ardesia said:You are on target with the cost of the potting medium. If you have the space and energy it might be best if you make your own. You can buy a bale of peat and let it soak for about a week to hydrate then mix it with a super sized bag of perlite, add a hand full of lime and some time release fertilizer. Home made compost if you have any and other amendments as indicated. There are lots of recipes online. My back no longer lets me do it that way and I wound up spending well over $100 on bags of soils alone (don't tell DH but maybe double that .) Add in the grow bags and the drip system and I really did have the pricey tomato.
I understand some of the big boxes will seriously discount broken bags of potting soils, that is another option.
BetNC said:That's spot-on about the cost of buying potting soil!
You DO realize that the potting mix/gro media. . .can be used again over and over? There's no need to use new media every year. the EB says that an EB can be over-wintered (Remove root balls - the smaller diffuse roots will decompose/disintegrate over the winter, the fertilizer/salt build up strip and cover the boxWith plastic) then in the spring "fluff up" the media (it will get compactedover the season) and set it up with fresh fertilizer and dolomite (if needed...and sincce you will start with growing tomotatoes in them, its a must)
0The cost is hat's I make my own, using a recipe from the University of (Florida?), and overwinter my EBs.
a 1:1:1:1 mix of equal parts:
spaghum peat moss
perliite
well-aged compost with NO MANURE
good quality (re particle-size) potting mix, with the FIRST/primary ingredient PEAT MOSS
Cheapest is MiraclGro Potting Mix, as most/some of the others have too large a particle size and/or are of rough sizes
Don't waste money by adding starter fertilizer to the mix, as it's usually added directly into the transplanting hole
As for the dolomite (as a calcium source, to prevent BER) and season/sustaining fertilizer that must be added @ set up before the season begins and before transplanting: each depends on the particular crop as to what aand how much to use. Typically, the fertilizer is added as a buried strip near the top, since whatever is left and the saltbuildup from its use is (this nmust be removed at the end of EVERY SEASON else next year's plants will suffer from salt toxicity)Although Dolomite is added annually and can be ANYWHER in the media, I've had the most success by mixing it in the bottom 1/2-1/3 of the media (that's when the plant roots reach it and need it).
farmerdill said:ED .just for reference. Bella Rosa is one of the better flavored TSWV varieties, but it while a determinate is not a small plant. Plant size is comparable to most of the commercial fresh market varieties. 4 ft range. I have currently moved to Saybrook and Dixie Red which replaced Mountain Merit which replaced Bella Rosa.
NMoasis said:Bet (why does Ed call you Pat?)
What fertilizer do you use and how often? I use unfertilized potting soil, plus I have to water my pots daily. This year's fruit is looking puny and I suspect I need to fertilize more, but since I don't use much fertilizer generally, it is hard to gauge. What do you use?
NMoasis said:Bet (why does Ed call you Pat?)
What fertilizer do you use and how often? I use unfertilized potting soil, plus I have to water my pots daily. This year's fruit is looking puny and I suspect I need to fertilize more, but since I don't use much fertilizer generally, it is hard to gauge. What do you use?
sallyg said:BUSH GOLIATH
I am growing right now. It for sure is a compact sturdy looking plant, dark green and good looking. It started to bear about same as all the others. . I counted 4 or 5 clusters of three each when it was starting to ripen. Now, as to flavor I am not sure as I get them all mixed up after picking. This one and Rhode Island Early both seemed prone to crack on the top. And am not sure which gave me a few tomatoes with white pithy inner flesh when looking ripe. Who's to say if that was just weather? We do keep the garden watered when rain is low. It might not have even been this plant. Right now it is growing new branches maybe it will have a second round of clusters.
But I think Bush Goliath is worth a try.
I have NewBig dwarf and will try it next year.