EarthBox Fertilizer Comparisons 2020

[Bronx]

I am so glad solarization was brought up. I learned a lot by reading through this discussion. My EB tomatoes usually die out by mid December and lie dormant until April, so this year I'm going to try to solarize them and see if that helps with the disease problems I had last year. I certainly don't want to dump the boxes and start over every Spring.

One thing I found by dumping all the boxes this year is some vegetables will completely fill up the reservoir with roots, so they will have to be emptied and cleaned out. I've found corn and sweet potatoes to be the worst. Tomatoes and peppers weren't nearly as bad.

[MsCowpea]

Bronx, I know what you mean when you speak of roots clogging everything up.

Here is what MargeH said on TV :
“”Blake was an interesting speaker. He said that he had some boxes with soil that was 12 years old - he was "cheap" and didn't believe in wasteing anything. The box from the cabbage was obviously full of roots. He used a saw to cut out the trench. He said the roots would rot and add more organic matter. He did say that in the summer he would solarize the boxes by covering them with clear plastic and leaving them in the sun.” “

Bronx, Seems a reasonable idea to try solarization on down time but do your temps get hot enough for an extended period of time?

I heard a nematode researcher speak on solarization with clear plastic covering the ground to control nematodes In a college level course on pests. He said it wasn’t that effective. He did say a double layer of plastic with an airspace between them was somewhat better. While I dont think that is practical (lots of plastic required) for a garden or field it would be easy to do a double layer with airspace on an Earthbox though I don’t know if it would be worth the effort. The mix should be moist before covering and then the edges sealed in some manner.

[MsCowpea]

Peebee, occurs to me that when utilizing the earthbox with no down time at all the roots don’t have a time that they completely
rot down and decompose. Wonder how that effects the concept of reusing over and over. Cold areas have their winters and hot areas
don’t grow much in the summer. Guess you will have to experiment. . Good luck figuring out what is best!

(Peebee, forgot to answer your question about when we grow our cool season crops. Depends on what it is but we have to wait until November
to plant and they go through the winter into spring. Warm season crops can be planted in Sept/Oct. I plant tomatoes in Oct but some do it earlier.)

[peebee]

Wow Elaine thank you for your very carefully thought-out reply, so detailed & informative as always.
To reply to your question about the roots in EBs that are in use all year, what I do is first remove the fert strip & then empty the soil out on a tarp and I go thru it to remove any large roots and precious worms. It's quite easy to do esp if the soil is left out to dry a bit. I rub some mangled roots between my hands to release more soil & perlite.
While the soil mix is drying I rinse out the box & filter, which has lots of root matter & slugs ugh!
So if I were to solarize the soil it would be during this process, outside the EB, into a clear plastic covering or bag. Based on your comments & others I've read I think I won't replace the soil next year which will be year#4 for some boxes. I'll see how they do. I've noticed the MG mix I had used in 2 EBs were very decomposed & muddy after 1 year so I'm glad I've been checking each year. Promix is the winner for me; the problem is that Lowe's has stopped carrying it. That's why I will try to use what I have as long as I can.
Thanks again

[MsCowpea]

Peebee, I see now how you could manage solarization when the mix is removed. You have to do such a lot of work but I must admit I feel tempted to dump the boxes as I have always done to ‘clean’ them out and start fresh. But just ‘refreshing’ the top is so much easier and cheaper too. In one experiment I did with Miracle Gro potting mix , the mix was completely broken down muck. Always amazed me that people reused such mixes just as they are but they do. I do think more expensive mixes may hold up better but if you are using these mixes for years and years they all would break down eventually.
Maybe they just provides a structure to hold up the plant and the very top has new mix. Then all you need to do is add fertilizer.
I will try old and new mix next time and compare and do a blind taste test as well as broken down mixes would hold more water.

Did you see that link where they solarize container soil in 1 hour? Just need it hot enough.
But obviously dumping the earthboxes is a lot of work , so much easier to just do the quickie refresh steps.

[Ginger2778]

"Did you see that link where they solarize container soil in 1 hour? Just need it hot enough.
But obviously dumping the earthboxes is a lot of work , so much easier to just do the quickie refresh steps. "

Haha -Thats exactly why I have put it off for so many years!

