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Re: Stan's hot tomato

Stan/Ross, sir(s), y'all are geniuses (genies?).  I'm going out today to
buy a variety of pipes and subject my tomatos to some experiments this
year.  Not certain I'll follow your method exactly, but you've given me
some great ideas!  Thanks!

Steve  (Maritime...)



Ross E Stanford wrote:
> 
> Thank you Ian, Sheila and Alan.
> 
>      I never thought of a nutrient deficiency,  I, of course, was blaming
> it on Fungus Gnats.
> 
>      Earwigs and Pill Bugs and Fungus Gnats, OH MY!
> 
>      Peat pots sound like a great idea, but I guess in reality they have
> major drawbacks.
> I didn't really like them because they never seems to deteriorate.  And I
> also believe
> that they present too much of a barrier to the roots of seedlings.
>      Also, you have to buy new ones each year.  (You know my feeling
> about THAT!)
>      What I have done in the past is to take 3 inch diameter PVC plumbing
> pipe and cut it into 3 inch sections.  I then arranged them on an old
> aluminum commercial pizza pan and filled them with potting soil.  I then
> planted tomato seeds in them and watered them from the bottom.  This
> arrangement works well.
> When it came time to transplant them to the garden, I just placed the
> whole (open bottom) unit on top of the garden soil.  I had hoped to ease
> one area of transplant shock by not really transplanting them.
> 
>      Pros:  1.  PVC, (polyvynalcloride) is non-toxic, and will last
> forever.
>                  2.  PVC comes in all sorts of sizes.
>                  3.  You can cut it to length with a hand saw, table saw,
> reciprocating saw, circular saw, etc,  with regular wood working blades.
>                  4.  It is fairly cheap,(especially since you can reuse
> it forever). About ten dollars for a ten foot length.
>                  5.  You could also use a much thinner version made from
> 3 inch or 4 inch field drain PCV pipe.  About 4 dollars per 10 ft length.
>  (the type with a bell on one end made for connecting one piece to
> another).  With this type of pipe you can cut off a three inch section,
> and then slice it longitudinally, and hold it back together with rubber
> bands.  When you go to transplant, you cut off the rubber bands, spread
> the pipe, and the whole root ball will come out.
>                   6.  You can bury the whole PCV into the ground for
> stability.  ( I have only done this with tomatoes, which I believe have
> exceptionally adaptable roots.
>                   7.  They are dishwasher safe.  (don't ask me how I
> know, and don't tell my wife!)
>                   8.  If you partially bury them, they may act like a
> barrier to some bugs.
> 
>      Cons:  1.  The wind can knock the plant over until the roots take
> good hold into the soil if you surface plant them.
>                   2.  Field type pipe can crack while cutting and is more
> difficult to cut because of that.  (so you lose a few, no big deal,
> they're cheap)
> 
>      I have never talked about this with a real gardener before, so there
> very well may be something I am missing.  I do know that this system has
> worked for me for about 3 years now.
>      My biggest problem each year with transplanting tomato plants is
> that I start them too early.  They are always very frail after I
> transplant them and are susceptible to wind damage.  They also seem to
> take about 3 weeks before they start growing again.  That is why I am
> experimenting with the pyramid idea.
>      Again, thanks for you help.
> 
> Stan        The cheap and lazy guy who digs in the dirt out back.
> 
> 
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