Q. I grow tomatoes in boxes I have built. I know one is
supposed to plant tomatoes in a different place every year and I don’t want to
just throw away the dirt in these boxes. I don’t have many places to put this
dirt so my question is, “Can I put this dirt in my compost bins?”
I have two cement block bins. What, if
anything can I do to that dirt in order to use it in the same boxes next year
at planting time? It’s expensive to buy all new dirt and I am poor.
wish more poor people did it. If you want to grow tomatoes in the same soil
year after year, it is probable you will have increased problems down the road
if you don’t do something about it. In our climate, problems are mostly due to
accumulation of soil diseases over time.
different crops in this same soil helps reduce this problem and is called crop
rotation, an important practice in organic vegetable production. By growing
different crops from different families in the same soil, we help in
interfering with this buildup of disease problems.
.JPG) |
| Tomato foliage disease, probably early blight. |
off season when you’re tomatoes are not in production you could put some cold
weather vegetables in that soil until you are ready to plant tomatoes again.
This can be radishes, beans, beets, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, endive and the
like. This will help to reduce the disease cycle but, unfortunately, soils need
a bit longer rest from the same crop than just one season of production.
solarize this soil by using the sun and this will help to reduce some of the
disease potential. If these are small boxes, moisten and put the soil in a
clear plastic bag for a few days in full sun and let it bake. If you can get
the temperature of the soil in the plastic bag over 165°F for at least 30
minutes you will substantially reduce disease problems.
Nice pic and discussion on solarization from Ventura County Extension
you’re at it and the soil is removed, you should surface sterilize the sides of
boxes as well. You can sanitize them using a bleach solution or other
sanitizer.
boxes are too large to do this, after you’re tomatoes are finished for the
season, spade the soil deeply with a spading fork and turn it over. Make sure
it is well aerated and as ‘fluffy’ as possible.
turn the remaining tomato plants over in the soil and decompose them that way.
Remove and compost them, solarize them or discard them if you can’t compost
them.
the soil lightly and cover it with clear plastic making sure the edges of the
plastic are buried and the plastic is sealed around the edges. Let it bake in
the sun for several days.
Regardless of whether you took the
soil out of the box or not, amend it with more compost and a starter fertilizer
and replant. And by the way, if the containers are emptied, wash down the
inside and sterilize it with a 10% bleach solution and let it air dry before
you fill it again.