The New EarthTainer III "Convertible" Guide Now Available

[rnewste]

Originally Posted by lakelady

hmmm...If I could put a few earthtainers on the dock and setup some sort of wicking system to just take up lakewater, I wouldn't even have to do any watering, how neat would that be?

Actually, you could rig up a thick diameter rope which would dangle in the water, then bury the other end deep into the Potting Mix. Depending on the wicking properties of the material you find (think a long sponge) you may then never need manual watering. Engineer it out.....

Raybo

[lakelady]

Oh Ray!! This opens up a whole new window of opportunities! What the heck, my neighbors think I'm the weird suburban farmer anyway

Okay then. I will have to find some nice braided cotton rope that I can hang into the lake and wick into the containers. Maybe I'll just try it with one or two in case it fails I don't want a lot of plants to die. It sure would save me from some watering because right now I have to drag hoses all over the house to my various gardens because my sunlight is in patches here and there.

[rnewste]

You can do a "trial" at any time, before you put in plants, to see if the cotton rope wicks up into the top of the EarthTainers. Question: How elevated is the dock surface above the nominal water level?

Another more elegant solution would be to use a hole saw and drill a 2 inch diameter hole into the center side of the EarthTainer, about 8 inches up from the bottom, and feed the 2 inch diameter cotton rope bundle through the hole. Fan the ropes out like a Japanese fan on top of the first layer of 4 inch deep Potting Mix to the outer edges of the walls. Then fill the rest of the EarthTainer with the Potting Mix.

This should provide a dispersed wicking pattern in the EarthTainer. You may still need to use supplemental watering into the water reservoir on very warm days, but most of the required moisture will be drawn into the EarthTainer via the cotton wick on a continuous basis, without manual watering.

Fun Stuff!!!

Raybo

[Riceloft]

Now through December 23rd, use the code GC10 for 10% off an e-gift card at Burpee.com. Thats 10% off pea fence for your EarthTainers! Grab the cards and hope for a free shipping promotion between now and construction time and you're golden!

[z_willus_d]

Along similar lines to Riceloft's post, I believe Burpee Gardens is offering 20% off on orders of $50-, or specifically $10 on order of $50 or more with the check-out code: NEWYEAR5. I'm not sure if you can use the same code multiple times and there's still shipping to figure out. Expires Jan 2, 2012.

The best would have been to get the e-gift card with 10% off, and then apply this coupon subsequently.

[DarrylJR]

Lowes no longer carries the DuPont 15 year landscape fabric. Instead they are now carrying Jobe's Basic Fabric and Jobe's Premium Weed Control Fabric ($13.78 for 50' x 4').

Has anyone used Jobe's fabrics and can comment on it (compared to the DuPont landscape fabric), specifically as a barrier between the grow material and water reservoir to prevent roots from entering the water reservoir and getting tomatoes that have hydroponic taste?

DuPont is changing distributors to DeWitt Company, Sikeston, MO. DeWitt told me that they have no stock yet and that they know of no place where the DuPont fabric can be purchased.

DeWitt carries a product that they said is very equivalent to the DuPont fabric, Typar Landscape Fabric. It comes in a 1.9 oz (Premium, 10 yr guaranteed) and 3.0 oz (Pro, 20 yr guaranteed) version. The 3 oz Pro version costs $17.65 for a 3' x 50' roll at Gempler's. Anyone have experience with the Typar fabric and can comment on it?

When I asked Gempler's if they knew of anyone with experience using Typar Professional Landscape Fabric in an earth trainer/earth box, they suggested Biobarrier 12"x20 ft. Root Control Fabric as the material specifically designed as a root barrier. This fabric is very expensive ($73.53 for 12" x 20' roll). However, it is designed to last 15 years (and to be permanently installed such around pipes). I think that the only way that I can justify that price is if I can reuse the fabric for several years. I have no idea how practical that is.

[rnewste]

Darryl,

Please don't waste your money on the root barrier product.

Most nylon type Landscape Fabrics will work - - just not the "cloth" type which is sold at Home Depot. You want a "mid" grade material.

