Hi Barb-
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barb_FL
For Dwarfs, Sweet Scarlet (I have seeds if you need them) - this is great tasting and doesn't split for me.
BTW - What varieties have you grown that don't do well in the EB? Anything that I have grown in an EB, I've also grown successfully in a Root Pouch.
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Thanks for the offer of SS. I'll probably take you up on that, but have quite a few months up here before I need to do anything. I have quite a few dwarfs now to trade, too.
Note: this is going to sound like I don't like EarthBoxes. But quite the opposite – the older I get, the more I like them. However, they come with some issues, too. And as always, YMMV.
In my experience, there are four main issues with the EB and especially with full-sized tomato plants.
1. Splitting/cracking Due to constant high moisture.
Cracking -- examples for me are Jet Star, Better Boy, Supersonic, Early Girl. I have not found a way around this other than careful selection of the varieties and early picking. Unfortunately, I'm not too diligent on the early picking.
2. "Dwarfing" (Some plants do not grow to be normal size in the constrained space of an EB, especially if there are two in a box.)
I can only cite one tomato example thus far -- Brandy Boy (with a dwarf companion plant). Grew to maybe 1/3 normal size and only had 5 usable tomatoes -- all smaller versions of the typical fruit. Could it have been just this plant? Maybe, but the plant had grown normally, and the dwarf companion plant in the box grew just fine. A better example might be eggplants. My eggplants and the fruit never get as big as they do in soil. However, until I started growing eggplants in EB's, it was a very hit-or-miss proposition due to verticillium. With the EB, I get plenty of fruit, year after year.
3. The plants overgrowing their space -- partly my fault there, since I'm not inclined to make another stand to spread things out more.
Many full-sized tomatoes, although the "bushy varieties" are the worst. There are lots of varieties that don't get huge, but many do.
4. Disease -- having the plants bunched up especially with two to a box makes foliage diseases worse. It also makes spraying more difficult.
Some caveats -- Some issues are solved by just putting one plant in a box. A good splitting example is a dwarf -- Perth Pride. Grown in an EB, they nearly all split. Grown in a 7 gallon (14") pot, they don't except after a heavy rain. (I've never grown PP in-ground.)
-GG