Have a great invention to help with gardening? Are you the self-reliant type that prefers Building It Yourself vs. buying it? Share and discuss your ideas and projects with other members.
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February 24, 2008 | #16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Germany 49°26"N 07°36"E
Posts: 5,041
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Ray, I would suggest using Mycorrizae on one Plant when planting in your EB and treat both plants the same otherwise. If your going to use a fertilizer strip make sure the P (Phosphorus) is no more than 3. Ami
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Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘...Holy Crap .....What a ride!' |
February 24, 2008 | #17 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 5,346
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And just to nip something in the bud before it even gets posted, Adam and Jamie of Mythbusters are generally NOT aware of the science behind each myth. They feel it makes for a better show, and allows them to "think outside the box". It also means that they are going to experience "real world" conditions rather than conditions in a lab. I don't think someone has to be a tomato expert to try some of these things.
Towards the end of a myth, they usually will then consult an expert to get that angle.
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[SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I] |
February 24, 2008 | #18 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Aurora, CO
Posts: 71
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One comparison that I'm planning on this year is to test the use of the 'hair mat' vs. no hair mat. The claim is that it boosts tomato production by 48% on average. Hard to believe, but we'll see.
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February 24, 2008 | #19 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 2,618
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One more:
Using same everything, except: One container has one plant and comparing with one container with two plants. Which container produces more tomatoes ? dcarch
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February 24, 2008 | #20 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Rats!! So now I've got to build 25 EarthTainers instead of my current build plan of 24, to now house the single "orphan" control plant. I have three candidate varieties of which I have 3 seedlings each now growing: JD's Special C-Tex, Purple Haze, and Earl's Faux. So, which variety would you choose for the "2-on-1" yield experiment??
Ray |
February 24, 2008 | #21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: kentucky
Posts: 1,019
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what is a "hair mat"; a human hair mulch?
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February 24, 2008 | #22 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: NY
Posts: 2,618
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Quote:
dcarch
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February 24, 2008 | #23 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: California
Posts: 88
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I have been using EB's for just over a year now. I have tried a few A, B tests.
How about using Worm Castings in 1 box? I just cleaned out my boxes last week in anticipation of planting my tomato seedlings. I found more production in the boxes that I used Worm Castings. I will do more A B tests. I am convinced though. I would also suggest another test w/ MG Regular and MG w/ Moisture Control. My test tells me the Moisture Control is not needed in these boxes. Try another w/ Miracle Grow and Pro-Mix or Sunshine #4 or another w/ Pro Mix BX w/ Pro Mix w/ Biofungicide. I really like Pro-Mix and Sun GRO. They are lighter mixes. Also, while cleaning my boxes out I noticed that the boxes w/ the Miracle Grow smelled like a sewer and the boxes w/ the Pro-Mix or Sunshine did not smell at all. I can probably come up w/ more but I think we have all come up w/ enough to keep you busy building more Boxes. Nancy |
February 24, 2008 | #24 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Aurora, CO
Posts: 71
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The hair mat is a mat of human hair sold as a commercial product, which has been in the news recently. It sounds gross at first, but no worse than some of the other stuff we put on our tomatoes :-). It's been discussed in this thread:
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=7836 The commercial website is http://www.smartgrow.net. JR |
February 24, 2008 | #25 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Nancy,
Miracle Grow with M.C. vs Pro-Mix sounds like a good "A/B" experiment. I will buy some Pro-Mix and add that as #10. I would also like to do a "TomatoTone vs. Osmocote" fertilizer comparison, if someone would like to send me a cup of Osmocote in a zip-lock bag. Ray |
February 24, 2008 | #26 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: MS
Posts: 1,523
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I think the suggestion of comparing actual harvest totals of one plant in one container vs two plants in one container is a veyr good/important test to try.
Also, try to monitor soil temps every now and then. As to ground temps at a certain depth vs HB soil at same depth, color or container, maybe insulating one HB, comparing temps and production, etc. Don
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Zone 7B, N. MS |
February 24, 2008 | #27 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Campbell, CA
Posts: 4,064
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Don,
Yep! I will do the 2-to-1 plant production yield with Earl's Faux as suggested by dcarch, for "A/B" Experiment #11. So one more open slot..... Regarding monitoring soil temps, etc. I do have a "Day Job", so that seems too much for me to take on this year. Ray |
February 25, 2008 | #28 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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Quote:
Side B: 1 cup of gypsum, 1 cup of epsom salt, mixed in Both sides get the same amount of no-calcium fertilizer. (I'm ignoring the sulfur in the gypsum here. At most it will increase nitrogen uptake on side B, which won't affect whether Side A gets BER. The epsom salt proportion probably needs to be adjusted to get magnesium equality. I didn't take the time to calculate exactly how much magnesium is in one cup of dolomite and in one cup of epsom salt, but if the dolomite is broken down into calcium and magnesium adequately over the course of a single season, both sides should have plenty of magnesium.) Does side A get BER? (I already know that that gypsum added in spring can make the difference between BER and no BER in a roma plant in a particular row in my garden. The second year, with gypsum added and no BER, was actually drier than the first year, when it got BER, and besides it got it during the rainy season, so low soil moisture was not the cause the first year. I just want to know whether dolomite lime is comparably effective.) I'm thinking of agricultural research that showed no increase in production in fields limed in spring until the following year. Why the following year? Why wouldn't it make a difference the same year that the fields were limed? Does it take that long for dolomite in soil to be sufficiently broken down for the calcium and magnesium in it to become available to plants? Or was it merely a calcium migration in soil artifact produced by only top-dressing the lime and not tilling it in? (Mixing it in homogenously in the potting mix eliminates calcium migration in the container mix as a variable.) If the dolomite is broken down sufficiently to supply calcium in the same season that it is added to container mix, there should be no BER on either plant. If it takes a whole year for the calcium in it to become available to plants, then side A should show some BER. If both plants get BER, we have only shown that one cup of dolomite or one cup of gypsum was not enough for that cultivar, given the nitrogen levels in the fertilizer. Using HEB's takes low soil moisture out of the test as a possible BER cause. But I would want to be careful with the pH-raising effect of dolomite. Less maybe, more probably not, unless your container mix has a particularly low pH. Real world, you might find that a cup of both in one side is what you need, to keep pH where you want it while still raising the available calcium above what you get from one cup of dolomite. That was my idea. I won't feel insulted if it takes lower priority than other tests on your list. (We do want you to be able to eat these tomatoes, after all.) I am still undecided whether to build any of these myself. If I do, I can run that test myself, but I would be hand-filling the HEB's, not as consistent as your automated watering system, and moisture levels matter for BER testing. (I still have to read up on how to test pH in container mix, which tends to not dissolve easily in water.)
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February 25, 2008 | #29 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: MS
Posts: 1,523
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Ray, I sent you a pm.
Don
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Zone 7B, N. MS |
February 25, 2008 | #30 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: PNW
Posts: 4,743
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PS: A test for BER should probably be done with
something disposable, like a couple of roma plants that are naturally more prone to getting BER, rather than wasting a big, delicious slicer on it. Also, there is the question of whether the calcium compounds leach down into the water supply in rainy weather and then get wicked up by both sides. (This test should probably be done in separate containers, rather than with two plants in a split container, unless the container is inside a greenhouse and the AWS is its only water supply.)
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-- alias Last edited by dice; February 25, 2008 at 03:23 PM. Reason: typo |
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