Fertilizer in the reservoir?
 

Hi guys! I'm new here and totally new to gardening really! I've never been successful with growing anything... until this year when I built myself self-watering containers with 5-gallon bucket! I'm 100% hooked now! Anyways, I am planting Yellow Jubilee, Mortgage Lifter and German Queen. They were all doing so well, robust green leaves, setting fruits, until what looked like early blight a couple weeks ago. I had to remove 90% of the leaves and have been spraying with Serenade, though I am not sure if its working. :(

Anyways, when I built these SWC, I poured a ring of Garden-tone around the perimeter before putting on the plastic cover. Now I'm wondering if I should supplement the nutrition by some other fertilizer as the plants have fruits on them.

I have on hand regular all-purpose Miracle-Gro (24-8-16) I've been reading on here about Jack/Peter's 20-20-20 and even Carolynn's 13-13-13 recommendations. I dont' know enough about any of these to know one from another. What would you recommend?

Welcome to the land of Tomatoes.

The fertilizer ring is good for starting your plants but you will need to provide additional feeding as time goes by. Some fertilizer manufacturers like Miracle Gro recommend starting the additional feedings after the first month. The strength of product you use depends on how often you feed. I don't think I'd use anything past 10-10-10 or 13-13-13 if you want to feed weekly.

I know some folks use GHE Flora Nova Grow with good results. Has all the Macro's and Micro's and it is concentrated so a little goes a long ways. I'm using their General organics Bio Thrive on my open containers.

Ami

[URL]http://generalhydroponics.com/site/index.php/products/nutrients/nova_series/[/URL]

I use earthtainers and a couple of years ago was forced to add cal mag as I was experiencing a lot of BER. It really helped (along with shading the container base from any direct sunlight!) At that point, I figured if I was using a liquid in the watering tube, I might try a little liquid fert. Immediate results were greener plants, more flowers and more vigor. This year, I've tried the same thing and used Texas tomato food in them occasionally. I have been extremely happy with the results and plan to use the product going foward. So, I would say try something as see what happens. Good luck.

Dewayne Mater

I have used, and do use, the General Hydroponics FloraNova grow. Its 7-4-10 with all the macro and micronutrients, 1 teaspoon per gallon. I use it as a soil drench, but have also used it down the watering tube. I can definitely recommend it.

Thanks for the Floranova Grow recommendation. I know its a little late now and plants are setting blooms, should I be using the Floranova Bloom instead? Has anyone else used it for tomatos?

You can certainly use the FloraNova Bloom now. I have done that also. MG I would stay away from.

L,
I can only echo what has been said above.
Supplemented the fert strips last year with Fox Farms liquid Ferts, which is a good product as well.
No fert strips this year and relied completely on liquid Ferts, prinarily Urban Farms TTF both down the tube and as a top drench. Worked great.

Definitely pick a product with less N at this point. You should find both Fox Farms and FloraNova at the local hydro shop. Urban Farms you would need to order on the web.
[url]http://theurbanfarm.com/legr1.html[/url]

One thing I'd like to add is that you should always keep in mind that whatever you add to the container reservoir will sit in there until absorbed. So, if you add a fertilizer infused water into the bottom, it will sit there for a good while (especially since most people add more water before the reservoir completely dries out). In time, the walls of the reservoir will become coated and it becomes an ideal growing condition for fungus and algae.

In dealing with a bout of fungus gnats, I'd been noticing rather large adults periodically emerging from the reservoir opening. While completely filling with water would flood the space, it wouldn't be very long before the level would drop and make it habitable again for the gnats. I discovered that they were likely munching on the copious stretches of fungus film coating the reservoir. The chambers were smelly and slimy (all 3 of them) and I thoroughly cleaned them out. I won't be frequently adding fertilizer in the bottom again.

So... something to remember. It's probably a good idea to clean it out every month or so.

I was thinking the same thing. I am not an Earthtainer grower, but it would be neat to see what happened when an aquarium air pump and stone was added to any stagnant reservoir water. It would dry out faster, but I think the aeration would infuse oxygen that would lead to the growth of good bacteria over bad, which is a basic concept of hydroponics. The good bacteria are aerobic and thus thrive in an oxygen-rich environment.

In SWC's you have to remember the contents of the reservoir are constantly being wicked up through the aggregate to the plant. And with mature plants the water uptake may be 2-3 gallons of water a day. And every time the reservoir is filled after the fert application the contents are being diluted. So after two or three fillings there won't be much fertilizer left in the reservoir.

I have 3 10 gallon SWC's which I removed the fill tube and only water from the top. The reservoir is still in the containers and I apply ferts 2-3 times a week. I have had no problems and when I remove the plant at the end of the season there is no coating in the reservoir and normally a healthy root mat has developed in the reservoir.

Ami

To keep gnats or mosquitoes or other bugs from entering the watering tube, cover it with a plastic top from numerous containers. What comes to mind first is the top from a spray oil canister. Or hairspray. Or deodorant. Heck, wrap some plastic around the top with a rubber band.

^ In my case, the SWC has an irregular shaped "mouth-like" opening... but, I could probably rig up a screen mesh hung over it, or stuff it with something that expands after being compressed (like foam).

You could use a stocking over the fill tube. You could also doctor the water in the reservoir so the insects won't survive. You could use mosquito dunks or something similar.

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;373864]I was thinking the same thing. I am not an Earthtainer grower, but it would be neat to see what happened when an aquarium air pump and stone was added to any stagnant reservoir water. It would dry out faster, but I think the aeration would infuse oxygen that would lead to the growth of good bacteria over bad, which is a basic concept of hydroponics. The good bacteria are aerobic and thus thrive in an oxygen-rich environment.[/QUOTE]
I wonder if dropping a small air stone down the watering tube into the reservoir would do any good for the plants. (I have lots of aquarium stuff.) I might try this in addition to all the other suggestions I've been getting. I am a SW newbie and still planning to build two buckets to use for tomatoes next spring.