EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

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pepperhead212
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#181

Post: # 19859Unread post pepperhead212
Wed May 13, 2020 11:04 am

[mention]peebee[/mention]
I loose little mix out of my EBs and other SIPs, and when I cleaned out several of them this year, there was little sediment in them (I was expecting a lot more!). I put a layer of fine screen between the mix and the tray, which helps, but I don't think much went through, even without the screen.

Something that I did, which may or may not help with soil borne diseases, is before adding my new 1/4 or 1/3 new mix, I wet the old mix I left in with some water with some hydrogen peroxide added - about 1/4 c to the little more than 1½ gal sprinkler can (this soaked about 2 EBs). I got this idea from methods I've seen for sterilizing seedling mixes. I really don't have much of a problem with soil borne diseases - mostly leaf problems, when there is too much rain - but I figured, it wouldn't hurt, and H2O2 is only $1 a quart in Dollar Tree! So I wet the old, and I figured that the new would slowly re-inoculate the tubs with the Mycorrhizae.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#182

Post: # 19864Unread post MsCowpea
Wed May 13, 2020 12:14 pm

Peebee, you could always try both, solarized or not solarized, to see if you see less disease or improved yield, or whatever with the solarized
boxes. You are in a unique place in the country that if you want to solarize AND keep you boxes going throughout the year you have to dump the mix into plastic bags and use new mix and then alternate them out. Maybe it is worth It but your new experiment will help determine that.

Flushing mix: I don’t know if the mix needs to be flushed or not but they are uncovered now and all I am doing is gently watering the top so the water goes to the reservoir. I have already removed the fertilizer strip and top few inches. I haven’t yet tipped them to get the water out but nothing is disturbing the corners. This may be making it all too complicated when it doesn’t need to be and probably an unnecessary step because the old fertilizer and top part of the mix (where the salts are ?) has been removed but easy for me to do as they are uncovered.
**(Addition: I have only tested used EB Mix twice. Once many years ago (15 ?? years more or less) and they said to flush the mix and pH was low but I don’t remember particulars. (Ie type of fertilizer or how much I removed off the top). So I did it again 5 years ago with both an organic box and synthetic box and they didn’t say anything about flushing the mix. The pH was 7.3 on both but I am on well water coming from limestone aquifer.)

Peebee, looking forward to the results of your experiments comparing different supplements. You are now officially a “Citizen Scientist”. :D
Last edited by MsCowpea on Thu May 14, 2020 8:41 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#183

Post: # 19887Unread post Barb_FL
Wed May 13, 2020 4:26 pm

When I dump mine, I always have little frogs (toads) in the reservoir. I know they are there throughout the season as when I am filling the reservoir with the hose, they jump out. They seem harmless to my plants.

I don't get soil borne or even fungal diseases; seldom get an occasional plant with powdery mildew. But I think it is because I have so much wind most of the time.

I still solarize mainly to keep the mix over the summer. I'm an advocate of the clear bags but last season I ended up with tons of weeds in my EB, so used mostly the black Husky bags and no weeds this year. The mix was in the black bags for months on end. I also used the EB covers this year and on 2 of them with tomatoes, I used Root Organic Coco Coir chips for the top, the other 2 I used Rice Hulls for the top layer. I didn't do the fertz strip on any of them.

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#184

Post: # 19960Unread post MsCowpea
Thu May 14, 2020 1:44 pm

I just ordered some Tomato-tone from Walmart and the online system said they can’t send to Florida. Home Depot has stopped carrying it. Seemed like a good deal- 8 pounds for $12. 22 so I sent 2 to my sister who will bring in suitcase when she can travel. But seems odd they wouldn’t send it. I have used TT , like everybody else in FL. , for a long time.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#185

Post: # 19966Unread post pepperhead212
Thu May 14, 2020 3:15 pm

That does seem like something strange that they won't sent there. And that HD doesn't have TT, yet they still have Holly Tone, and Citrus Tone. I know Florida and California often have strange restrictions on things being shipped into them, but what would be in that? I wonder if Citrus Tone is also restricted! lol

I had something strange happen years ago when buying a bunch of things from groworganics.com, and they wouldn't ship ThermX 70 (an organic spreader/sticker, made from yucca) to NJ! Several other places have no such restrictions, yet they still have, when I've checked, out of curiosity.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#186

Post: # 19967Unread post MsCowpea
Thu May 14, 2020 3:32 pm

It is strange. I believe fertilizer companies have to pay to have their products registered in a particular state in order to sell.
But we have been able to buy TomatoTone in the stores and online for a long time. Maybe it is just a glitch with my zip code.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#187

Post: # 19985Unread post Bronx
Thu May 14, 2020 7:41 pm

Some of the states' regulations can be maddening. I used to buy my calcium nitrate from Kelp4less. The last time I was going to buy some they couldn't ship it to California, but they could ship calcium+magnesium. I ended up buying a bag of calcium nitrate from amazon.

