Alaska Grow Buckets Anyone?

[FisherPrice]

Hi,

I just ran across this DIY project that is similar to the Earth Box and the Earthtainer. Just thought some of the small container growers might be interested. Click on the Alaska Grow Buckets Guide for the DIY plan. http://alaskagrowbuckets.com/

[tlintx]

Interesting!

I like the idea of using a grow bag inside the bucket. Solves the issue I've always had with two bucket systems, which is that I don't want to cut up one bucket! Could be possibilities for using a standard planter as the outside container, too. Hmmm...

I wonder if I can repurpose the old float valve I took off the toilet last week for something like this. Hopefully someone who understands plumbing better than I do can speak to this, or what you'd need to buy at Home Depot.

Originally Posted by tlintx

Interesting!

I like the idea of using a grow bag inside the bucket. Solves the issue I've always had with two bucket systems, which is that I don't want to cut up one bucket! Could be possibilities for using a standard planter as the outside container, too. Hmmm...

I wonder if I can repurpose the old float valve I took off the toilet last week for something like this. Hopefully someone who understands plumbing better than I do can speak to this, or what you'd need to buy at Home Depot.

You could use an old toilet water reservoir with the float valve installed as the primary water reservoir for the grow buckets. Hook a garden hose to the water tank and then run some tubing from the reservoir to buckets hooked up in series. You would need to either raise the buckets to a level higher than the tank water level or lower the tank in order to maintain the correct water level in the buckets. You could also use a section of large diameter pvc pipe as the reservoir with the float valve installed in it. I used a float valve similar to a toilet float valve to turn a large plastic bucket into a water container for my dog that never runs out of water. You can buy the float valves for stock tanks at Tractor Supply and other farm supply stores. They usually have a female hose end coupling installed.

Ted

[FisherPrice]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Float-Valve-...item35c7f841a3
This might be more along the lines of what you need. I use valves like this on my salt water reef aquarium. Many online pet stores would cary this listed under aquarium float valve. You would not want to hook this directly to pressurized water lines as it would not handle the pressure. You would want to connect it to a holding vessel like in the Alaska grow buckets instruction page. You could use the toilets float valve but just not as eassily Hope it helps!

I was wondering how well those blue, woven cloth grocery bags at Walmart would work as grow bags in the buckets. They only cost fifty cents and Walmart will sell you as many as you need. They look to be about the same size as the grow bags used in the buckets.

Ted

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by FisherPrice

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Float-Valve-...item35c7f841a3
This might be more along the lines of what you need. I use valves like this on my salt water reef aquarium. Many online pet stores would cary this listed under aquarium float valve. You would not want to hook this directly to pressurized water lines as it would not handle the pressure. You would want to connect it to a holding vessel like in the Alaska grow buckets instruction page. You could use the toilets float valve but just not as eassily Hope it helps!

You can get the same floats here for a better price in bulk.
http://www.thevalveshop.com/menu/man...k/kerickm.html
I am partial to the ones with the adjustable arms.
They are rated to 100psi. I have them connected directly to the hose spigot, but I also added a water timer so they only turn on twice a day for 5 minutes to fill. Using as more of a fail safe to keep the pressure off the lines.

[Rockporter]

Ted, those bags will work, Larry Hall uses them in his rain gutter gardening system.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=lar...utf-8&fr=b2ie7

[tlintx]

I don't think I'm handy enough to hook anything directly to the hose. Good to know I can use these old floats for something, though!

As far as the grow bags (and reusable shopping bags) go, there seem to be two types - porous and non-porous. Both work for soil containment, but only the porous ones offer the root pruning, water seeping in etc. benefits? I don't see why you couldn't cut slits in the bottom of a non-porous one and thread wicks through.

I'm going to go set some trial pots up as soon as it cools down a bit. My farming operation isn't big enough to warrant a whole lot of irrigation investment. At least not this year!

I'll pour some water into one of my cloth Walmart bags and find out how porous it is. I know it is made of some kind of woven fabric. I think the trademarked "Grow Bags" are more of a pressed felt. The walmart bags are probably a recycled polyester which can be water repellent.

