General discussion regarding the techniques and methods used to successfully grow tomato plants in containers.
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April 13, 2015 | #16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MA 6a/b
Posts: 352
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Luigiwu
Thanks for the diagram. That clears things up very well. I was worried about the contact point between the hardware cloth and the rggs frame. I still worry about hardware cloth breaking in a few seasons. If it does, it should be easy to staple a new one there. The 2x4 - I thought that the 5/4 cedar decking planks were 2x4 lumber. I might go with 1x8 or 1x10 instead to get more depth Also, those net cups from local hydroponics store work great. They are about dollar a piece. Only reason I asked is, I saw some yogurt cups in one of the images next to your rig I think I will try to build it for this season. It seems easy enough. I am planning to go with the pipe. Wife is always very worried about open standing water. Also at the moment, i will keep filling up the water reservoir instead of using a valve. Not sure how I can introduce right amount of liquid fertilizer in the valve based system |
April 13, 2015 | #17 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SouthFlorida Zone 10
Posts: 120
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I have been thinking about this next year; if you use a pipe instead of a gutter you can fit a 3 inch net cup which should stop bugs and such from getting in
Plants get really thirsty in our heat, when the plants are huge they will empty the pipe/gutter daily if not 2x Quote:
Last edited by Imthechuck; April 13, 2015 at 12:48 PM. |
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April 16, 2015 | #18 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MA 6a/b
Posts: 352
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Luigiwu, getting ready to buy materials. What was the hole size of your hardware cloth? 1/4" or 1/2 inch?
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April 16, 2015 | #19 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
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Quote:
DO you know how wide you are going to make yours? If you make yours wider than 16-inch, I think you need to start thinking about putting in two pipes underneath and if you do that then you might as well make it a min of 24-inches wide? Imagine the diameter spread of each net cup (ie. wicking/capillary action.) I estimated it to be 12-inches and pushed it to do 16-inch. Does that make sense? I like this weed fabric, cheap and works well (does not fray etc) http://www.lowes.com/pd_510602-23132...ric&facetInfo=
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Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7! Last edited by luigiwu; April 16, 2015 at 09:21 PM. |
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April 16, 2015 | #20 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MA 6a/b
Posts: 352
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As I am getting ready to buy the components, I am liking the traditional rggs more. It has the advantage of moving your pots anywhere on the gutter (and its cheaper). It does not look as nice though ..
Or I can put gutter at the bottom instead of drain pipe and then your planter on top of that .. hmmm, I will view few more youtube videos before I make a decision Last edited by tnkrer; April 16, 2015 at 09:29 PM. |
April 16, 2015 | #21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
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Yup, I said the same thing as much. My first build was the only PVC pipe water supply I made. All my other one since have been the U-shape gutter - the flexiblity is awesome. You can make it look as nice as you want it (ie. build a wood enclosure, use all the same color grow bags, etc.)
My raised bed will also work over a gutter. The thing is you have to cut holes in your hardware cloth and then that's that (its all fixed locations) Are you interested in the kiddie pool at all? because Larry recently uploaded a compilation what I consider the cadillac of kiddie pools (complete with a cattle panel overhead support) by a guy named Michael. Its simply gorgeous! https://vimeo.com/95573364
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Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7! Last edited by luigiwu; April 16, 2015 at 10:01 PM. |
April 16, 2015 | #22 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MA 6a/b
Posts: 352
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don't really see the advantage of kiddie pool, its seems like lot more work.
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April 16, 2015 | #23 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ny
Posts: 1,219
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Its actually not because the idea is you can literally take an ugly plastic kiddie pool and just set a grow bag in it. No carpentry or any special skills req'd. It is a heck of a lot more work to make it look nice, so I do agree there.
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Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7! |
April 16, 2015 | #24 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MA 6a/b
Posts: 352
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Quote:
Just using a kiddie pool will be easy, but wont look good. I have almost convinced myself to go with gutter at the bottom and your planter on top. Its going to be on the deck where we sometimes entertain guests and "looks" will matter. |
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April 21, 2015 | #25 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Posts: 3,099
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This great idea is similar to how I want to make my greenhouse shelving. I would like to be able to have a metal trough of some sort underneath and have all my seedling/plants sitting down into it at all times with the water level controlled by a float valve (I think that would work?) so I could keep the water line on at all times. This would eliminate one of the biggest time sinks for me in growing plants and make it much easier to fertilize everything at once not to mention I could leave town and not need to worry.
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January 17, 2016 | #26 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 1,448
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I just made one of these this weekend. A ten foot long piece of PVC can support 15 one gallon pots. The only thing I found is that the pipe sticks up above the top of the 2x6 a little bit, so will need to cut the underneath supports.
Instead of net pots I am using little disposable plastic cups with holes melted in them. A 2 1/8 hole in the bottom of the pots made them fit perfectly. Now to see how well they actually wick water. My plan is to use it in the garage over the winter with fluorescent lights for the micro dwarfs. I figure I can get 2-3 of these inside. The frame will also be stained.
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Blog: chriskafer.wordpress.com Ignorance more frequently begets knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science. --Charles Darwin Last edited by ChrisK; January 17, 2016 at 05:20 PM. |
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