Fertilizer in self watering containers

[Stvrob]

The earthbox and earthtainer instructions both have the fertilizer concentrated in a tight band. Is this for convienience? Or would it be better if it were uniformly mixed in the soil mix? Same question about the lime uniform or concentrated?

Also, I have unlimited supply of limestone cuttings from well drilling. Can I use these instead of agricultural lime? The cuttings are much coarser. I can sift out sand size limestone but nothing is as fine as the dust you buy at the store. Under a hand lense the individual particles look very porus.

[mdvpc]

Dont know about the limestone, but the theory behind putting the fert in a strip is that the plant roots will seek out and find the fert and use it gently so it doesnt burn the plant.

[roper2008]

I mix mine into the soil evenly. Works fine that way. The lime you are suppose
to mix into the soil.

[Sun City Linda]

I think one of the reasons for having the fert strip on top is it tends to by dryer there. The idea is to protect the strip from water which may cause it to leech into the water resivour and be depleated earlier in the season. Of course in any containers, if using synthetics the instruction is generally to add at the top, I assume to avoid root burn and again, to keep it available to the plant as long as possible.

I switched this year from organics in my EBs to a blended 10-10-10 by Lily Miller. When I had organics it was more common for me to mix at least some into the entire box. One of the many problems I experienced is with 3 plus cups of organics your growing medium gets to muck a lot quicker.

[Doug9345]

Originally Posted by Stvrob

Also, I have unlimited supply of limestone cuttings from well drilling. Can I use these instead of agricultural lime? The cuttings are much coarser. I can sift out sand size limestone but nothing is as fine as the dust you buy at the store. Under a hand lense the individual particles look very porus.

The size of the particles is important in how quickly they react with the acids in the soil. Remember making the particles half the size doubles the surface area.
This site gives information about how quickly various sieve sizes of lime react.
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/forglvst/valuelime.htm

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

I think one of the reasons for having the fert strip on top is it tends to by dryer there. The idea is to protect the strip from water which may cause it to leech into the water resivour and be depleated earlier in the season. Of course in any containers, if using synthetics the instruction is generally to add at the top, I assume to avoid root burn and again, to keep it available to the plant as long as possible.

I switched this year from organics in my EBs to a blended 10-10-10 by Lily Miller. When I had organics it was more common for me to mix at least some into the entire box. One of the many problems I experienced is with 3 plus cups of organics your growing medium gets to muck a lot quicker.

Linda,
How happy are you with the Lily Miller? I think I am kicking Tomato Tone to the curb. I probably have enough left for one container, and I was going to try the Fox Farm. Also figured I would try out at least one container of synthetic as well just to see the difference.

[Sun City Linda]

So far so good with the Lily Miller and great for the price. I am getting a 10Lb bag of their blended line, which is green something for ten dollars at Lowes. I plan to use my existing TomatoTone in the dirt and also in conjuction with other ferts in my EarthBoxes.

[JamesL]

Thanks. I can get it local which is always a plus.

[Sun City Linda]

James - Try it - you'll like it!!! lol. I'm getting to be the poster girl for synthetics in containers. Have another thread going right now. I find it cheaper, easier and based on production last fall, a much better yeild. I think it is entirely possible but certainly more challenging to grow well in containers using organic ferts.

[JamesL]

I will let you know!

[Sun City Linda]

You wouldnt be SPAMMING us would you GrowKing?

[JamesL]

Linda,
I do like fried SPAM on toast.....

Haven't been able to get my hands on Lily Miller yet. My local Lowe's can't seem to get out of their own way.