Sewage smell in earthtainer

cbird02 · July 8, 2013

I have a custom earthtainer (5ft round horse trough) that uses an adjustable pipe to maintain the water level. I keep it below the aeration table to allow for proper root aeration. Unfortunately my wife took over watering duties and I did not properly inform her that you could not raise the pipe adjustment to far or you will saturate the soil and have no aeration. This unfortunate situation equates to a bad case of anaerobic bacteria - sewage smelling soil.

I am wondering if it will be enough to lower the water level and allow aeration of the bed while still allowing the plants to suck out of the reservoir. Are more drastic measures called for? Nothing is doing to well, but it is my first year and I do not know if I should attribute it to this situation or our dramatic heat we have been having here in the Tucson desert.

I have drained the water and let the bed drain and then washed out that, now I am hoping it will be ok - the smell isn't so bad at the fill tube now.

Rockporter · July 8, 2013

Welcome to TV, I use earth boxes and some handmade SWP's as well. I have never had this problem with the water getting anerobic but I would think if you have emptied the reservoir and maybe do a little top watering avoiding the fert strip if you have one it might help wash some of that out. I would also allow less water to sit in the bottom if it is possible to allow more aeration. I hope this helps, just my thoughts on the situation.

Dewayne mater · July 8, 2013

I had that issue when I used the mix in a container bought from a major mfg of containers and used their soil mix. I then changed out the soil mix to Raybo's soil-less mix and have never had that issue again. Apparently, the way the make that type of tainer, the "soil" stays wetter than the way Raybo's design works and wet plus organic plus heat equal stench and rot. Not good. So, if your container wicks enough water up to stay wet, consider changing the growing medium.

Dewayne mater

BennB · July 9, 2013

This is my second year of growing mainly in containers (mostly 5 gallon buckets with drip irrigation). This year I was a complete moron and forgot to drill holes in the bottom of one bucket (I have over 40 plants, so I guess I lost track)!

The plant just sat there and looked sad for a month while it's brethren grew along happily. It wasn't until I decided to finally pitch it and I tried to pick up the bucket that I realized it had about 30 pounds of water sitting in it. I drilled some holes in the side and a lot of foul smelling water drained out. I gave it a few days and started watering it again and it seems to have recovered, although it is a bit behind the others.

My guess is that if you let your plants dry out, they will recover, but I would guess that you won't set a lot of new fruit until they do.

July 8, 2013	#1
cbird02 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 2	Sewage smell in earthtainer I have a custom earthtainer (5ft round horse trough) that uses an adjustable pipe to maintain the water level. I keep it below the aeration table to allow for proper root aeration. Unfortunately my wife took over watering duties and I did not properly inform her that you could not raise the pipe adjustment to far or you will saturate the soil and have no aeration. This unfortunate situation equates to a bad case of anaerobic bacteria - sewage smelling soil. I am wondering if it will be enough to lower the water level and allow aeration of the bed while still allowing the plants to suck out of the reservoir. Are more drastic measures called for? Nothing is doing to well, but it is my first year and I do not know if I should attribute it to this situation or our dramatic heat we have been having here in the Tucson desert. I have drained the water and let the bed drain and then washed out that, now I am hoping it will be ok - the smell isn't so bad at the fill tube now.

July 8, 2013	#2
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	Welcome to TV, I use earth boxes and some handmade SWP's as well. I have never had this problem with the water getting anerobic but I would think if you have emptied the reservoir and maybe do a little top watering avoiding the fert strip if you have one it might help wash some of that out. I would also allow less water to sit in the bottom if it is possible to allow more aeration. I hope this helps, just my thoughts on the situation. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

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July 8, 2013	#3
Dewayne mater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 1,212	I had that issue when I used the mix in a container bought from a major mfg of containers and used their soil mix. I then changed out the soil mix to Raybo's soil-less mix and have never had that issue again. Apparently, the way the make that type of tainer, the "soil" stays wetter than the way Raybo's design works and wet plus organic plus heat equal stench and rot. Not good. So, if your container wicks enough water up to stay wet, consider changing the growing medium. Dewayne mater

July 9, 2013	#4
BennB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Seattle, Wa Posts: 77	This is my second year of growing mainly in containers (mostly 5 gallon buckets with drip irrigation). This year I was a complete moron and forgot to drill holes in the bottom of one bucket (I have over 40 plants, so I guess I lost track)! The plant just sat there and looked sad for a month while it's brethren grew along happily. It wasn't until I decided to finally pitch it and I tried to pick up the bucket that I realized it had about 30 pounds of water sitting in it. I drilled some holes in the side and a lot of foul smelling water drained out. I gave it a few days and started watering it again and it seems to have recovered, although it is a bit behind the others. My guess is that if you let your plants dry out, they will recover, but I would guess that you won't set a lot of new fruit until they do.