I'm new to the Earthbox, although I have grown tomatoes off and on for the past 55 years or so in gardens and raised beds. I'm curious, however, about one thing I'm encountering with this first use of Earthboxes. I live in the eastern edge of the central Texas hill country, and planted my 2 boxes in mid-March, which is right at the average last spring freeze date in this part of Texas. We did have a few nights (not all in a row) of temperatures in the high 30s - low 40s in late March/very early April, during which time I protected my plants. I planted my boxes strictly according to the Earthbox guidelines, including using the provided potting mix and fertilizer, making every effort to give me the best chance of success with my first try at this type of gardening. Once a week, I put one teaspoon of Greenway ammonium calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0, at 19% calcium) into the watering tube to prevent blossom end rot. The only pest problem so far was a brief encounter with thrips, which was easily controlled with spirosad (Capt Jack's Deadbug Brew). Other environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, cloud cover, etc.) have been what I consider just about ideal, to include 8 hours of direct sun from around 8AM to 4PM. The plants are healthy, and I only do light pruning to allow good air circulation beneath the plants.
My plants and each one's status are:
Cherokee Purple - almost 3 feet tall, with at least 25 fruits
Celebrity - 2-1/2 feet tall, with at least 25 fruits
Heatmaster - 1-1/2 feet tall, with at least 21 fruits
Early Girl - 3 feet tall, with at least 25 fruits
Now my problem. I'm encountering a lot of blossom drop, and lack of wind and high humidity don't seem to be issues this year that would hinder pollenization. I have read that a heavy fruit load during first production can cause blossom drop, but I don't know what constitutes "heavy" fruit production. I am getting fruit numbers with the 2 Earthboxes (4 plants) that I seldom (probably never) reached when I planted 10 to 14 plants conventionally. Is "heavy" fruit production likely the cause of my blossom drop issue?
Thanks