The EarthTainer II WaterMizer Edition - - New, Improved...and FREE!

[dice]

I did not use any barrier to keep the roots out of the reservoir
this year. Two HEBs came down with verticillium wilt. I don't
know that the reservoir played a role (cold weather that
kept the soil wet for weeks on end was doubtless a factor
either way).

In one it whacked a Black Cherry pretty hard that grew back
some healthy branches that produced decent tasting fruit
by end of summer. In the other one a New Yorker shrugged
it off completely while a Pipo in the same HEB never recovered
and produced a few horrible tasting fruit (I had another Pipo
in a different container that was healthy, so I know it is not
supposed to taste like that).

I don't know whether verticillium in particular can survive in
a completely flooded anaerobic environment, but it does like
cold, waterlogged soil, so I would not be surprised if it could.

Edit:
I saved the container mix from the HEBs that had verticillium
so that I can use it to test whether some other varieties have
any verticillium tolerance. First candidate: a Brandyboy
off-type that I got seeds of from Gobig. (Brandyboy is listed
as having VFNT disease tolerance at PlantFiles; I want to
see if the Faux Brandyboy has it too.)

[Mantis]

You live on the edge Dice
I dont have ( touch wood) and wilt deseases here, but I sure wouldnt keep any mix that had it, and would at least hot compost it before using it with other plants, but not tomatoes.
Hey, I hope the brandyboys are up to it eh

[dice]

Hey, I hope the brandyboys are up to it eh

So do I. Authentic Brandyboy would probably behave the same
way as the New Yorker did, "no problem", but I was wondering
if the Faux Brandyboy also carries the genes for verticillium
tolerance (and if it is stable, so I need to grow more than one
plant of it; probably put a second one in another HEB with
fresh container mix or in a spot that had no verticillium this
year, so I can at least taste it and save seeds even if it turns
out to be susceptible to the disease).

I would not normally keep any container mix where a plant
had developed a disease, especially a soil-borne disease like
verticillium wilt, but in this case it is an opportunity for a test
or two. I can grow a Pipo in the same container with the Faux
Brandyboy initially to make sure that the disease is still
present the next year (since I know that Pipo is susceptible).

Another test is to see whether shredded leaves from a native
Magnolia tree mixed into the container mix has a similar
inhibitory effect on verticillium that an alcohol extract of
Chinese Magnolia had on verticillium in some research done
in China. Probably grow another Pipo plant in a smaller
container for that test. Verticillium tends to be hard to get
rid of once your soil has it, so I am confident that it will
survive the winter in the container mix that had it this year
and still be there to test with next summer.

Edit:
PS: Earthtainers where the plant has shown some
possibly soil-borne disease would probably need to
have the container mix changed out and the whole
thing disinfected with bleach, to make sure that the
disease does not linger in the water reservoir.
The container mix could maybe be spread out
between two layers of plastic, with the top one
clear, and solarized for a month or two in the sun
before reusing it (or treated with an extract that
will kill it if you know what disease it was exactly,
although a fresh bag of container mix might be
cheaper than a bottle of the necessary extract).

One could also grow some other kind of veggie in it
for a few years that is not susceptible. Verticillium
in particular is kind of a stubborn organism. Ag
publications have recommended 6-year rotations
with grains and other not susceptible crops to get
rid of it in field soils and garden beds.

[dice]

PS: I did think of one other possible ad hoc alternative to the
landscape fabric: wet cardboard. (That might be especially
useful in places where landscape fabric is kind of difficult
to find or not affordable, but cardboard boxes are common.)

Getting it completely saturated first would allow shaping a
piece of it inside the wicking basket and a larger piece across
the support platform for the container mix and up the sides.
It still may only last one summer and be easily penetrated by
roots the following year, but it would be easier to find a single
piece of it big enough to line the whole container than a piece
of newsprint that size for big Earthtainers. It would probably
resist root penetration better than newspaper.

It should conduct water between the wicking basket and
container mix above it well enough, since it readily absorbs
water. (That would be something to test, though, to be
sure.)

[rnewste]

Hi dice,

Geez - - I am freezing my "wicking basket" off tonight in Trendy,, Downtown,, Toronto. Cold and snow today - - but I am outta here tomorrow heading back to SFO.

