Disclaimer: This post was originally posted by Hero Member, PaulB. This user is located in Southeast New Mexico, Zone 7. This user is located in June 11, 2013.
First of all, newmexjags, as a fellow New Mexican, let me welcome you to the earthbox forum. I understand what you are going through, I live in Roswell and today's humidity was a relatively high amount of 22%. Most people don't understand how much this dry air can affect our plants.
I suspect, from reading your post, that the problem may have originated in how the box was setup in the first place, the potting mix was not moistened enough before putting it into the box. Fresh potting mix, even if it feels damp, is very dry and can soak up a surprising amount of moisture before the box reaches equilibrium. Too dry, and the mix will take what seems like forever before there is adequate moisture to support plant life. plants placed in this dry mix will have the moisture sucked out of them, causing the plant to fail. Below is an excerpt out of my box setup methods:
This is how I prepare my earthboxes. Although I don't mention it below, the black screen and watering tube are put in place before any potting mix is added.
I mix the dolomite all throughout my potting mix. I found a handy tool at the hardware store, it has like a mini-hoe on one side and a 3 tine fork on the other, with an extendable handle. I paid about $9 for it. I use it for stirring the mix around. What I do is to scoop or shovel about a third of my potting mix into a wheelbarrow, sprinkle some dolomite over it (I use a dedicated plastic 2 cup measuring cup with a lid that I found at Walmart), sprinkle some water over it, and mix it in well. I then add some more potting mix and repeat this process over and over again until all the two cups of dolomite is mixed in and the potting mix is damp. I then use a scoop to dump some mix into the wicking wells and compact it, adding more mix and compacting until I have the wicking towers built. I then scoop the rest of the potting mix into the box loosely, spreading it around and eventually mounding the top, patting it gently into shape. Next I use the edge of my hand to create a shallow trench where I put the fertilizer. If I am not going to plant right away, I avoid putting the fertilizer in until just before I plant. I hope this helps. Oh, and be sure to fill up the reservoir with water right away, so the box can get the wicking action going.
I never put the potting mix in the box dry, it takes just too long for the wicking action to start. Having the mix already damp will accelerate the process.
Now, you already have the box planted and the plants are struggling. You may, or may not be able to save them, depending on how far along the damage is. Here is one method of getting the box to begin wicking properly, now that it is already setup. This method was posted here by Mickey, one of our long term members.
Lift the mulch cover ('shower cap') off, exposing the two corners opposite the fill tube. Poke a finger down into the two back corners, to see if there is any moisture near the surface. If not, take the following steps. First, compress those two corners by making a fist and pressing into the corners, downward. The purpose of this is to take most of the air pockets out of the mix in the two wicking corners. A compressed mix will draw up water by capillary action much better than a non-compressed mix.
Next, take a pitcher of warm, not hot, not cold, water and slowly pour it into the depressed areas. This will fill the column of mix with the water it needs to prime the wicking towers. Add some new potting mix to the two depressions and pour a little more water on them to wet them well. Avoid pouring water on the fertilizer strip, as this will simply wash the nutrients into the reservoir and waste them.
Basically speaking, you want water to come from the bottom and nutrients to come from the top, for this growing system to work well.
