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Old November 10, 2016   #25
zipcode
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6
Posts: 1,582
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BajaMitch View Post
My cost per container (grow media plus ferts) will range between $2.77 and $3.63 for the Drip irrigation containers and between $2.34 to $2.98 for the self-watering containers for an entire growing season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elight View Post
I know I spend way more than that per container and would love to know what can be done to cut costs.

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I don't find it that cheap tbh, but probably will yield more than I do with my somewhat organic method.
I used this year less than a 5kg bag of organic 7-3-10 for my 11 plants (7 containers, 4 bigger with two plants in it, and 3 smaller with one plant), about 5-6 gallon per plant.
The most I got was 16-17 lb per plant, and half of that for cherries (I only get about 5-6 hours of sun though). I payed 15 euro I think for that bag with shipping.
Also added some epsom salts (quite cheap), and 'stolen' for free some microelements.
So that came to less than 1.5 euro per plant for fertilizing only (organic).
Now about the medium and containers, it depends how much time it lasts. The plastic containers cost quite a bit (10-12 euro per container for 2 plants?) but I hope they will last 10 years or so. The potting mix I used was 3 bags or so of 80l, which cost 5 years ago 10 euro each (it's more expensive now). I use the same medium now, didn't change it.
Depends also how expensive the water is, if the water costs a lot, it can be rather expensive, since you will use quite a lot compared to inground.
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