How to " dry out" an EarthBox?

[Greatgardens]

When I freshen my EB's at planting time, I'm always unhappy with how wet the mix is. My tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants do well, but I would at least like to experiment with a drier mix. I do add perlite, but still very wet. What do you folks do to provide a drier environment? BTW, I use organic fert + the strip, 2 plants to a box.

[Nan6b]

Is it wet from sitting outside? Maybe cover it for a couple months?

[Barb_FL]

Do you reuse your mix? If so, try to store it with the reservoir being empty. For the mix I reuse, I solarize it for months (over the hot summer for me) but I still remove it from one box to another before solarizing, pressure wash the original box and screen. Then the box is placed into a Husky brand 3 ply bag and zip-tied off. There is no water in the reservoir. When I reuse it again, I take the top layer and use it for my root pouches (fabric bags) and then add new mix to the rest. It definitely isn't wet.

If my mix is brand new, I only have the wicking area and the mix over the screen moist. The rest I keep dry and will water from the top when I transplant and the next day. That gives the wicking time to reach the plants.

This year, I didn't do any fertilizer strips; just mixed the organic fertilizer throughout and IMO the plants took off much faster.

[peebee]

When you say you're unhappy how wet it is, how wet are you talking about? If you squeeze a clump in your hand is it dripping wet? I've never had a problem with the mix being overly wet. Isn't it impossible in an EB since it wicks as needed? What brand medium are you using by the way?

[Greatgardens]

Boxes turned on their side, covers on over the winter. If I go down a couple of inches, it is really wet. "Sloppy," dripping. I use Pro-Mix or Miracle-Gro with added perlite. I freshen the mix and reuse it.

I'm thinking about a layer of pine bark next to the screen or maybe a "collar" to raise the height to create more of a dry zone. The bread loaf dome does help, but there is a limit to how big the dome can be. So my initial thought was to get a mix that is drier. I might try a box with Pro-Mix HP as a test. But no one carries it around here, so freight would be $$$.

[MsCowpea]

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I know exactly what you mean. In 2015, I decided to test all the mediums to see how they fared. Not only to see how they grew but I had big plans to test the drainage and porosity of each mix after the season was over. I am crazy like that.
Unfortunately, had to deal with other dramas and couldn’t complete the experiment.

One thing I did discover, Miracle Gro did OK growing the plants but the mix at the end was like broken down muck. It balled up and held its shape. AWFUL texture.
I know people reuse mix and there are probably some that reuse Miracle Gro.
Maybe the aeration screen allows the plant to grow in such a dense airless mix when you reuse it. Plus you are adding new mix on the top. Maybe synthetic fertilizers may help as well when you reuse mix. I don’t know. The 3B mix with pine bark did seem much better. I did collect sample from all the boxes hoping to come back to it with my drainage tests but when I did the labels were faded. So basically the only one I can comment on is Miracle Gro. Miracle gro, by the way, stayed greener longer. I think because of the time released fertilizer. Had I not had so many other issues going on I would have reused these mixes to see how they did.

(In the 4 boxes, I used organic fertilizer Nature Safe 8-3-5 and one cup was mixed in, two cups were in a strip. I also
create a bread shape on top , the pic where the mix looks low had some taken out,)

[MsCowpea]

Pine bark layer is an interesting idea. And You are right— to ship high porosity promix would cost an arm and leg.
I am kicking myself that I didn’t look at the used promix box when I had a chance. Maybe the higher quality promix peat is much better than miracle gro peat. But again people reuse mixes for years. Those mixes have to be totally broken down after so many years anyway so it must be aeration screen and refreshing mix. (EarthBox research Center for 7 years (twice a year) with synthetic inputs.)

Curious, What kind of organic fertilizer did you use? How did you find it worked for you? Do you get diseases that wipe you out early or did you find the organic boxes did fine through out your whole season?

[Greatgardens]

Thanks for your photos -- they show exactly what I've been seeing! I'm looking around my area for a dealer that carries the Fafard products. Does the Fafard mix have the pine bark fines in it as shown at the bottom edge of
D0A1DC7E-DE3B-4F3E-97DD-9C1FDD30EF98 (or have other amendments been added)? What do you think of hardwood fines as a substitute for the pine bark fines? (They may be easier to find.)