Ms Cowpea, I like that scoop in one of your pictures that looks like a giant measuring cup. I bet it's a lot less messy than using a spade to scoop out the mix.

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#188

Post: # 19989Unread post MsCowpea
Thu May 14, 2020 9:05 pm

The big scooper is great on most but on some boxes I needed spade to loosen edges then the big scoop. Some I need a big knife to cut through as it was pretty solid.

9102C4C6-5468-4501-A135-421C0595ECB0.jpeg
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#189

Post: # 21618Unread post MsCowpea
Fri Jun 05, 2020 2:21 pm

Still on the trail of a water soluble organic fertilizer to supplement organic strip. Wanted something new and different.

Thought I was set when I got this:

“HydroOrganics HOH38083 Earth Juice Seablast 17-8-17 Grow , 5-Pound

Had a mental lapse, I thought Earth Juice was strictly organic company so I ordered it even though I wished it had higher K. It did say HYDRO ORGANICS but I took it to mean
organic for hydroponic system. It wasn’t. May be a great hydroponic fertilizer with organic ingredients but I didn’t really need another combo product.

I could not find the labeled ingredients on the website (which is a pet peeve of mine) . Some companies shout out their organic ingredients and
then don’t post legal label. (EX. I like Urban Farms fertilizer but Try and find a label of ingredients for their TTF on the website and let me know where it is. I know what is in it as I have a gallon.)

As far as the strip, I do have several tomato-specific fertilizers to try. Some new to me. For supplementation, I Do have other strictly organic products with not the greatest NPK but will give it a shot. Some EB will have no supplementation at all.

I sent off some used potting mix to be tested. Had to be out of state as Univ of Fl only does commercial testing on mediums.

I still can’t believe I do all these Earthbox experiments and recommended them for 20 years and got banned from their forum. :evil:
The funny thing is when I asked that question that got me banned I had no intention of utilizing Garden Doc Miracle Gro supplementation experiment but other people use MG so thought they would like results if it was completed. I like to see some follow up on experimentations
as often you never do. But I understand how life events get in the way. Happened to me many times.
Last edited by MsCowpea on Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#190

Post: # 21623Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Jun 05, 2020 4:34 pm

I'm doing that experiment, with a Cherry Bomb and a Sunsugar in each Earthbox, both cleaned out, with new Promix HD with myco, and one with 3 cups of 10-10-10 regular granular fertilizer in a sock on one side, the other with 5 cups of an organic - 5-4-6 Ecoscraps - mixed into the soil mix, instead of a sock, since I've heard that can be done with organic. This one isn't totally organic, since I have been putting the 1 tsp calcium nitrate snacks in both, on the weekends, and every other weekend (only twice, so far) a half tsp of epsom salt.

The organic is not doing nearly as well, but, unfortunately, part of the problem may have been the cold snap, that set those plants back, as the plants that EB seemed to have been hit the worst. I don't think that it is the organic, as I also have some cucumbers, of which I planted a County Fair and a Wisconsin 58 in two bucket sized SIPs with organic, and two with 10-10-10, and the two in the organic are doing better!

I'll post my results later, on the flavor difference, if any, between the organic and inorganic.
ImageCherry Bomb on the left, Sunsugar on the right. 10-10-10 granular fertilizer in this. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageSunsugar on the left, Cherry Bomb on the right. Organic 5-4-6 Ecoscraps. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#191

Post: # 21632Unread post Barb_FL
Fri Jun 05, 2020 5:35 pm

I'm going to do lots of experiments in the fall too. One thing I am abandoning is the screen/shadecloth above the EB screen. Reason, I dump my Earthboxes between uses even within the same season. And my screen/shadecloth is just so full of roots, it just makes another step to clean.

Elaine - I found an organic liquid fertilizer and bought the sample (free with just $5 shipping). I got it already and was going to use on one of my rootpouch younger plants, but since Memorial getting pounded by rain, I'm ok with the season being over. Here it is
:https://agrothrive.com/ It was a popup on facebook - The samples bottles are really cute but it looks like it may be an expensive proposition. I asked about dosage for container gardening and he said 1 part fertz / 9 parts water per gallon. Home Depot sells it just <$45 for a 2.5 gallon bottle for the fruit and flower. The general purpose 2.5 gallon is $34. I think this would come out to be way more expensive than Texas Tomato Food.

