Re: Hello Out there!

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
Jan said,
>What is a "tomato automator"? Or is this the term that you coined for
>your square tomato cage?
 
Nope, that's actually the trade name of this thing.  A lot of the mailorder catalogs carry it or other brands.  It's a rigid black plastic square with a hole in the middle for the plant to come through.  Around the hole is an inside and outside ridge that makes a "bowl" about 2 inches deep.  At each corner is a deeper well with small holes at the bottom of each one.  It's supposed to 1) protect against cutworms, 2) act like black plastic mulch to keep the ground moist, free of weeds, and warm, and 3) even out the amount of moisture the plant gets by letting it flow gradually into the ground from the reservoir.  Happily, the large square folding tomato cages fit nicely around the automators.  The instructions recommend it for crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons and squash.
 
I know the thing sounds goofy, but our tomatoes seem to like them!  One year when I didn't have enough of them, you could see the difference in the plants that were grown in the automators and those that weren't. What I really like is, it's easier to water.  It keeps soil from splashing around, and I can better monitor whether I've given enough water.  If the soil is fully moist underneath, the water stops draining out and remains in the reservoir to seep down later.  You do need to use liquid rather than granular fertilizers, though, if you want to keep fertilizing through the season. 
 
Erica 
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