I finally made it to Steubers early enough on a Saturday that they were still open. I bought 200 feet of 3/4" mainline tubing, and a bag of fittings. Drippers and sprayers I can get from Home Depot and Dripworks online.

Unfotunately, I got a bag olf chicken grit but did not look at it until I got home. Calcium carbonate (olyster shell?) instead of crushed granite! I won't be ading that to the pine bark in my tomato buckets! I read that excess calcium encourages some tomato diseasze or condition (end blight??)

It sure is late in the year for starting tomatoes, but these have been in smaller pots on my deck for around a month. 1/2 gallon? 3/4 gallon?

Rick, if you're thinking of blossom end rot (affectionately referred to as BER), the general idea is that it's a LACK of calcium that causes it. But I've read that that is not really the cause. Lots of theories out there as to the cause, but too much calcium isn't one of them.

Thanks! I never know when a "Master Gardener" is sharing wisdom or blowing smoke.

I would like to use the gritg in my pots, both for structure and for pH control. I'll be fertilizing them chemically, and that means acidity.

Might be an interesting experiment to do some with and some without, if space allows. I have tomato plants in both earth boxes and in regular planters, and it is amazing the difference in the plants. The ones in the earth boxes are massive; the ones in the regular planters don't look anywhere near as good. Same seeds. Planted at the same time. Same soil amendments. All within 20 feet of one another. Interestingly, tho, the ones in the pots have produced fruit much sooner. But the ones in the EBs produce more fruit over a longer period of time. I think it has to do with stress. And one other thing I read is that even, consistent, deep watering is the key to avoiding BER. And that it's generally not a problem with cherry tomatoes. Now aren't you sorry you asked?

I've thought about EB,
or a water reservoir IN the bucket, like no holes in the bottom 1" ...
Or maybe sitting the bucket on a shallow saucer ...
and maybe embedding a few strips of cotton cloth in the mix as wicks ... ...
... maybe next year.

Probably I'll rely on drippers and a timer, watering automatically 1-2 times per day and expecting to get some flow-out one or both times. I thibnk ther biggest watering variable will be how much and what kinds of fines I add to my (medium & coarse) bark nuggets. I don 't reallty wnaty to go hydxroponic, but I guess a soiless potting is by defi9nition hydroponic.

I've had enough mid-summer Bok Choy poop out or go to seed that I may put 3-4 plants in raised beds (and a little less light) and just 2-3 plants in buckets. Not enough buckets for a controlled study.

At first I thought I would have 4-5 plants in buckets.

Now I'm leaning toward NO oyster shell grit, eiother a little cruished stone I have or rely solely on the colarse bark for drainage.

Maybe some dolomite lime. Probably a bit of 16-16-16 dry fertilizer to go with the mostly Miracle-Gro fertilizer. Maybe-probably put some of my compost in one bucket.