EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

MsCowpea
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#241

Post: # 25744Unread post MsCowpea
Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:59 pm

Barb, that look interesting. It has alfalfa which has a chemical (can’t remember name) that is supposed to be good for plants. Pot growers
recommend it. Has other interesting ingredients. I have a 50 pound bag of alfalfa meal and just found half a bag of alfalfa pellets in the shed.
Plus have several products that include it. I can probably get it at hydroponic store though I do have SO MANY fertilizers already. But what the heck.

I have a small amount of HyrBrix Tomato that I am comparing to all organic boxes. I believe All their products have sea salt which is supposed to improve flavor. ( See New Jersey Tomato research using sea water.). I have a product called Sea 90 but for some reason never got around to using it. (Added: Hyrbrix products also list other natural ingredients and micronutrients.)

Peebee, I don’t mind mixing organic and synthetic (though I would prefer all organic) because, even though I have done only a few experiments, when I use a synthetic fertilizer in containers the flavor is not as good in a blind taste test. On one experiment I did use azomite and humic acid with the synthetic hoping it would do something for the flavor but it didn’t make a noticeable difference.

Maybe garden doc uses eco-scraps 5-5-5. It is more economical and he has a lot of boxes. Over 100 I think. (ADDED: but one cup is a puny amount of fertilizer as Barb mentions.).

Peebee, Would you have a pic of the whole tomato plant using the eco-scraps and whatever supplement you used that you would care to share?
I am curious how the eco-scraps performed overall. If you don’t have a photo, were the plants tall and robust with a fair amount of fruit?
Last edited by MsCowpea on Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#242

Post: # 25814Unread post MsCowpea
Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:14 am

"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
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peebee
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#243

Post: # 25881Unread post peebee
Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:18 pm

[mention]MsCowpea[/mention] ] did you mean a pic of the tomatoes in EBs or in ground? They all got the Ecoscraps. My plants are at their end now so they don't look as great as they did in the beginning. Let me know which one you want & I'll take a pic.
I have been happy with that brand of fert, so many places like Orchard Supply closed around here & big box stores scaled back their inventory so it's been hard to find different organic granular ferts. Now Lowes has stopped carrying Ecoscraps too. Luckily I found Target still has them. I might have to find another brand next year.
Zone 10, Southern California
Will eat anything once before I judge.
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MsCowpea
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#244

Post: # 25887Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jul 18, 2020 12:14 am

An earthbox pic would be interesting to see. Even a garden one as well to compare. Don’t worry about them not looking so great — my tomatoes looked like death after a time.

I did find ecoscraps on Home Depot website for $7. but it won’t ship free for a store pickup. I can get it sent to house free with $45 order. If I can get an order together I may get it just to try it out. ( but I wonder if it will be available in the future—seems stores aren’t carrying it?)

Sorry to see orchard stores close. Every time I was in calif I went there -loved those stores. They opened a few in Florida and I was so happy but they didn’t stay in business.
"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#245

Post: # 25908Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:31 am

If pics are too much trouble , no problem. I know you like ecoscraps fertilizer- were the plants robust and productive ?
Last edited by MsCowpea on Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#246

Post: # 25909Unread post Barb_FL
Sat Jul 18, 2020 12:50 pm

Elaine - EcoScraps is available for $7.05 from Amazon Prime. I think that is the same price as HD.

If so, pretty good since Amazon's garden prices have been off the wall for awhile

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#247

Post: # 25913Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jul 18, 2020 1:47 pm

Barb, I thought amazon wouldn’t ship ecoscraps to Florida for some reason. I will look again.

Went back on EB Forum to ask about 5-5-5 , etc.
Gardendoc didn’t give any additional info about the brand of fertilizer or whether it is organic or not.
Goes by ‘feel’ after so many years which is understandable. If anybody is on the Earthbox Forum you can see the exchange under Questions and Answers, then ‘Question for Garden Doc’. What he uses now will probably come up when he does one of his YouTube videos showing a replant.


