Rocket , Tomatoes and Basil

[battersea]

I would you like to grow some rocket tomatoes and basil. I am in North Isaan and the soil is red and it is very hot. My garden gets about 8 hrs sun every day .

I also have rosemary, oregano ,thyme and would like to grow them here.

Any advice would be good... I am thinking of making some raised beds or large boxes 12" from the floor.

Any ideas or tips would be great..

[troysantos]

I'm in Hat Yai and grew some heirloom tomatoes from the US. Came out decently well but it sure seems like the time to grow them has passed. Since you're considering raised beds, boy, I'd sure like to suggest that you look into Worm Wicking Beds. There are tons of designs on the internet, on YouTube. Cool. And, since Isan has long dry seasons, this kind of wicking bed would be ideal because it's so water frugal. Aside from that, if you're gone for days at a time the plants will still get water because there is water at the bottom of the bed, in a reservoir. And since you don't water from above (you put water into a vertical tube or pipe that leads to the reservoir), the surface stays relatively dry, thereby minimizing weed seed germination.

The design can be very simple or much more sophisticated.

I've made a few very simple beds on my rooftop in the city. But now I think I've probably thought of the most money frugal way to make one of these beds. I bought some small bags of soil that they sell around here 3 for 100 baht. Different sellers use one of two kinds of sack. One is just a heavy duty plastic bag while the other is the woven plastic type, with a thin plastic bag inside.

After you understand how wicking beds work, you'll realize that you can simply poke a couple of holes near the bottom of the sack, say an inch from the ground. That will allow water to stay at the bottom of the sack, and allow excess water to drain out.

There's nothing at all attractive about this super simple way. But if you're going to make raised beds, you could simply put these sacks into the bed, cover it all with soil, put a small pipe into each sack, and you're ready for planting. Me, instead of using pipe, I've cut the bottoms off of small water bottles, put two together, flattened them, and put those into the sacks, and into some of the wicking beds I've made.

It's a good idea to let the water at the bottom dry out before adding water so that the water in the reservoir doesn't become stagnant.

Some people put a horizontal pipe between their beds so they all get watered at the same time, from a small tank that functions only as a source of water.

Another super super cool idea is the worm tube. I haven't put one into any of my beds however. It's a good collect that runoff water, especially if you've got worms in there, because that water has food for plants. Also, since Isan has that long dry spell, you'd be that much more water frugal.

Collecting that water run-off is consistent with a Permaculture principle. Permaculture is cool cool cool. I'm a master's degree student in Hat Yai, in Agricultural Development, doing research on Permaculture applicability in Thailand.

[troysantos]

I've got some plastic totes that I got from Big C for 200 or 300 baht. One cool thing about these is that you can see some of the roots. I've also got a few of those styrofoam containers that Thai vegetable sellers use to transport vegetables in. I used to wonder about chemicals from the plastic totes and from the styrofoam containers leaching into the soil, and into the plants, but I've quit thinking about it.

[WtFugarwe]

black tomatoes (Black from Tula, Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple) are the best yielders in heat. Most Toms need a nightime temp of 17 to set fruit. Now--maybe 3 weeks ago- is the time to start seed. Black Cherry fruits all tear if you give them sun shade.

[cooked]

Rocket, dunno, I associate it with cool temperatures. Rosemary I have, they like alkaline soil such as we have here in Isaan and good drainage. Coconut coir fills the bill, mixed with some soil and a little compost. The one plant I still have is being spoiled so that I can make cuttings later on. In my experience, tomatoes don't appreciate full sun all day. So much in the tomato family (peppers, chilis, egg plants etc) have been repeatedly planted in my garden that soil born diseases have built up to the point that these will no longer grow correctly. Start off with the Thai varieties and go on from there.

Edited October 26, 2014 by cooked

[battersea]

thanks....i will give it a go

[troysantos]

battersea ... I'm wondering who you're addressing here by saying you'll give it a go. Seems you must mean you'll try the wicking beds. If so, please post on here about how it's going. I'm super interested in this style, and would love to know about other people's results with this method. If you did not mean you'll try wicking beds, sorry.