Hard Lessons Learned...

[Barnowl]

I thought I would describe my experiences with container growing this year. I do this knowing that it will most definitely showcase my great inexperience, and I hope to receive some responses that will help clarify things for me.

This is the first year I have tried growing in containers, and it is the first year I have grown from seed. I can’t even say I know the reasons for why some things happened though I have come to some guesses. I probably should have posted questions and pictures to the forum as problems arose, but oh well… Okay, here’s what happened (I transplanted them outside May 15)

1) Soil Mix – I’m pretty sure I messed this to begin with. In 8 gallon black containers, I used Promix mixed with slow release fertilizer (about a cup of 7-17-11) and about a half cup of bone meal (2-14-0). As I was doing this a thought occurred: will the phosphorous levels be too high??? I added nothing else, no organic matter at all… I don’t think I even added any liquid fertilizers in the first 3-4 weeks….

2) Plants got waterlogged – Our PNW spring was very cool and wet. I had the containers in a corner of the yard, pretty much exposed. As well, I was convinced I needed to get big saucers to put under the pots to ensure they stayed moist. About a month in, I noticed the plants getting stunted with severe leaf curl. Up to this point, I reckon I was tending the tomatoes that were in the garden and neglected to notice what was going on with the container plants. More than once I found the saucers filled with water, probably drowning the root system… So way too late I removed the saucers for good and moved them to a more sunny location…

Here I suspect the chem. fertilizers that I added had all leached out of the soil leaving not much behind…

3) Lack of nutrients?/Lack of water? --- So half way through June, in my great wisdom, I then let the pendulum swing the other way and only watered them when I saw them wilt, or noticed the pots were really dry. Also, I didn’t give them much in the way of liquid fertilizers either… The colouring improved a little yet did not do much else.

It is here that I had a good idea. Having amended my soil beds with SeaSoil, I decided to lay down a thick mulch of it to all my pots. Bingo, this worked and the plants started to grow with determination again. At this point, I think it was nearing mid July and the plants were just starting to set fruit…. I also gave them liquid fish fertilizers every 3-4 weeks…

So for next year, I plan to use a container mix of half sea soil and half promix along with some slow release ferts and periodic doses of seaweed fertilizers. I vow never to use saucers under the pots and to rig up a covering during our rainy spring… Any other recommendations are greatly welcome…

In the containers I have growing Black Prince, Oregon Spring, Bulls Heart, Mini Rose, Demidov, New Big Dwarf. The varieties that did not survive were: Grushovka & Kalinka (sorry Tania!), Ailsa Craig.

The 10 plants I have growing in my raised garden bed are doing much better and I have been sampling a very nice variety of fruits: Black Cherry, Sungold, Amazon Chocolate, Prudens Purple, Costoluto Fiorentino, Azoychka, Paul Robeson, Kimberly...

So all in all, not the best first voyage into container growing Though I shake my head now, I look forward to next year all the same. And if nothing else, maybe declaring my mistakes will help any others to not duplicate them...

Jamie

[dice]

The 7-17-11 would have been enough by itself, with another
half-cup to a cup per plant added at first fruit set. The bone
meal probably helped supply calcium, and the late addition
(takes 90 days to break down in the soil) of the nitrogen and
phosphorus in it probably helped replace some of the 7-17-11
that would have leached out earlier in the rain. They were
probably short on potassium by then (which bonemeal lacks),
and that was the big difference that the Seasoil made
(potassium resupply).

Getting rid of the saucers was wise, and the curling and stunting
were likely a side-effect of being cold and wet for a long period
of time (I saw the same thing this year with in-ground plants
that were in a bed that has a lot of clay, which lacks abundant
large pore air space; some of them recovered when it warmed
up in mid-July, some did not).

[ContainerTed]

This thread is a great idea. A meeting to discuss lessons learned has always been good for future ventures.

I always try to eliminate threats and so, I don't let my containers make direct contact with the ground soil. This eliminates even the smallest possibility of any indigenous soil-borne diseases wicking up into the tub.

Watering those containers was a constant job this year and sometimes the plants stressed out in spite of the best of my efforts. I also didn't fertilize as consistantly as I probably should have. So, next year, I'm going to use as many self-watering units as I can build this winter. From 5 to 30 gallon size. I didn't have much of a problem with BER this year, but there was SOME.

The other lesson I learned this year is to do "preventative" spraying of things like Daconil and "critter" stuff. Just like you, I let things go too far before I took action.