Raybo

[Riceloft]

I just picked up the DuPont fabric 2 months ago. Strange.

[elight]

I picked it up from Lowe's last week. Could be a regional shortage, or it could be that our stores are just getting rid of their stock from last year.

[ArcherB]

I used an old sheet cut into a rectangle the size of the container. It's my first year making the containers so I won't know how well it works until the season is over.

[rnewste]

ArcherB,

The tomato roots will pass through the sheet like a hot knife through butter.

While the sheet will minimize your Potting Mix from dropping down into the water reservoir, it will not prevent the roots from getting down into the reservoir very quickly.

This is what you are going to end up with:



And you may have now created another problem of too much wicking as the Landscape Fabric, while being water permeable, does not wick water as your cloth sheet will. In essence, you've created a 14 inch by 26 inch wick along the entire bottom of the Aeration Bench.

Can you un-do this and use the material I recommended?? I put a lot of thought and "science" into the design and use of the EarthTainer which the cloth sheet violates.

Raybo

[DarrylJR]

Originally Posted by rnewste

Most nylon type Landscape Fabrics will work - - just not the "cloth" type which is sold at Home Depot.
Raybo

Raybo, thanks for the advice! That helps.

The Typar fabric is polypropylene (a medium density plastic--between LDPE and HDPE). The Typar fabric is supposed to be very similar to the DuPont fabric. From what I have found (and information on the Jobe's fabric is very hard to find), the Jobe's fabric is plastic, but I have no idea what kind of plastic or any other specifications.

Is nylon, polypropylene, and plastic fabric all basically the same thing? I know that there is lots of different kinds of plastic.

I know that there is different weights/thickness, different air opening sizes/air permeability, different water permeability, and different puncture strength/tear resistance in landscape fabrics.

Originally Posted by elight

I picked it up from Lowe's last week. Could be a regional shortage, or it could be that our stores are just getting rid of their stock from last year.

elight, from what DeWitt Company told me, all of Lowes dropped the DuPont fabric. Perhaps your Lowes store still had some stock left.

I will probably get the Jobe's fabric and hope for the best. Whatever I end up with, I'll plan to post at the end of the growing season how well it worked at keeping roots out of the water reservoir.

[rnewste]

Darryl,

I am not a Chemist, so I can't comment on the properties of the ingredients you mentioned. It sounds to me that the Jobes will be a suitable replacement for the DuPont Landscape Fabric.

The DuPont material is fairly stiff, so if what you buy feels like limp cloth - it probably won't do a very good job of impeding the roots.

Raybo

[ArcherB]

Originally Posted by rnewste

And you may have now created another problem of too much wicking as the Landscape Fabric, while being water permeable, does not wick water as your cloth sheet will. In essence, you've created a 14 inch by 26 inch wick along the entire bottom of the Aeration Bench.

Can you un-do this and use the material I recommended?? I put a lot of thought and "science" into the design and use of the EarthTainer which the cloth sheet violates.

Raybo

You've done an awesome job with these things, Raybo and do not doubt your designs in the least. My inability to follow your designs to a T was not based on your designs, but funding. I had to reuse whatever supplies I had laying around the garage and an old sheet was the best I could come up with. The wicking pond basket for me is a couple of recycled Cup-O-Noodle soup bowls. Times are tighter around here than they've ever been and I blew my annual budget on soil for a new bed. My accountant has shut off my garden funds.

I can't remove it as it already has plants in it. Fortunately, they are doing quite well, better than the ones in the ground anyway. I've even got fruit set on one. I'm sure that the roots will get into the reservoir, but there's not anything I can do to stop it at this point. Besides, we are talking about 5 plants out of 32 so it's not like I'm depending on these things to make or break my season. These are really more for testing as I plan on adding two or three containers a year. The only thing growing in them this year are sauce tomatoes so it won't break my heart if they don't do well.

[rnewste]

ArcherB,

Been there.

How many EarthTainers do you have?

While it won't help you this Season, PM me your address and I will put enough of it in the mail to you for use next year.

Raybo