I've used various organic fertilizers, but mostly Burpee and Jobes as well as 10-10-10 used in the strip. We get Septoria leaf spot every year. Some years worse, some not so bad. Septoria doesn't wipe the plants out -- just slowly denudes the leaves faster than they can be replaced. Copper soap helps a lot. I don't think that organic fertilizers have an effect on my Septoria issues. I used strictly 10-10-10 for years, and I still had Septoria issues. The biggest thing that I can see is that some varieties are definitely more susceptible to Septoria than others. Most hybrids seem to resist it better than OP's, but I've seen a few hybrids that seem very susceptible.

[MsCowpea]

Unfortunately, Fafard was bought out and no longer available. I can’t get Lambert’s potting mix either and I did use that in the early years of using EBs. I searched around and found that Metro Mix 830
says it is the same thing as Fafard 3B. I used that for the EB experiments this year - says SunGro on the bag but has very tiny print on the side that says 830. It has a percentage of pine bark. They also have many different mixes, I also bought a MM 865 which has even more pine bark for other containers. The bag looks the same (says SunGro) but you have to look at the tiny print on the side.
For those who prefer what Earthbox recommends (which is no pine bark) they make mixes that are equal to Promix
(Peat, perlite, vermiculite).

http://www.sungro.com/professional-products/metro-mix/

I just don’t know anything about hardwood amendments . I know you are supposed to use bark and not the inner wood.
But a lot of mixes say ‘forest products ‘ as an ingredient and I think that is cheaper inner wood??? Maybe they work
but would break down faster? I try to avoid that on the label.

Unfortunately, Miracle Gro mixes are about the only thing most everybody can get. Local Hydroponic stores are really expensive. And to ship anything is $$$$$.

Several years back I remember seeing photos of a person’s earthboxes using Miracle Gro and they looked great. When on the internet I always want to see actual photos of a person’s entire plant and these did look good. Very tall and robust,

Has anybody reused their Miracle Gro mix ? Any pics, as that is so helpful?

[Greatgardens]

I just went over to our local mulch center, and they do carry pine bark fines, but only by the cubic yard. That stuff is really fine/small. Reasonably expensive at $45/yd3, but a cubic yard would last awhile. I got a small sample of their "forest fines, It is inner material, but cheap and looks like it would be worth a try in one box.

I also located the 830 about 50 miles away, so some day when we want to take a drive, I can do that. It's $17.95 for 2.8 ft3. Not too terrible, although a lot more than regular peat mixes. Regular Pro-Mix is the cheapest -- $12 for the compressed bale. or $8 for the Organic Pro-Mix. (Menards.) I'm definitely going to try a few things this season.

As you mentioned, all my plants grow well in Miracle-Gro. It's great for regular grow bags and planters -- just the "soup" in EarthBoxes that I don't like.

[MsCowpea]

I hear ya on the septoria, early blight is similar. I wondered if a synthetic 10-10-10 delayed the onslaught of diseases and kept them at bay but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I am not into tomatoes anymore that are so susceptible to my diseases. Luckily I do love a few hybrids that fare better and I will always grow heirlooms because some are incredibly delicious. But I Want to narrow down my selection after years of trying so many.

[MsCowpea]

Just saw your post. So glad you have options. I think I paid $14 something for the Metro Mix 830. That fine pine bark you found is (I think )what nursery growers used to use alot of in the south. I wish I could buy that —I would put it in my raised beds and as a component in my regular containers. (Actually I can get it but delivery is expensive.) I took a class 2 years ago (Univ of Fl.) where they discussed using straight composted pine bark and hydroponic fertilizer to grow
green peppers that were 6 feet high and loaded. They also used composted pine bark in troughs and apparently were able to reuse it for several years. Pine bark is an old timey, classic potting mix amendment. But it is not so easy to get anymore. We drive about 50 miles to get SunGro/ Metro Mixes. As you said makes a nice ride or ‘road trip’ with a purpose.

[MsCowpea]

Found the ingredients on that Organic Pro Mix. We have always been taught to avoid some of those ingredients in an Earthbox but never hurts to try one box I guess. But I wonder if it would hold too much water???

