Interesting season so far

[hald]

It has been near record temperatures where I live. Tomorrow is predicted at 114. The air here is in a purple alert - unhealthy for all.

I have 12 plants in 1 cubic foot containers that have 1/2 gallon water reservoirs in the bottom. The soil was mixed per instructions on the fertilizer bag, an organic mix specific for tomatoes. I also added 1 cup of lime and 1/2 cup of bone meal to the mix. Instead of plastic film I covered the tops of the pots with plastic planter dishes that I cut a hole in for the plant to grow through. The dishes, turned upside down, make a good seal on the tops of the planters. I put some aluminum muffin rings on the top of the soil and filled them with fertilizer.

Last year, using the earthbox method, I had a bountiful crop of sungold and sweet 100, but the early girl tasted awful, and the other large varieties were plagued with what I thought was BER.

Last year when the temps were over 100 for nearly a month I was watering 5 and 6 times a day. It was a ball and chain.

This year I added constant water using the level method. The plants are on tables which are leveled and they are in an area covered by shade cloth. Each table has a shoe box size container with a cooler float. The container is connected to each pot via a hose. The water level in the container and all the pot water reservoirs are the same as water seeks it's own level.

Automatic water is heaven! This is the first year I've had good production from large varieties in pots. The largest toms are well over 1 pound. They all taste great. The only problem I've had is a dove building a nest, and the rats or possums who've munched on a few. Also a nice problem - not being able to use them fast enough.

When the temps are 105 +, even under shade clothe and with constant water, tomatoes wilt. It would be interesting to know how many gallons a day they are using (anyone know of an inexpensive meter?). We will be on water meters soon where I live.

The level method is working exceptionally well.
hald

[dice]

I wonder if you could use shade cloth over your house?
Some kind of canopy maybe. (I was in Fresno once in
mid-summer when I was a little kid. We spent whole days
lying on the floor in the living room, because that was the
coolest place in the house. I guess these days people would
have air-conditioning.)

The water level system with a central distribution box is
an interesting idea. There would probably be some meters
available from greenhouse, nursery, and/or hydroponic
suppliers.

Here is a URL for a post in a newsgroup thread on inline
water meters for filling up ballast in sailplanes, etc:

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Arch.../msg00193.html

(The water meter linked to there runs about $90. Looks like
a decent product, but I have never used one. There may be
other recommendations in other posts in that thread.)

A Google search for "inline water meter" might be helpful
(after you filter out all of the vendor sites to find some
actual discussion by users).

Edit:

Looking again, I see that there are URLs for two different
water meters in that newsgroup post. I was thinking of
the second one when I said "$90", ie this one:

http://www.craggyaero.com/watermeter.htm

The first one listed was a "garden type" for $16.95. I would read
the whole thread. I don't know how accurate of metering you
need, which would be the big difference between the cheap
one and the expensive one (not expensive at all compared to
a utility meter).

[hald]

Yea, there are days so hot I wish the whole house was covered in shade cloth. Thanks for the links.
-hald

[dice]

Thanks for the links.

De nada.

One issue people have elsewhere with agricultural
or lawn/garden water is that their sewer bill is pro-rated
as a percentage of their water use, and they don't want
what they put on their fields or garden to contribute to their
sewer bill. Some utilities will put in a separate water meter
for use of water outside the home on request, but they
charge for it.