Ted

[beeman]

So, has anyone actually tried out the Alaska grow buckets system? I am moving to greenhouse containers, due to all sorts of soil disease problems, and don't want to 'go off half cocked'. I have wasted too much time in the past on failed schemes so don't want to waste more time.
I sense that this system will work, but can anyone see a problem with long term bottom watering? How about adding fertilizer to the water feed?

Bump. Still hoping to get a reply. Anybody?????

[ChilliJez]

Originally Posted by beeman

So, has anyone actually tried out the Alaska grow buckets system? I am moving to greenhouse containers, due to all sorts of soil disease problems, and don't want to 'go off half cocked'. I have wasted too much time in the past on failed schemes so don't want to waste more time.
I sense that this system will work, but can anyone see a problem with long term bottom watering? How about adding fertilizer to the water feed?

Bump. Still hoping to get a reply. Anybody?????

Beeman, I haven't used Alaska grow buckets and am restricted in loading pdfs with the tablet I'm using, so haven't read about them, However...

I put 3 tomatoes in homemade self watering containers this year. They consist of a 15 litre (4 gal us) rectangular container with wicks cut from capillary matting. The wicks are about 4 inches wide and run from 2 inches below the compost surface, through slits in the container base and to the bottom of a reservoir set below. The plants have grown well. 2 determinates (Roma, Latah) and 1 indeterminate (Gardener's Delight). The GDel has got to about 5 feet and set 4 trusses which might not sound great but is as good as I could expect outdoors here.

They haven,t shown signs of nutrient deficiency. The yield is ok for out doors in the UK. Growing medium is standard bagged compost, No special mix. Fed every 2 weeks with diluted proprietary liquid tomato feed on the surface of the compost. Water in the reservoir topped every 2-3 weeks. I have about 20 pepper plants in similar pots, slightly smaller pots and about half the wick area.

Our relatively low temp, high humidity will stress the method far less than some hotter, drier, windier circumstances but for me it's simple and cheap and is working. I'll attempt to post pics when I can.

Jeremy

[beeman]

Just thought I would take the liberty to update my efforts with Alaska Grow buckets.
I am delighted. They are working a treat. I have an 8 bucket set up growing a variety of heirlooms in my 6X8 greenhouse, and the quality so far is incredible.
Long term members will remember my garden suffers with 'Corky Root Rot' and Toms grown in the garden rarely get past second truss before they start to collapse, not any more will I suffer with that.
From the attached photos you can see the feed pipes. In photo one on the right is the reservoir with the automatic filler pipe sticking out, and behind that is the float valve control bucket. The final bucket on the line has two cucumbers growing and which are just taking off.

[luigiwu]

Since I'm running out of space on my RGGS, I will be making some of these and using the walmart shopping bag inside a bucket for my peppers.

Beeman, what did you use inside the buckets to hold the soil? do you have a colander at the bottom?

[beeman]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Beeman, what did you use inside the buckets to hold the soil? do you have a colander at the bottom?

Our local grocery store has a black grocery bag which fits the smaller bucket, which I filled with my own mixture and fertilizer. You can see the colander in the bottom in photo 2.
The growth on these Toms is quite impressive when watered from the bottom.
You just cannot over or under water, provided you keep the float up to the correct depth, but allow it to drop for any amount of time and the last buckets don't get enough.
I almost lost the cucumbers to drying out, until I realized what I was doing.

Salsacharley . I had a look at your setup and noted you're watering from the top. I believe you'll get better results when watered from the bottom, stops compaction.

[Salsacharley]

I'm not watering from the top. My reservoir (another 5 gal bucket) is not in the pictures, but it is at the end of the line of buckets . I operate the watering with a float valve, but I have to load the reservoir by hand until I move my buckets back outside. You can see my plumbing in one of the pictures. I agree that you must keep the water level up to keep all the buckets properly watered.

I do mostly fertilize from the top because I believe the fertilizer settles in the bottom of the buckets and doesn't get to the roots.


Salsacharley . I had a look at your setup and noted you're watering from the top. I believe you'll get better results when watered from the bottom, stops compaction.[/QUOTE]