INGREDIENTS
Canadian sphagnum peat moss (60-75%)
Peat humus
Compost
Perlite
Gypsum
Limestone (for pH adjustment)
Organic fertilizer
Mycorrhizae - PTB297 Technology

[Growing Coastal]

Found the ingredients on that Organic Pro Mix. We have always been taught to avoid some of those ingredients in an Earthbox but never hurts to try one box I guess. But I wonder if it would hold too much water???

INGREDIENTS
Canadian sphagnum peat moss (60-75%)
Peat humus
Compost
Perlite
Gypsum
Limestone (for pH adjustment)
Organic fertilizer
Mycorrhizae - PTB297 Technology

If that is their potting mix (not a bale) I did think it was too heavy, retaining more moisture than I wanted. I only used it for small pots but mixed in more perlite which seemed to do the trick.

[MsCowpea]

I tried to figure out which SunGro would be equal to ProMix BX which is highly regarded but I don’t know which one it
would be. You have to find one with peat, perlite, and vermiculite but not one that is used for seedling trays as that would be too fine. Many people can get Promix BX. That sort of mix has long been recommended by Earthbox. And it is reused as well following the replant steps.

[Greatgardens]

I've contacted Sun-Gro, and asked about what product(s) they recommend for my issue. So we'll see if they respond to my info request. I'll also try the same with the Pro-Mix folks, and post the results for any info that I get. They'll likely recommend HP, but we'll see.

I think that in at least one box, I'll try layering about 1-2 inches of the "forest fines" next to the screen. That will do two things, I think -- create a high porosity zone and also help prevent mix from falling through the grate and into the reservoir. And also in at least one box, I'll add a goodly amount of the fines with fresh potting mix. The fines are actually little slivers of wood, as you typically see in some regular potting mixes. The smallest are about the size of a pin (will break down pretty quickly) up to chunks maybe 3/8" X 1-1/4". I've thought about grinding my own using bark and putting it through my chipper/shredder, then screening it, but that sounds like a lot of work vs buying a bag of fines.

[peebee]

Last year I started to cover the grate w/ a single layer of paper towels to prevent the soil from falling thru. I had no problems & when I clean out my boxes before replanting I expect to see the paper has disintegrated.

[pepperhead212]

I cover the grates with a screen, but a shading screen, which has much smaller holes.
Shading screen, used for SIPs. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

As you can see, the holes are about 1/16" by lss than 1/32". I also line the sides of the wicking chambers - the circle in the photo is for the bottom of a column of a homemade SIP. When I took some of them apart, after a few years, there was little sediment, and the fiberglass screen was not the least bit decomposed.

[Barb_FL]

I cut one of these and to cover the screen: https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/cov ... %2b15%2527

Then I also bought a roll of screen from Lowes and used that on other EB.

Both work great.

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This is a really good thread re: the potting mixes. All are super $$$$ where I live. I try for $15 for potting mix per EB. I pretty much stopped doing the loaf to save $. If it sinks badly, I add the Roots Organic Coco Chips.

I have use on the high end $26 per cubic foot, FoxFarm Happy Frog is about $23 for 1.5 CF. Promix for $48+ tax is about the cheapest I can find locally. Others in between, Coco Loco, Wormix, Fertilome. I won't even consider Miracle Gro but I don't think it comes out cheaper than Promix for an inferior product.

[MsCowpea]

Great gardens, You could do a box with just a good potting mix (like an MM 830) so you have something to compare to your experiments. You are adding wood to your mix but 830 already has bark in it.
I have a negative impression of wood fines because I read they break down but I have never used them. But I hope you learn a lot from your experiments. I use a moist mix when filling and very little falls thru. I have used pre-made peat/ bark mixes for 10 plus years but others use a peat mix like promix.

Pepperhead, The only thing about putting anything on the aeration screen is I would be afraid I was diminishing the airflow. I don’t think much moist mix falls thru the main aeration screen but I get pipe wrap at Home Depot (gauzy fabric - like / sold by the yard) and I just cut a piece and put it in the corners and press it all the way down into the reservoir with some sticking out in the main box , then fill the corners with mix. Then when it gets watered thru the season I know the corners dont get dislodged into the reservoir.

With the old design boxes I do have to put pipe wrap on the whole aeration bottom and go up the sides as there are wide gaps around the whole screen and a lot of mix falls thru if you don’t. I do wonder if that is making the boxes a little wetter though because I am cutting off some of the air flow but not all if it.