The EarthTainer "Farm" Update - May 1, 2013 (pic heavy)

[rnewste]

The plants have been in for about 2 months now. Averaging between 48 and 58 inches tall as of today. As you can see, I am heavily pruning the lower 12 to 14 inches to try and delay the onset of fungal issues:



Jetsetter looks like it will be my first to blush:



Dona F1 is surprising me with about a dozen fruitset:



Even Goose Creek is getting in on the act:



The Arkashin and Couilles de Taureu Grafted plants (courtesy of Mim1) are developing nicely:



The Colossal on the left and Big Bertha on the right have set multiple peppers:



The Sweet Success cukes have also set about a dozen baby fruits:



And the Sweetcorn is developing nicely:



I am trialing On-Deck from Burpee this year, which is supposed to be optimized for container growing.

Alas, my final crop of Snow Peas for the Season:



I am experimenting with growing Dwarf Anne Sugar Snap Peas on my deck over the Summer. The partly shaded lattice might keep the heat down enough for them to fully develop:



Raybo

[Chrissykin]

Everything looks so lovely! How was germination on the corn? There are lots of complaints on the EB forum about poor germination.

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by Chrissykin

Everything looks so lovely! How was germination on the corn? There are lots of complaints on the EB forum about poor germination.

I experienced about a 75% germination rate. You can see I had to re-seed a few of the slots. For the remaining CornTainers, I am starting spares in seedling trays as backup replacements so the stalks will all be of the same size.

Raybo

[JamesL]

Ray,
You are so far ahead of us on the east coast! Especially this year...

[Jnak808]

Originally Posted by rnewste

I experienced about a 75% germination rate. You can see I had to re-seed a few of the slots. For the remaining CornTainers, I am starting spares in seedling trays as backup replacements so the stalks will all be of the same size.

Raybo

How do you set up your mix in your corn-tainer(15? corn stalks). Obviously not a single fertilizer stripe. What type of supplements?

All of your plants look great. Trying hard to get my thumb as green as yours.

Jason

[rnewste]

Jason,

I plant 3 rows of 5 seeds per row. I craft 2 fertilizer strips along the long dimensions of the container outer edges of the handles for a reference point, which should be between the rows of seeds, 3 to 4 inches deep. 1.5 cups fertilizer in each strip.

I've now planted another 5 CornTainers today (2 with On-Deck, and 3 with Gurney's Gotta-have-it bicolor corn).

Also just ordered 100 Maxifort seeds and grafting clips tonight and will try my hand at grafting over the Winter. Mim1, Naysen, Aclum, and others have been my inspiration in their grafting Thread.

Raybo

[Jnak808]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Jason,

I plant 3 rows of 5 seeds per row. I craft 2 fertilizer strips along the long dimensions of the container outer edges of the handles for a reference point, which should be between the rows of seeds, 3 to 4 inches deep. 1.5 cups fertilizer in each strip.

I've now planted another 5 CornTainers today (2 with On-Deck, and 3 with Gurney's Gotta-have-it bicolor corn).

Also just ordered 100 Maxifort seeds and grafting clips tonight and will try my hand at grafting over the Winter. Mim1, Naysen, Aclum, and others have been my inspiration in their grafting Thread.

Raybo

Thanks Raybo. I'm going to try to grow some sweet corn.

Speaking of grafting, I'll try to look for those threads with those people you
mentioned. You probably know of this but just incase.............there is a excellent video on youtube about grafting, " How to Graft Greenhouse Tomatoes." (Johnnyseed) It is where I first learned about grafted tomatoes (about a month ago) FYI: I want to also try grafting melons and squash.

[tqn626]

Your plants looks amazing. Next time i'm doing all SWC.

[KenNashua]

Ray, any suggestions for soil mix for corn? My son is begging me to do corn this year.

[rnewste]

Ken,

I've used straight Miracle-gro Potting Mix (non-moisture control type) in the past with decent results. This year I am using Pro-Mix BX adding additional perlite and microbark, as a trial. You might want to give just the Miracle-gro a try and see how it does for you. You just don't want it to get "swampy" in the container, which the Miracle-gro (alone) can do. 1 cup lime is all you need.

Raybo

[mdvpc]

I am using miracle grow organic in my 5 gallon swc's both in El Paso and San Antonio and its working good.

[dfollett]

They look great, Raybo. Thanks for sharing.

[chalstonsc]

Raybo,
Haven't seen any full shot pictures lately.....how the "heavy pruning" seem to be doing for you this year?

[rnewste]

I'll be posting a June 1 EarthTainer Farm update later this week. Stay tuned.

Raybo

[chalstonsc]

Suspense is killing me