Manually Watering Containers

[babice]

For those of you who have some toms in containers you're manually watering - what is your method? I'm not alone on this am I? I do have 3 EB's. But I also have 14 non-SWC and I don't have drip irrigation set up for those.

I planted 4 of the largest containers about 6 weeks or so ago and I experimented with putting an empty, plastic bottle (1 liter) in the soil as I was building up the soil so that I could water using that instead of overhead water. I'm not so sure I'm happy with these results yet. I think I may be a little leery right now about just about anything I've done with my containers at this point because I had lovely, lush, green plants this past Saturday (was even showing them to my DH and bragging about them on Saturday). But then Sunday morning I got an outbreak of grey mold that just spread and spread. So, I just don't know how much of that coulda been caused, say, by the heavy rains we got not only flooding down into the soil thru the bottle, but also -- could the plastic bottle have gotten a mold on it that has since leached or splashed up?

In any case, I didn't do the plastic-bottle-in-the-soil thing with the other 10. I've been using a hose and trying my darndest not to wet the leaves. This obviously takes quite a long time and it, frankly, hurts my back after a while. Maybe I should break it up -- do half of the containers one day and the other half the next, etc.

Oh - and when I feed, I am then trying to pour a gallon of water+feed in without splashing it up onto the plant. Again, lot of bending that hurts my back after a while.

Do you have any tips/tricks?

Interested in hearing what everyone else does.

[nctomatoman]

I have 600 plants in containers - just walk down the rows with the hose running full - for 1 gallon pots I count to "1", 5 gallon count to "5" and 10 gallon count to "10" - can do my entire collection of containers in about 30 minutes - and am watering daily at this point.

[babice]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I have 600 plants in containers - just walk down the rows with the hose running full - for 1 gallon pots I count to "1", 5 gallon count to "5" and 10 gallon count to "10" - can do my entire collection of containers in about 30 minutes - and am watering daily at this point.

Wow - really? So, you must do this in the morning so you don't have to worry about splashing the leaves?

[augiedog55]

Babice, I hope your plants are doing better. Did you ever figure out what was happening to them.
I self water and do pretty much like Nc does except i don't count. I have a water waun on the end of the hose and water my 10 and 15 gallon smart pots. I water until the water starts running out the bottom containers. I water about every other day and it seems to be working.

[nctomatoman]

Babice, all of my pots are mulched with grass clippings - I water at the base of the plant - very little splash up (and none with potting mix due to the mulch) and yes, mid morning is when I water. Don't forget - when it rains, the foliage gets wet, so it can't be totally avoided. As long I do the watering early, any wet foliage dries quite quickly.

[simmran1]

Babice,

I also mulch every planter and grow-bag, being not consistent- some w/wood mulch (cypress I think) some with straw, etc. whatever was 'in stock' in the shed at the time. I fill a wheelbarrow up near the top, w/2 pinches of kelp powder mixed in. I also will put some Tomato-Tone in as well. Move the filled wheelbarrow to near the garden- Dip the watering can to fill, and water individual plants - in garden or containers. (Can see the Mississippi river from my house) -R

[amideutch]

Babice, pick up one of these. Don't have to bend over, difuses the water so there is a minimum amout of splash up and control valve is on the handle. Ami

http://www.amazon.com/Dramm-12804-To...ef=pd_sbs_lg_5

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by amideutch

Babice, pick up one of these. Don't have to bend over, difuses the water so there is a minimum amout of splash up and control valve is on the handle. Ami

http://www.amazon.com/Dramm-12804-To...ef=pd_sbs_lg_5

I have one of these it is money well spent.
I love the thing.

Worth

[augiedog55]

i use walmarts version, i love it. no bending over

[babice]

Originally Posted by simmran1

(Can see the Mississippi river from my house)

Oh that's awesome! I can hear the river boats from my house but can't see the river. I can see it from where I work, though. You must be up on one of those lovely (but not well-known) Iowa bluffs! I love seeing the ice float down the river in the winter. I also love seeing the eagles flying around the river in the winter.

So - wow on the wheelbarrow thing. You do that every day?

[babice]

Originally Posted by amideutch

Babice, pick up one of these. Don't have to bend over, difuses the water so there is a minimum amout of splash up and control valve is on the handle. Ami

http://www.amazon.com/Dramm-12804-To...ef=pd_sbs_lg_5

Definitely will be my next purchase!

[babice]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Babice, all of my pots are mulched with grass clippings - I water at the base of the plant - very little splash up (and none with potting mix due to the mulch) ...

Thanks nctomatoman - I am loving your counting method already. I used it this morning with all my container plants. On the toms, I have pine bark mulch out and it kinda flooded up a little as I did this. Guess I'll have to work on the velocity of water coming out at once.

Previously I was not only bending over but running it rather slowly. So, I was bending over for quite a while. Wasn't doing the same with my other container plants (nice fire hose nozze on end of hose) because not worried about getting them wet.

[babice]

Originally Posted by augiedog55

Babice, I hope your plants are doing better. Did you ever figure out what was happening to them.

Hi augiedog! DarJones diagnosed them mostly with grey mold and some septoria, possibly a few spots of EB but he couldn't tell for sure. Geesh. Amazing how things can happen over night (or appear that way any way). The grey mold makes total sense because I got that on some of my basil and other plants as well. First time this gardener has seen an outbreak like that.

Of course, I've been trying to figure out what the heck I did that mighta brought that on. Was firstly wondering if those plastic bottles could possibly develop a mold on them.

But I also remembered that on Saturday, I dug up the cocoa hull mulch I had in the 4 larger containers because it had these white worms in it. Now that I think about it, though, I prolly should have left that mulch alone. I'm betting I dug up some mildew that had naturally formed on the bottom of the mulch - and the timing was terrible because it was humid that afternoon and then we got a hard rain overnight followed by more humidity. I don't really know how it got on ALL my toms (as opposed to those 4) but I'm feeling I probably stirred up some mildew doing that.

[Crandrew]

You gave up on the cocoa mulch Im still rocking it and seems to be doing fine. It does prevent soil splash up as it bonds together like a shell blanket.

Sorry to hear about disease issues. The inability to completely remove the risk of plant loss is why i went from 2 tomato plants last year to 20 this year. Im going to guarantee results one way or another.

The wand idea is a good one. I also water by hand and I use watering cans as I add some form of Bokashi juice or nutrients whenever I water. But If I wasnt I would use the hose method that Craig aka NCT suggested.

[babice]

Originally Posted by Crandrew

You gave up on the cocoa mulch Im still rocking it and seems to be doing fine. It does prevent soil splash up as it bonds together like a shell blanket.

Well, I haven't entirely given up on it. It was dumb I guess in hindsight to totally toss it. More like I gave up on the batch of white worm thingies. Those white worm thingies (which I think were maggots) had me creeped out. I didn't want a batch of flies hatching in my tomato containers! I still have many bags of the cocoa hull mulch and have it in all my beds out front. I don't know what it's been about this year. But the CH mulch has had a dusting of mildew on top of it (out front) and flying things darting around it too. I guess it's been too humid for it to totally dry out and form the shell I'm used to.