pensrock & ArnieM

[Oldman]

This reply is address to both of you....

I have a couple raised bed gardens and have been using them with great success for years. I normally grow peppers, sweet and hot. Tomatoes, cukes, onions and garlic. That's about it. Because of the late blight last year I'm afraid to grow tomatoes in the bed again cause the fungi may still be in the dirt. So I figured I would do two or three on the deck using your set up. At least I'll have eating tomatoes. This year I'll just plant onions and peppers in the raised bads maybe a few

I'll probably put a cherry tomato in one container, most likely Sweet Millions, they are a great tomato. In the other I would like to use the Celebrity hybrid, but we have not been able to find them around here the last couple years. If I do a third container, maybe a yellow tomato? Not sure what will be available.

As far as compost goes, all I can get around here is either or bagged compost. The mushroom compost is from the mushroom farms, after they grow mushrooms a couple times, they change out the compost. I have used it before and its good stuff but I think some of the nutrients are used up from growing the mushrooms. My raised beds were filled with top soil / mushroom compost and peat. Every fall I chop up the leaves and bury in the beds. Its full of worms.

First allow me to say we are already gardening friends...anyone who grows kohlrabi is a friend of mine.  ;D

Ok now on to your late plight problem.  You must understand that peppers and tomatoes are both from the nightshade family. Normally what effects one will effect the other. Either replace your soil or for the next 3 years do not grow either in your raised garden. What is even worse, experts don't all agree on this point, is growing heirloom tomatoes and smoking about them. Tobacco is part of the night shade family and its mosaic virus is more divesting than either early or late blight. If you smoke then use throw away gloves and clean your gardening tools with 100 parts per million of househole bleach. (In U.S. terms: 12.75 ounces bleach per 128 ounces of water.) Allow for at least a 10 minute contact time before you clean off the bleach water.

Most hybrid tomatoes will resist the mosaic virus. When you have infected plants do not compost them. Wrap them up in plastic and discharge via your garbage. If you have to at least burn the plants until ash.

As far as growing some tomatoes via my style of container let me tell you right now in 5 - 5gal growth containers you can grow so many tomatoes that your family of 5 will get tired of eating them. If you do hanging containers (see image below) you can add enough peppers that your family will get tired of them as well...(I will address this more in the next newsletter.)

As far as mushroom compost goes make sure you are up to speed concerning it.  We don't have it here, but from what I read you really need to balance it. I'm a really big believer of compost tea. Do a Goggle on that subject. Just remember the rule of thumb is what you apply should not be any darker than that of light tea.

Next, if your garden soil is full of worms then you are doing something correctly.  Don't stop.

Now on to your Earthboxes. They look like the older style. If you are using chemical fertilizers I'm of great concern as I don't see a cover over the soil. If there is one it is flat and that does not work. (If that is the case please review last month's newsletter.)

This next month's newsletter I will directly address to you how to grow more tomatoes and peppers as a Micro grower then even the book on square foot gardening publishes.

currently grow on my deck which is south-facing.  The deer can't get up there.

This is a pic from last year showing (among other things) the Earth Boxes.  I used trellis work and bamboo stakes to hold up the plants.  The plants didn't do all that well but everyone liked the ribs 


I have a plant hanger on the wall and did upside down tomatoes a couple of years ago.  I'd like to find a variety that would do well there - maybe the Celebrity you mentioned?  The Cherokee Purple tomatoes from Penny's look interesting but right now I'd like to just have a nice, edible quality tomato as opposed to the expensive plastic tomatoes in the store - yes, even in the summer.

Pens, yes, I did stake mine but nothing grew over 2-3 feet tall.  I'll defer to Raye as far as fertilizer goes.

I will address soiless mixtures and fertilizers in the next newsletter.

Well it is getting late.... been a long day and at 60 years of age I now have a 65 year old wife who thinks I'm still 25.... Oh Lordie it is going to be a long night.

Guess life could be worse~~~ ;D ;D ;D

Gnite all.....

Oh I almost forgot this is the image of 26 plants in just 5  5gal containers. Keep in mind that the past 8 weeks here have been cold and cloudy. In fact I had take these plants in for almost 2 weeks in the garage without any sunshine.  I seeded them in December

[classicrockgriller]

That is really kewl Olds.

Will be looking forward to the next newsletter.

[squirtthecat]

That is amazing...

[RossP]

Thanks Olds looking forward to the next news letter.
We use containers for our gardening and I look
forward to using your method this year for tomstoes and
peppers.

Ross

[pensrock]

Thanks for taking the time to explain things. I did not realize that the blight would hurt peppers. Last year when my tomatoes got wiped out, it did not seem to hurt the peppers at all and they are planted right next to each other. I have another small garden next to the house that I did not plant last year, I'll put the peppers there this year and figure out something to plant in the infected garden for a few years. Onion, kohlrabi, bush cukes?

Yes, we LOVE Kohlrabi.  :)

[Caneyscud]

Olds - you spend any time at Epcot Center?   ;D ;D ;D ;D  Those pots look like something they would do!

[Oldman]

I did not realize that the blight would hurt peppers.

This is where the "experts" disagree. Some say blight will never hit a pepper; other swear they have seen it.
BTW in the image above of the 5 - 5gal containers the one in the center has only one plant....it is for the cats! Yepper it is catnip!

Olds - you spend any time at Epcot Center? Those pots look like something they would do!

Nope but they do stop by here from time to time for ideas----LOL!

RossP  

Thanks Olds looking forward to the next news letter.
We use containers for our gardening and I look
forward to using your method this year for tomstoes and
peppers.

Now you don't have to restrict yourself to just tomatoes and peppers. (I've posted this image before. The container works on the same principle as the smaller containers. Infact, the growing level of this container was short of a foot deep. Even though the banana was a dwarf by the end of that year it was well over 15 feet tall.




This image is of my first growth container of 19 years ago. So there really is no limit other than your imagination. The big white container originally came from a boat salvage yard. It was a fresh water tank. I got it on the cheap (I have 3 of them) because it was an odd shape that no one wanted.

Now a word of warning. NEVER USE A GALVANIZED CONTAINER TO GROW YOUR VEGTABLES IN. When I was a young man welding I paid a heavy price from the fumes. I went to a doctor and blood work showed dangerously low white cell count and platelet count and below normal red cell and hemoglobin. It turns out that welding galvanized material produces zinc dust which is accumulative and can kill you. Also never use pressure treated wood or railroad ties for your raised  vegtable garden.

[ArnieM]

This is getting good!  First, Raye, thanks a bunch for the time and effort you're putting in here.  I think you're getting close to a book  :D

I can't put things out for a couple of months yet; mid to late May.  So, I'm going to start getting my materials together now.

I'm working up a number of questions after going through http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/K&T.pdf a few times.  I'll "drop" them all at once after I have a better understanding rather than just one here and there.  But, it seems like shopping for a hole saw and hot glue gun is in my future  ;D

Thanks again.