Also - have you looked into the roots organic product line? They have lots of good products and pricing isn't off the wall because dosage is reasonable.

I've been getting a lot of Fedex deliveries - When I saw the huge price increase in Tomato Tone and other stuff I typically use, I told DH I was buying whenever I saw something at a decent price.

I bought a 2 cu ft of fake media called Pittmoss. Other stuff is more mainstream: I got the 2 of the 4 lb bags of the Stonington Blend Plant food, and 2 of their Kelp Meal. Waiting on Fox Farm's Marine Cuisine.

I got 4 of the 1 CU FT Pro Mixes from Walmart (not the same as the 3.8 CU bale, but it looks identical to Fertilome Ultimate Potting Mix. Easy peasy handling; I will probably add rice hulls (perlite substitute) to it.

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#192

Post: # 21633Unread post Barb_FL
Fri Jun 05, 2020 5:45 pm

Back to the 9 parts water to 1 part fert. So a gallon has 128 oz - it would need 12.8 oz of the fertz and the rest water. Each sample was 4 oz. So I could make 1.25 quarts from each sample. For the big 2.5 gallon bottle - that is 320 oz - so that would make 25 gallons. Texas Tomato Food is looking better and better since one gallon ($40) makes 256 gallons.

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#193

Post: # 21635Unread post Ginger2778
Fri Jun 05, 2020 6:06 pm

Barb_FL wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 5:45 pm Back to the 9 parts water to 1 part fert. So a gallon has 128 oz - it would need 12.8 oz of the fertz and the rest water. Each sample was 4 oz. So I could make 1.25 quarts from each sample. For the big 2.5 gallon bottle - that is 320 oz - so that would make 25 gallons. Texas Tomato Food is looking better and better since one gallon ($40) makes 256 gallons.
TTF is one half once per gallon. 1T = 1/2 oz. Way cheaper than that 1 to 9 stuff.
- Marsha

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#194

Post: # 21653Unread post MsCowpea
Fri Jun 05, 2020 8:59 pm

Post: # 21637Post MsCowpea
Fri Jun 05, 2020 7:32 pm
Barb, you should know me better than that. :D Of course , I have agro-thrive. Ordered at Home Depot. I have had it quite a while. Only used a couple times but not with experiments. I used it with other products so don’t know what did what.

Pepperhead, Looking forward to your results.
I hope your organic box perks up. I would look at your organic fertilizer if it continues to lag behind 10-10-10 at this stage. It is early as you say, but my organic fertilizers did fantastic in comparison from the very beginning. Micro-life 8-4-6, Nature Safe, Urban Farms Bio Active, and all the organic combinations. The synthetic EB looked better a tad longer and had bigger Juliet tomatoes towards the end of the season but the flavor was not as sweet. THE SYNTHETIC BOX ALSO RECEIVED SUPPLEMENTATION FROM THE GET GO. An EB with both organic and synthetic inputs produced longer than its all organic counterpart and the flavor was very good to excellent. But these are my tastebuds in blind tests. Hope yours kicks in and performs well.

As far as my new EB experiments, I am not really testing organic vs all synthetic , per se anymore. I prefer organic or at the very least a combination approach. But everybody is different on this and you only need to please yourself.

I will also look again at organic fertilizer strips supplemented with hydro/organic fertilizers that have both synthetic hydro and organic ingredients like the Earth Juice SeaBlast, Mega Crop, or TTF.

But ultimately I am looking for a water soluble ORGANIC supplementation that will work in the water reservoir of a closed system with granular organic fertilizer. Looking for high yield and consistent nutrient levels to stave off diseases and prolong the season. The organic boxes
needed a boost that would have been comparable to the supplemented boxes.
Last edited by MsCowpea on Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:46 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#195

Post: # 21655Unread post MsCowpea
Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:24 pm

Barb, I have been on the Roots Organic website but will check it out again. I have seen one of the Age Old fertilizers I have gotten in past almost double in price. I got a few brands advertised specifically as a tomato fertilizer just for fun. Ordered a small amount so wasn’t cost effective.

I do like the new small compressed bag of Promix at Walmart as well. It is easy to pick up and use. I hope they use quality peat In it. I got 4 more as a backup in case I can’t get Metro Mix. (ADDED- attend to amend with pine bark. And maybe try it straight as is in one EB?)
Last edited by MsCowpea on Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#196

Post: # 21664Unread post Ginger2778
Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:59 pm

MsCowpea wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 9:24 pm Barb, I have been on the Roots Organic website but will check it out again. I have seen one of the Age Old fertilizers I have gotten in past almost double in price. I got a few brands advertised specifically as a tomato fertilizer just for fun. Ordered a small amount so wasn’t cost effective.

