By the way, the calcium in the dolomite will dissolve into the potting mix this season, so if your watering is very even and consistent, you will have very little BER next year with the same mix. It does take months to dissolve.
Are you letting them get dried out at all? Are you watering to the point that they are very wet for long periods? It is unusual to have so much BER.

M -

Thanks to you seed offerings, I added extra containers to my intended 2018 planting. So I took potting medium from all my current pots (in total, maybe 15% mix of each) and put them into new pots and then also added more bark fines and coarse vermic. to incorporate into all the pots.

Not sure why the mix is so off this year. It might not be cal/mag def based on the the reply Carolyn posted. I will admit due to the undue fresh bark, all containers are a bit too coarse for me this year. The emitters are doing this job. I've adjusted them to water 2X a day now. However, when I do pull back the mulch on hot days to check soil conditions, the top is a tinge dry - more like surface roots sucking up all the water. Slight anomaly as well , as this year, MANY roots seems to be hugging right up to the top surface.

[url]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=47721[/url]

I wouldn't say the tops of my containers are getting root damaged but the medium on the top for sure - roots are sucking the water out of them as when I check in early noon after I pull the mulch, it's a tinge dry.

the majority seems to be the small fruit with BER. Some of the earlier ones that have fruited and still nice and coming along. I did throw away 2 fairly large hearts, which was a bummer

I'm having a bimmer of a bummer of a year on the containers. I stopped counting but me thinks I have gone through 60+....


Sofar, I have not needed to chuck any of the ones in dirt. Eh, every season is different I suppose. Last year, I had greater crop in containers than dirt

So far it's also been a struggle for me too. A real learning part has been that more is not better. Using liquid nutrients in containers is a tough call. Not only does the salt buildup create nutirent lockout , but without drainage and flushing the ppm levels continue to go up also creating extremely low ph. I have 3 different tomato sets. 1 is a potted style 2 is a diy earthbox style 3 is recirculating hydro style. Each have grown in differently. I like hydro setup, but the earthbox with a drainspout is certainly the easier of all. PH and ppm no matter which style is crucial to happy plants.
Aloha

Yes, high EC means low water absorption basically, so that could be a reason. It also means smaller tomatoes with great taste. I really don't think there is a relation between high salts and low pH though.

[QUOTE=zipcode;708103]Yes, high EC means low water absorption basically, so that could be a reason. It also means smaller tomatoes with great taste. I really don't think there is a relation between high salts and low pH though.[/QUOTE]

Fertilizers affect pH based on the type of Nitrogen used.

[url]http://www.greenhouse.cornell.edu/crops/factsheets/nitrogen_form.pdf[/url]

Thank you Mark.
Your place looks great. Thanks for the pictures.
Aloha,
Tom

[QUOTE=Tomzhawaii;708098]So far it's also been a struggle for me too. A real learning part has been that more is not better. Using liquid nutrients in containers is a tough call. Not only does the salt buildup create nutirent lockout , but without drainage and flushing the ppm levels continue to go up also creating extremely low ph. I have 3 different tomato sets. 1 is a potted style 2 is a diy earthbox style 3 is recirculating hydro style. Each have grown in differently. I like hydro setup, but the earthbox with a drainspout is certainly the easier of all. PH and ppm no matter which style is crucial to happy plants.
Aloha[/QUOTE]

It is super easy, they(the professionals) could not make it any easier for us to be successful. What I see so much is people trying these home recipes that they see on internet forums, etc.

I only look at University studies and professionals who sell and USE a product. I also like support that good companies provide.

What we have is an information overload. everybody has something to sell, and it is the best. How do they know that?

My own failures are my own fault. I got behind a bit on pruning, my fruit production had a hiccup, I let a GH get to dry one day, I picked off about 40 BER today, I never get BER. (MY FAULT) I did not prune up some trusses, had a few more small fruits than I like. Had some Mg deficiency, did not follow my notes. Grew some heirlooms that perform poorly for markets, they still perform poorly, etc, etc. Anyway, all of these items are mentioned in the HG tomato growers guide.

You guys hang in there.

Read these guys info, it will change everything. I grow outside too, plants are looking great, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes all get the same mix, strawberries same at half strength.

For a simple mix try Flora Nova grow with every watering, and add 3-5 ml of cal-mag added (every time) you water.

AK Mark,
Thank you as always for your guidance and info sharing. For now , I will stick it out with the gallons of F.F. products that I have. Yes, I'm guilty of video learning and following poor information. Then to make matters worse , my brain tells me more stupid advice and so on. I wrote some time back, that I need to follow a tested and true protocol. That's my goal.
Thanks again for your encouragement and advice.
Ganbarimasu - I will try my best !!
Aloha,
Tom

[quote=tomzhawaii;708278]ak mark,
thank you as always for your guidance and info sharing. For now , i will stick it out with the gallons of f.f. Products that i have. Yes, i'm guilty of video learning and following poor information. Then to make matters worse , my brain tells me more stupid advice and so on. I wrote some time back, that i need to follow a tested and true protocol. That's my goal.
Thanks again for your encouragement and advice.
Ganbarimasu - i will try my best !!
Aloha,
tom[/quote]

トムさん、がんばってね！