Sometimes I toss leaves on the surface to shade the soil so
the transplant can adjust to it's new environment without drying out.
I planted these in some large cat litter containers with mostly leaves and grass clippings on the bottom and a top layer of worm castings from Earths Outlet and some kitchen scraps that I composted last year. I use this mixture because I am too cheap to buy potting soil for all the pots I put together. The majority of the mix (leaves) are free because I drove around the neighborhood and pick up loads of bagged leaves off the curbside from people cleaning their lawns. The compost on top allow the plant to settle in to it's new environment easily and the worm castings provide the right microbes to decompose all of the leaves and scraps in the lower section of the pot. Provided there are plenty of drainage holes in the bottom, earthworms will find their way into the pot and breakdown the leaves into basic nutrients for the growing plant to utilize.
Jared,
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful tomatoes. I am a new starter in growing hydroponic plants. I bought the General Hydroponics Go Box Starter Kit - Organic Fertilizer. Is it any good? I googled and they say the kit is not good for hydroponics. Please advice.
Thank you.