G.W. Farnum

I finally got it all together. Between my neighbor and David the Good's books I had a really good tomato harvest this year. This is what we got over the last couple of days. About the same each week for the last month or so.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:I wonder if it could be your water?  It just seems like that's the common denominator???

Hmmm. I never thought of that but that could be it. But my neighbor has 5ft tall tomato plants and we each draw from a well. My well water is aerated to get the gases out of it. I'll have to see if my neighbor treats his differently.

I just ordered a copy of The Intelligent Gardener. Looks interesting.

Soil testing is something that I have been thinking about. I'll have find out where this can be done. I believe there is a county or state program in the area that does this.

I have read several of David the Good's books. I should probably re-read them.

My concern is that the same thing is happening in my hydroponic system that is set up for tomatoes. The media that I am using is a commercial product  specifically formulated for growing tomatoes so I know the nutrients are correct. The plants in my aquaponic unit do the same thing also.  

An interesting side note is that I cut back a squash plant that did not produce this year in the aquaponics unit. I noticed this week that it is starting to bud for the first time.

My raised beds are sitting directly on top of 18" deep soil. The bed itself has about 10" of soil, compost and manure so about 28" of soil before you get to Georgia red clay.

Also, this has been happening in my hydroponic/aqua panic setups so this could be a multifaceted problem.

After much thought I decided to add some worms to the barrel filled with pine bark mulch. My thought is that the grey water comes in the top of the barrel. The solids are stopped by the pine bark while the water drains through. The barrel is never filled with water so I think the worms should survive.

I added 30 red worms. These are not the high priced mulching worms but a canister of fishing worms that I bought locally. If it works that would be great. If not I haven't broken the bank.

I talked with a local gardener today. His take on my problem is two-fold. I'm planting too late in the spring and the temp is getting too high. He said that tomatoes don't fruit well above 90°.

He also said I need varieties resistant to nematodes, tomato yellow leaf curl, grey leaf spot, early blight and fusarium wilt.

He recommended Celebrity, Early Doll and Bella Rosa varieties.

I was trying not to have the hassle of a grease trap but I may have to add one. The idea you described is what I wanted. Would the grease be harmful to the worms?

This is the reply that I got from the worm farm:

"Our worms cannot be submerged in water as they will drown.  They must be kept moist but not wet, in a soil base.  We would recommend that you look around for Tubifex worms for something like this."