fact that I am using grow bags, increases evaporation. I could mulch the top with cardboard or something but watering is already a PITA.

If I go any bigger with drip trays, the plants don't fit, using a 5 gallon size gives me 4 plants in either direction.

I have been thinking about this all day and recall a pan for a rabbit hutch that may still be in the yard. If I can find that old rabbit hutch, I think it had a 24” x 48” tray, that would be perfect, if not I was going to cut a few more 5 gallon buckets about 6” high and see if that helps, if either don't pan out, I'll look into purchasing a few garden trays to sit the plants in.

I have thought of Global Buckets, earth buckets, wicking buckets, self watering setups and the like. I really want to try and Avoid using 5 gallons worth of media for a plant. I probably could come up with a wicking system using a 5 gallon bucket and the three gallon grow bag but overflow would be an issue without getting into an elaborate setup.

I really want to keep it simple, but if it don't work out using drip trays I'll try using 5 gallon buckets tied in together with a control bucket, this way I'll only have to water one bucket.

I can also do a tray with a Kerick float valve hooked into a control bucket, but don't think that will be needed.
Ebb and flow is out.

Also looked into one of those oasis automatic watering systems but don't think it would help me in my situation.

...... Later that day. Got home and found the tray, wooohooo!

Moved out the plants and wiped up the tent tub floor.

I took some photos when I had the plants out.

I haven't really been hand pollinating these much lately but they seem to have no problem pollinating on their own.

First set of tomatoes with BER and a few new tomatoes (fingers crossed).

I have had almost no flower drop and most of the flowers are pollinating with or without intervention.

Bottoms of the above picture, the fruit on the left has potting mix on it from my hands, so far no signs of BER or any thing else wrong with the fruit but it may be too soon to tell (rubbing my rabbit foot).

Soil on the tomato.

February 20, 2019	#60
SQWIBB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Philly 7A Posts: 739	February 19th, 2019 I have quite a few tomatoes on the plants and the newest ones don't seem to have any signs of BER yet (fingers crossed). I have kept the soil fairly moist the last few weeks, or at least I think I have lol. I am not convinced that watering is the problem and I haven't had any plants droop due to inadequate watering. I have barely lost any leaves or had any brown or yellow, everything is very green and lush. My current setup is the grow bags sitting in 5 gallon bucket bottoms (1.5” high). The problem is that the tomato plants are in 3 gallon grow bags and fit pretty snug in the 5 gallon drip trays so I can't really bottom water or even see if water has made it to the drip pan, there is no room. When I water the plants, sometimes the water comes out of the sides and lands in the drip tray, so even if I could see water in there, it really wouldn't be a true indicator of the plants being watered thoroughly. I have been going by the weight of the grow bag and using a finger testing for moisture. The fact that I am using grow bags, increases evaporation. I could mulch the top with cardboard or something but watering is already a PITA. If I go any bigger with drip trays, the plants don't fit, using a 5 gallon size gives me 4 plants in either direction. I have been thinking about this all day and recall a pan for a rabbit hutch that may still be in the yard. If I can find that old rabbit hutch, I think it had a 24” x 48” tray, that would be perfect, if not I was going to cut a few more 5 gallon buckets about 6” high and see if that helps, if either don't pan out, I'll look into purchasing a few garden trays to sit the plants in. I have thought of Global Buckets, earth buckets, wicking buckets, self watering setups and the like. I really want to try and Avoid using 5 gallons worth of media for a plant. I probably could come up with a wicking system using a 5 gallon bucket and the three gallon grow bag but overflow would be an issue without getting into an elaborate setup. I really want to keep it simple, but if it don't work out using drip trays I'll try using 5 gallon buckets tied in together with a control bucket, this way I'll only have to water one bucket. I can also do a tray with a Kerick float valve hooked into a control bucket, but don't think that will be needed. Ebb and flow is out. Also looked into one of those oasis automatic watering systems but don't think it would help me in my situation. ...... Later that day. Got home and found the tray, wooohooo! Moved out the plants and wiped up the tent tub floor. I took some photos when I had the plants out. I haven't really been hand pollinating these much lately but they seem to have no problem pollinating on their own. First set of tomatoes with BER and a few new tomatoes (fingers crossed). I have had almost no flower drop and most of the flowers are pollinating with or without intervention. Bottoms of the above picture, the fruit on the left has potting mix on it from my hands, so far no signs of BER or any thing else wrong with the fruit but it may be too soon to tell (rubbing my rabbit foot). Soil on the tomato.