[Jonboy]

It seems that lowes has stopped carrying the pro mix but walmart is carrying it locally.
They have a red and yellow bag. One is organic. I’m not sure how it compares to promix that lowes carried. It’s about 12 a bag.
Jon

[peebee]

[mention]Jonboy[/mention] I think the Wal-Mart one is different. I use Promix HP & it's more $$ but since I reuse it every year I figure it's worth it.
Yes [mention]Ginger2778[/mention] & [mention]MsCowpea[/mention] it is a lot of work but I actually enjoy it, taking my time doing just a couple a day. Love finding the worms! And I'm so thankful I had 14 boxes to do this year, it sure kept me occupied during this covid crisis.
What happens to the water & mix at the bottom of the EBs if you solarize as is? Or would you not know since it remains closed?

[MsCowpea]

I bought a few because I can’t resist trying ‘stuff’ out. They didn’t have the organic yellow bag . I planted a scotch bonnet pepper. Took other SBs and planted in different mixes.

The bag is easy to handle and expands to 2 cubic feet.

The ingredients: 80-90% sphagnum peat, coconut coir, perlite, ground limestone (pH) , wetting agent, mycorrhizae .

It is really heavy on the peat.

Here is the yellow organic bag ingredients: (kinda think I prefer this one, not so much peat)

Sphagnum peat moss (60-70% by volume)
Perlite
Coir
Gypsum
Ground Limestone (for pH adjustment)
Wetting agent
Mycorrhizae

ProMix BX: 75 to 85 % sphagnum peat, perlite , vermiculite, limestone, wetting agent. (Professional mix)

There are different standards of peat. They grade it. Don’t know what grade is in ‘homeowners mix’ . Would be great if it was the same
High quality grade but who knows?

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[MsCowpea]

Peebee, I agree with you. You don’t know what is going on in the bottom. I guess you don’t need to know. And your worms would be goners but supposedly good microbes survive and repopulate. Luckily I have never seen worms in my earthbox - I wouldn’t like to cook them.
I have one box where the water is running dirty brown. I have to dump it because I wonder if the corners of mix have disintegrated into reservoir. I didn’t set this one up.

[Barb_FL]

I'm a EB dumper every year. I solarize clean boxes, no roots, and fill up so high and have a huge loaf. I also add a bunch of crab shells. I don't know if I will do that this year, b/c the price went from $12 per 4 lb bag to $28.

After solarizing, I take the top and use in my root pouches and they all perform really well.

This year, when I reused the boxes mid-season, I dumped them as well but reused most of the mix with new promix for the wicking parts and close to the plant transfer. I only cleaned the empty boxes with the nozzle jet spray instead of pressure washing them. The roots in the boxes were massive.

I'm experimenting growing a bunch of lettuce right now and using the big earthboxes that had tomatoes. For one, I finally just left the roots in the box and put a new layer on top to sow the seeds. I even put the cages back on so mid-day I can clip the shade cloth to it.

For solarizing, the clear Husky brand of 42 gallon contractor bags works great. The EBs fit right in with enough room for tying off. Last time I bought them, they came out to $1 a bag.

[peebee]

I just looked at the back of the Promix HP bag and it says Do not solarize or pasteurize. Humph! Interesting! Why would they specify this? I do not recall seeing that on other bags of potting mix but again I've never gone looking for it either. Is this on any of your bags of potting mix, anyone? Maybe it is, I don't know as thus is the only brand I currently use.
[mention]Barb_FL[/mention] I've also sowed lettuces & other cool season greens directly over the mix without pulling out the spent tomato roots. I don't use the cover as I use the entire surface so I get lots of greens, I suppose you do that too. I lightly fluff up the surface & apply some fertilizer before sowing.

[pepperhead212]

I'm guessing that Promix says not to solarize because of the Mycorrhizae in it - it would kill it. But you could always add the myco again.

[Bronx]

Ms Cowpea,

My EB dormant period is during our rainy season, where it gets cold at night but can get warm during the day. Don't know until I try how successful solarizing them will be in those conditions. I have a supply of large clear plastic bags that will be ideal for the test. Will probably have to duct tape them to the boxes; we'll see.

I must admit, being somewhat of a cheapskate, I buy the 55 quart bags of Miracle Grow mix from Sam's Club for my boxes. It seems to work well for me, and comes with a huge free supply of fungus gnats.

Trying something new this year. This past Saturday on a whim I bought a 5 gallon bucket and packet of bunching onion seeds at Lowes. Plan to cut the leaves (or stems, or whatever they're called) off as they grow and keep them going for as long as they'll stay alive. Just one more thing to grow myself rather than have to buy every few weeks.