I have so many fertilizers to try out in EBs it is borderline crazy. I wanted to try out new and old organic ones and then got some that specifically said ‘Tomato Fertilizer’ as well. I should use the same variety of tomato to really compare but I don’t want that many of one variety so haven’t decided what to do.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#248

Post: # 25944Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Jul 18, 2020 5:20 pm

I got that Ecoscraps tomato/vegetable fertilizer from Ollie's in spring, for $2.99, and I have one pair of EBs, with all new Promix HP, one with the Ecoscraps 5-4-6 tomato mix, the other with my usual sock of 10-10-10 granular mix. These EBs each have a Sunsugar and a Cherrybomb in them. Another pair of homemade SIPs have the same setup, each with a Merion and Big Beef in them.

The organic cherries definitely grew slower from the start, though the others didn't seem to. The flowering was also slower at first, for sure, though eventually the growth almost caught up. However, the color of the leaves, especially on the cherries, is noticeably lighter, so last week, I started giving them the "snack" of the calcium nitrate, and a smaller amount of epsom salts, that I give to the others. Here are the photos of the cherries, the one from the sunny side showing the noticeable difference - the one from the other side showing the difference, but less noticeable.
ImageOrganic cherry tomatoes on right side, 7-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageLeft side, organic cherry tomatoes, 7-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The flavor difference of the tomatoes was not noticeable.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#249

Post: # 25948Unread post peebee
Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:02 pm

[mention]MsCowpea[/mention] here is a pic of 2 EBs, I have pruned all leaves and trusses after fruits were picked and have done a bit of dropping of the main stems since they were getting too tall. It's hard to see unless you enlarge the pic but the black bird netting is to prevent rodents from eating the fruits.
20200718_122255_HDR.jpg
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#250

Post: # 25949Unread post peebee
Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:06 pm

20200718_122508_HDR.jpg
Here is an EB with 4 shishito peppers. So dense you can hardly see inside but I'm harvesting loads of them daily. I haven't been feeding this EB any snacks or I'd be stuck with too many.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#251

Post: # 25950Unread post peebee
Sat Jul 18, 2020 7:12 pm

20200718_170940_HDR.jpg
Here's what I've been using mostly.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#252

Post: # 25960Unread post MsCowpea
Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:26 pm

Pepperhead, thanks for the pics, makes a big difference. In your first picture the difference
is so obvious. The organic ecoscrap box really pales by comparison. But what a total turnaround once you used the calcium nitrate. Interesting that you didn’t note a taste difference with the 10-10-10 and organic Ecoscrap. I am not sure but I think you said you used compost or worm castings in your mix - maybe that impacted flavor as well.

Peebee, your plants do look like they grew really well. They must have been big and tall. And I think you said production was good.
Even though they may be at the end of the season, you must not get the awful diseases (early blight and bacterial spot) we have in the South . Your leaves still look good. Ours would look like they were on death’s door. (Beautiful arbor in the background.)
(ADDED: and the pepper plant looks great. )

The ecoscrap I saw at Home Depot site was a 5-4-6 Tomato and Vegetable Fertilizer. I have been collecting a few fertilizers that specifically said ‘Tomato’ on label so I still may track it down. I did like the organic fertilizers I trialed that had higher nitrogen, like the Nature Safe 8-5-5 and Microlife 8-4-6. I also have MiracleGro’s newer line of organic fertilizer 7–6-9 and their organic one (9-4-12) that is mixed in water.
And a few ;) others.
Last edited by MsCowpea on Sun Jul 19, 2020 12:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#253

Post: # 25964Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:21 pm

[mention]MsCowpea[/mention] You remembered correctly - I had worm castings in almost all of my SIPs, not just the organic. Now I know to add some N to the Ecoscraps - I still have a bunch of it for the future, since I got it so cheap! I have some of the peppers and okra fertilized with it, too, but only the okra with the same variety, for comparison - 6 Little Lucy plants in each of two EBs, and there is no noticeable difference in size, color, or production, though I did give those snacks (lighter than the tomatoes and EP, but the same snacks).

Looking closely at the Merion and Big Beefs, there was little difference in color, but I really didn't see any less tomatoes on either variety in the organic tub. And again, no flavor difference, even when I was looking for it!
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

#254

Post: # 30967Unread post MsCowpea
Sun Sep 20, 2020 9:17 pm

Got several EarthBox trials planned. Comparing them to some new products as well. Have less than month to organize it all and clear up very messy garden and yard as it has been too hot to work outside. Also have several fertilizers specifically labeled for tomatoes 🍅. Varying
NPKs and ingredients. Looking at yield and flavor.
"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
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