[Brassica Blaz]

hi everyone,I just wondered if this was a good idea for growing tomatoes.i'm growing toms for the first time this year in a greenhouse in 15 ltr pails.now instead of just using grow bag mixture to fill the pails with i have well rotted manure,a large bin of home made compost (2years old) and the well "broken down "clay soil of mi lotty.could i make a mix up of all these to fill my pails with and get a better compost for my toms .?maybe add a bit of bf&b aswell or will they be better off with just the grow bag mix.would there have to be any specific ratios for the mix?.your thoughts would be well appreceiated.

[boosh]

Hi there

I,m also growing tom's for the first time this year in a greenhouse.
i filled my containers half way up with well rotted manure.
thats been in there a week (nice smell in the greenhouse).
when i come to plant the toms, i was going to top up with the contents of a grow bag.

A couple of the old boys on the site, reckon that should be fine.

[viettaclark]

You'll need to feed as usual when the first fruits set so  I would've thought any mix of compost/soil/manure would be as good, if not better, than growbags which dry out so quickly!

[BostonInbred]

hi everyone,I just wondered if this was a good idea for growing tomatoes.i'm growing toms for the first time this year in a greenhouse in 15 ltr pails.now instead of just using grow bag mixture to fill the pails with i have well rotted manure,a large bin of home made compost (2years old) and the well "broken down "clay soil of mi lotty.could i make a mix up of all these to fill my pails with and get a better compost for my toms .?maybe add a bit of bf&b aswell or will they be better off with just the grow bag mix.would there have to be any specific ratios for the mix?.your thoughts would be well appreceiated.

The nutrient levels in that mix are going to be extremely high. The material that comes out of my compost heap after 9 months of composting has an EC of over 2000, so to get it down to  somewhere usable i have to mix it about 4 to 1 with used retail compost or plain sterilised soil. I wouldnt put plants into raw manure as such, i would always compost it first. I think with home made compost PLUS manure PLUS FBB you're in danger of overegging the cake!!


I always get nervous when i see threads starting 'Ive made my own compost....' because ive learned its all a bit hit and miss. I have an advantage cos i can get free lab tests for EC done on my mixes and composted stuff so i have an idea exactly how to mix it to make it usable, personally i would struggle to guess otherwise.

[Trillium]

Since you're using well rotted manure, boosh, that mix should work nicely as the toms will be confined to those pails which could otherwise be quickly depleted of nutrients. You'd need to keep watch on the moisture level as irregular watering is the common cause of blossom end rot.

[boosh]

I was thinking of using a drip watering system.
That should give me greater control over the watering.

[Trillium]

Very good idea.