Lastly, there's a lot of talk about fruit size and the amount of direct sunlight a plant gets. This year, I did a test on some Golden Jubilee's that I started from seed - Ferry Morse. (Super Germination). Both pots (identical 18 gallons) had three plants in each. One received 5 to 6 hours of predominately morning sun and slightly lower (about 5 degrees)average temp. The other received 5 to 6 hours of predominately afternoon sun and slightly higher average temps. Fruit sizes of the first averaged 6.76 ounces for 39 toms. The second (afternoon) group averaged 10.16 ounces for 36 fruit. Both containers received the same amount of water delivered and the same potting mix. They were fertilized the same. I hauled a 5 gallon bucket of water or water with Miracle Grow each time and each plant received an equal portion. Conclusion - DIRECT SUNLIGHT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

This has been my first year venturing heavily into heirlooms and my learning curve has steepened greatly. I had always bought the hybrids and rarely an open pollinated type. I will still do hybrids in the future, but only a few. I'm hooked on the open pollinates and "that's a good thing".

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone on this forum and "that other forum" for so freely giving their advice and sharing their knowledge and experiences. The collective knowledge is an "awsomely" powerful entity. I always look forward to logging on to see what I can learn next. Vicariously, through your pictures and descriptions, I get to share and to revel in successes and empathize failures and disasters.

I could never thank all of you enough. You're making my retirement such a joy.

Ted

[amideutch]

Here is a good site to check out and the link I'm providing is basically for containers. He hails from the PNW where his business is located and I have had great results using his regimen but not neccessarily all his products as it would be to expensive to ship to Europe but use equivalent products found here in Germany.
I use mycorrhizae and have had good results which he sells as biovam. He gives you a good growing mix formula to use and from his pictures it seems to work pretty well. His Microbe Tea I have also used with good results. Take your time and check out his whole site as there is a lot of good information to be had.
Most of my tomatoes I grow in 5-7gal containers or 26qt styrofoam ice chests. I normally water my plants once a day but the weather will dictate whether I water twice a day or skip a day. And don't wait till your plants start wilting as this indicates stress on the plant which can cause all kinds of problems.
One other product I highly recommend is "Actinovate" which I use when planting my seedlings and later as a foliar spray to control fungus and other diseases. It's bio friendly and I have had excellent results using this product.
So here is a link to the site I was talking about and check out some of my threads in the Photo Forum which show my containers and plants. Ami

http://www.tandjenterprises.com/tand..._gardening.htm

[Vince]

Just thought I would add what I learned this year from container gardening. ...

I trusted my instincts and also was lazy with mixing soil, so I bought some stuff called cactus mix(self explanitory). This stuf has perlite, vermiculite, and all kinds of other little good things. 8.50 for 1.5 cuft, and the bag is so loose it looks like 3 CuFt potting soil. So I made a mix 80 cactus 20 cow and the plants loved it(5 gallon pots). Fert 1-2 times a week and the plants looked perfect, great yields. However, I hand watered every day since the soil didn't retain moisture(great for root growth, but a pain). So since I did well this summer and I knew I was leaving town for 4 days(just returned) i thought I would change the mix for the fall plants to be cheeper and retain moisture better(80% cow 20% cactus). Result: for the most part very green healthy plants, but MUCH slower growth without the air laiden mix I had previously. On the up side the pots were plenty wet even after the 4 days gone I was gone (in the 90s). One more thing I learned which worked well....I have a cheep portable pool for my son and placed all my potted peppers, beans and eggplants(80 cactus 20 cow) in there with 6 inches of water(and a little fert) for the days I was gone. Result: healthy happy plants when I returned. In a pinch this is agreat way to save your plants for a few days an not depend on others(unless you have automated irrigation). just my experience this year. Cheers

[Barnowl]

Thanks for your comments Dice, they make a lot of sense… I will do much better next year I am sure.

ContainerTed – I too am going to try and build as many self watering containers I can (or as many as my wife will allow… lol) Luckily my back yard does get 8 hours of sun which I am very grateful for…

Amideutch – Thank you for the link you provided… I have yet to explore it but will do so with great interest… I have been impressed with the photos of your wonderful container tomatoes that you post, so following your lead would undoubtedly be a wise thing to do…

Vince chemist – I like your idea re: the kiddie pool….

Thanks to everyone on this forum who share their gardening wisdom…

[celticman]

I would recomend using something besides promix. It holds to much water. Way to much water. If you have 50 or a hundred pounds of Promix cut it with perlite or vermiculite and or sand. One to one

Second once you have potting soil that does not retain to much water use a moister meter. A little experimentation and you find you should water at reading x for your meter. (Buy an inexpensive one. The directions for Tomatoes will be fairly accurate) You will also find you have to water more when it is hot. The meter takes the guess work out.
Celtic

[creister]

One plant in an HEB does much better than two. I used 18 gallon tubs to make mine.