[Ginger2778]

I'm guessing that Promix says not to solarize because of the Mycorrhizae in it - it would kill it. But you could always add the myco again.

Exactly. But I solarize after the season is over. I also top off with about 1/3 new promix with new mycorrhizae, and that reinoculates the whole box.

[MsCowpea]

Bronx, I did an experiment comparing mixes and the Miracle Gro mix did fine for growing but did break down. I have seen pictures online of people using MG and their plants looked great. Even saw some that looked spectacular using Miracle Gro with additional amendments. Also components of Miracle Gro are different all over the country-maybe that explains varying results as many don’t like it and others do. It is not my favorite mix ( there are better high quality professional mixes) but in many places it is the only mix readily available.

(As a matter of fact In my experiment, the MG did stay greener for a longer time because of the time release fertilizer though the other plants in the different mixes looked a bit better while growing . Used organic fertilizer. Unfortunately I couldn’t keep track of yield, etc and didn’t get to do all the tests I wanted to do on the used mixes —the only thing I can say is that MG mix was really broken down muck and seemed to be holding lots of water. I only compared it to one other and it was broken down too but not as much. I can only assume that people reusing such a broken down mix mix surely would not have to water everyday as you do with new mix. This would go for people using their mixes for years as well. I will do some ‘new mix’ boxes to compare to the growth of tomatoes in old mix. ( Then look at yield and size of tomato. Flavor too with blind testing.).

Old experiment, trialing mixes.

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Edited for clarity.

[MsCowpea]

Having said all this I have always thought that running a ‘dryer mix’ in EB would be better for flavor so I got into amending my mix with soil conditioner (composted pine bark). Then for years I just bought a mix with added pine bark. Still do this. Don’t know if this has any validity or not. I thought it would be somewhat like watering less so your tomatoes don’t taste bland. But I get bland tomatoes in this mix too. With this last go round I wish I had done a box with a peat mix to compare tastewise with my ‘heavy on the bark’ mixes . Taste is so subjective, you have to do these tests yourself as it may or may not be something that is worth considering in future. And if you’re happy with what you do now there is no need to change it up or even experiment.

[MsCowpea]

Here is my INPLACE (don’t move them) easy on the back quicky refresh. (If you are young and have a good back, skip) . Get a chair, raise EB up if you can (for some I just put then on upside down black containers. You need a helper with this. If you don’t have one I did boxes as they sat on the ground too. With me it just isnt lifting heavy stuff , it is the bending from an upright position I want to avoid , so the chair helps. Whip around taking off cover, remove plant, dig off old mix , move on to the next box. I then went back and flushed the mix with water and will tilt them over. Then the plastic. You need 2 containers traveling with you . One for trash, one for the old mix.

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[MsCowpea]

I don’t know how necessary solarization really is unless you have a known soil borne disease or nematodes (or see article) but it couldn’t hurt, right? And wouldn’t winter freezes do something?

The thing is, in Florida, the boxes are sitting empty in our extremely hot summers anyway. Even just letting them sit there with old cover they get mighty hot. But weeds grow too and that is a royal pain. I hope they don’t grow under clear plastic. :

All my boxes in the experiment had brand spanking new mix and new covers and they were devastated by foliage diseases starting in 3 months.
I am surmising that, solarized or not, this will be repeated as the inoculum for my diseases is on bits and pieces of diseased leaves that went everywhere. Mulching at least prevents immediate splash up from the mix (as it does for plants in soil). So that new bit of mix and new cover is important.

[peebee]

[mention]MsCowpea[/mention] When you flush the mix with water & then tilt, don't you get a lot of the mix out too? So do you just throw that out or do you do something like tilt into a colander thingy so you can catch the mix to reuse?
After reading your posts I've decided not to solarize as I live where there are no fungal diseases, it's too mild & dry. You bring up valid points. So I shall if I see diseases in the future. I did solarize my garden beds many years ago. It was fun but didn't do much. I realize now my soil needed feeding not sterilization. This year I did massive compost-in-place on them & I'm seeing a huge improvement everywhere.
I'm doing side by side comparisons on supplemental liquid feedings on just 4 ea EBs, with TTF fert & with inorganic fert. 2 have Momotaro tomatoes & 2 have Cal Wonder bell peppers. For once I hope to keep good notes instead of wolfng down all tomatoes no matter how they were grown