Quote:
Originally Posted by rnewste
Amanda,
Glad to hear your plants are so green, that they look "fake". Great job!!
Can you post some photos of your plants when you get time.
I am going to update the Construction Guide to recommend 2 layers of landscape fabric. Also, if you believe your plants are getting too much moisture, one tweak is to fold the "X" pieces of the moisture barrier adjacent to the plant under themselves, to open up an area around the root ball, that will then dry the surrounding area out somewhat.
Keep us posted as the EarthTainer is a work in progress, fine tuning it for optimal results.
Ray
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Thanks
I actually didn't put the moisture barrier on the top, as I was going to plant marigolds / carrots to help the tomatoes, but it put the carrot seeds in pretty late and put the marigolds in pots beside the tomatoes. I did have some red reflective mylar pieces on top, but the sun bleached them in a day and they tended to fly off in the occasional high winds we get here.
I'll try the moisture barrier next year.
I did, however, plant the tomatoes rather deep - about 3 inches from the platform, so they've never really been "far" from the wick. The tomatoes I got were rather small, so I did a two-step planting / burying process: I planted them 3 inches from the bottom and covered them half-way with soil (yes, up the stalk), then waited for them to grow a few inches above the tote's top, then topping up the soil to an inch and a half below the top. The support I put in on the second step and is one of the cheap dollar-store ones.
The tomatoes I chose are "Husky Cherry Red Tomato" and according to the tag: Grown in Canada. Produces lots of delicious, cherry-sized tomatoes. Ornamental looking plants that look great in patio containers or flower beds. Matures in 65 days. Care: Plant when weather and soil warm. Best caged or staked, 2 - 3' (75 cm) apart; but also suitable for container growing. Full sun. Fruit size: 1 1/2" (3 cm).
Mine are in an 18 gallon tote, so they're at most 6 inches apart.... they don't seem to mind.
The layers of landscaping fabric seem to have only a small effect on the roots, the smaller ones just go right through mine. Perhaps mine's thinner than average?
As for the pictures, my digital camera fell into a small child's hands and doesn't work any more
so I may just grab a cheap film camera and take some pics.
On a side note: I've found my blue / purple peppers (hot, small)
really don't like being near my mint, they only took off when I moved the mint away. Both are in containers, so it may be the "scent" of the mint that does it.
As for the calcium thing, I have a few for-human calcium supplements around here including one that goes in juices... do you think it'll be able to take it up if I put it in the water? I was thinking about putting chalk pieces in there, but something tells me it'd take forever to be absorbed.
Thanks for your time,
Amanda