My concern with the wet cardboard approach is that it would cover up all of the holes drilled in the aeration bench, and would prevent oxygen exchange in the root system which is an essential element of the design (Just ask Earl, as he gave me a good education on the purpose of aeration holes last year).

If Landscape Fabric is not readily available, consider instead to use some old window screen with a fine mesh. This should inhibit root growth into the water reservoir while permitting air to permeate the root system.

Ray

[dice]

If Landscape Fabric is not readily available, consider
instead to use some old window screen with a fine mesh. This
should inhibit root growth into the water reservoir while
permitting air to permeate the root system.

Some kinds of synthetic fabric may work, too (rayon, nylon,
polyester, etc; great use for those old, shiny disco shirts
with the big collars.) With something like that, capillary
action would be drawing water and air through it, just like
it would for landscape fabric.

[Earl]

How about the leg off of a woman's panty hose or an old sock? Put it down in the hole, fill it up to top of container. :-)

[Zana]

Ray,
Be glad you got out of TO before "snowmageddon" hit! And I've been lurking and reading, and admiring your EarthTainer I or II . I'm thinking that may be the route I need to go. Thanks for the picks. And glad that the system was shared in Haiti. Its one of my favourite places. They need all the help they can get to grow food. So much of the good nutrients in the soil are gone due to floods, hurricanes, landslides and clear-cutting. So sad.

[rnewste]

Zana,

Yes, I was able to leave Thursday evening from Toronto just as the snow started falling. Lovely city (but I prefer it better in Summertime).

Regarding the EarthTainer in Haiti project, here is a photo journal from one of the team members who constructed the 'Tainers with the children helping. It takes a minute to download, then click on the "NEXT" tab in the lower right to go through the photos. Use the + magnifier to read the text of the first page "Walls". Mimi has a real gift with words.

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf...60je%3E3553249

Ray

[hasshoes]

Hey Ray--- I read this article and thought about you--- it's about these soldiers in Iraq that are sick of just seeing sand and dirt so they're experimenting with container gardening. They're having problems with their containers though. . . you should totally send them the link about the Earthtainers! I wonder if they'd work in the Middle East? :0)

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/hobby-farm...ay-places.aspx

[rnewste]

hasshoes,

This is "near and dear to my heart". My favorite nephew is stationed at Camp Falcon on his third tour of duty in Iraq.

After seeing the Haiti EarthTainer project success:

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf...60je%3E3553249

The beauty of the EarthTainer-type design is its water conservation principles. In water-poor Iraq, this advantage is obvious. As in Haiti however, these containers need to be shaded from the intense sun, as the UV properties of off-the-shelf Rubbermaid household products would not last long exposed.

I would be happy to donate EarthTainer components and construction email help if you know of a "community" at one of the Camps there, let me know.

Ray

[dice]

For the containers and beds that they already have,
this thread on Tuk50's barrels-and-pvc watering system
might be useful, too:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=7489

[rnewste]

Hey dice,

There have been a lot of folks who are not on a pressurized water grid (the Haiti EarthTainer project, for example) that would like to have an AWS type system. I found this site with inexpensive float valve units that look like they might work in a gravity-fed setup. What do you think?

http://www.thevalveshop.com/menu/man...k/kerickm.html

Ray

[hasshoes]

I don't know them. . . I was just reading that magazine because we moved next door to a farm and I wanted to learn more about all the funny farm animals that come up to our fence :0).

That set up in Haiti of the Earthtainers looks amazing!!! Keep up the good work. . . and best wishes to your nephew!

Heather

[rnewste]

Hi Heather,

I have emailed the HobbyFarm.com editor to try to make contact with Chad Trenary at Camp Speicher in Iraq to get him the instructions for the EarthTainer. Boy, that would save them a lot of water if they could adapt the design to local components vs. their current setup.

My nephew (an E6) runs the Camp Falcon Post Office so I have also emailed him to try to get the same links sent to Chad. Those guys need every bit of "home" they can get in these remote desert conditions. Fresh off-the-vine tomatoes would surely help morale, etc. I'll have to find some varieties that do well in our desert Southwest conditions.

Ray