I do like the new small compressed bag of Promix at Walmart as well. It is easy to pick up and use. I hope they use quality peat In it. I got 4 more as a backup in case I can’t get Metro Mix.
I'm back to thinking the PromixBX was our culprit last season. I now know of eight people in different geographic locations, all with massive seedling failures where their mix was too heavy and wet, and the only thing we all had in common was the PromixBX. Some used well water, some used bottled water, different fertilizers, all had success every year until this past one.
Everyone is saying great results with the PromixHP, so I think I'm going to try that.
I also bought a 50lb bag of AmLeonard's vegetable fert. Called HyRBrix. They were out of the tomato one, but the ratios and nutrients are good on this. It was free shipping on Memorial day.
- Marsha

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#197

Post: # 21666Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:34 am

I always thought it was the Promix BX but never can be sure I guess. I had been using Fafard 3 B for years with no problems but I couldn’t get it. Never had seedling failure like that ever. But I suspect there was something wrong with that particular batch as BX has always been used by many in the industry with no problems.
I used to use it years ago and it is a typical peat, perlite, vermiculite mix. I think the poor performance was a one-off deal and surely corrected by now. The HP has more perlite so may be even better. Raybo uses it with other amendments ( CORRECTION- 3- 2 - 1. Contains 3 Parts HP, 2 Parts mini Bark Chips, and 1 part perlite) in earthtainers so straight up should be fine.

While we are on the subject — I won’t use the WalMart Promix as it is - I always amend with bark if the mix has none. I was going to use it ( amended) for scotch bonnets in regular containers not the EarthBoxes. (EarthBoxes get a regular commercial mix.)
I went a few months ago to get soil conditioner which is straight composted pine bark. They put it in the truck and I noticed it was a different brand but that always happens and I didn’t think much about it. I got home and it was 50% percent bark, 50% forest products. WHAT! Been buying that stuff for years. Always nothing but 100 % pine bark. I don’t want FP but too far to take it back. I will use somewhere.

You got a great deal on the HyRBrix. I bought the tomato one but I only needed a little. Paid $16 for a measly 5 pounds but I only needed a few cups. Luckily got $10 off shipping . I got it into my head to buy different fertilizers that said they were specifically for tomatoes and compare them. Wonder if those voices in my head will ever go away? :roll:
Last edited by MsCowpea on Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:50 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#198

Post: # 21689Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:19 am

I forgot that on my 10 scotch bonnets I used a couple different mixes to compare. The main difference was the amount of pine bark, compost, etc I amended with but with one of the containers I did use straight WalMart Promix. On one I used straight Metro Mix 865. The Walmart Promix drained more slowly but that was expected. I thought that the peppers would end up preferring the MM mix or the amended mix but unfortunately these were the beautiful plants that I ruined with micronutrient spray. They continue to decline so I can’t make any judgements about any of the mixes.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#199

Post: # 21700Unread post Barb_FL
Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:41 pm

i thought I posted before, ProMix HP has a lot of perlite.

Elaine - Amazon gardening prices have skyrocketed. The Age Old Organic's Grow (if that is the one you used) is $35 (quart) at Amazon and $17 at my local hydro store.

The Stonington Blend fertz when it was available (ie last week) was $25 on Amazon - up from $20.

Marsha - That HYr Brix looks good; maybe perfect for an EB - says one use per season. Am Leonard has the tomato available now in 50 lbs, <$50 so <$1 a pound. Which veg one did you buy, the organic or the other?

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#200

Post: # 21702Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jun 06, 2020 1:04 pm

Barb, glad you posted as I had mixed up Tapla’ 5-1-1 mix with Raybo 3-2-I. 🤪 I checked on TV. He does use Promix HP (3 parts), then 2 parts of mini bark chips, and 1 part perlite. So it must be really heavy on the perlite as you say HP already has a lot. He certainly gets excellent results but I am not into all that mixing for my Earthboxes. Prefer pre-mixed commercial types. I do make mixes for hot peppers. And regular containers when I am reusing an old mix.

Barb, it is the shipping that will kill you. Marsha got it free on Memorial Day. I took advantage of that sale too but didn’t need fertilizer as I had already got the little bit I needed at a much greater cost. Hyrbrix’s organic, if I recall correctly. hardly had any potassium.

CORRECTION
HYRBRIX ORGANIC 1-1-8 MORE POTASSIUM THAN N OR P
(It was Innova 7-1-2 Organic that had lower K)
Last edited by MsCowpea on Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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