eContainers with colander ?

Thought I would start a new thread on this topic.

OK -- I get HOW you build the eContainer...thanks to Gymgirl's illustration...in fact I've got my colanders and will be getting the buckets...etc...but I'm NOT exactly sure HOW the water "wicks" up through the colander ..??.. ...well through the holes in colander of course...but WHAT makes the water go UP to the plant..??..



This message was edited Apr 19, 2010 7:50 PM

I'm far from an expert on this, having not yet done it. But I think the point is that the roots grow down to the water? I just potted up some tomatoes into some 2 liter soda bottles last Thursday, and geesh, have those roots grown FAST. It's actually pretty cool to keep checking on them. So I'd imagine the roots would grow down to the water under the colander fast, too.

I just looked at the diagram better and realized that duh, the terra cotta pots I got at the remainder store won't work. I can't/won't drill in them for the overflow straw. I wonder if I can rig up an olla type thing with some small terra cotta pots, because then the overflow would come up the pipe.

Either that, or it's kitty litter buckets in the front yard. I think I gotta draw the line somewhere. :-)

>>>>but WHAT makes the water go UP to the plant..??..

If i remember my biology correctly (from decades ago), it's called "capillary action". It's the tendency that water has to be drawn into small openings. The soil will wicks up the water the same way that a paper towel will wick up water. The part of the soil that touches the water is the part that's in the crevice around the colander.

Just guessing...

Elegantly simple e-bucket design, by the way. I'm gonna give it a try.

Quyen et al,
You've got it! Notice that the soil packed tightly around the sides of the colander remain in constant contact WITH the water, up to the top of the colander where any excess runs out the overflow hole. Your straw creates a (much-needed) air pocket gap between the soil that'c constantly wet and sitting in the water, and the rest of the soilbed above the colander. This gap is what keeps the soil above the colander from becoming putrid and stagnant in the eBucket (please use that term for our design -- "eBucket..."). And, yes, the plant sends its roots downward toward the water and then draws what it wants from the moisture in the reservoir.

It's the same principle as how the old kerosene lamps worked. The kerosene was drawn up via the wick that sat in the kerosene in the base of the lamp. As the lamp burned the oil off, more kerosene was wicked up to the top to keep fueling the lamp. When the kerosene ran out, it was time to call Thomas Edison!

In our case, we don't ever want the light to go out! Our capillary action would be disrupted, and we'd have to water from the top down to re-establish that action, and then refill the reservoir. Consequently, KEEP THE RESERVOIR FILLED!

I'm soooooooooooo glad ya'll are on board!

Just send me a d-mail if there's anything I can help you with concerning the eBuckets, ok?

Linda

Thanks Linda -- I appreciate your explanation.

I created my first "e-Bucket" (prototype) today. I bought some 5gal containers from Loews for approx $3.50 and the colanders I bought for $1 at our local, little grocery store that had them on clearance. ( I live out in the country). Unfortunately the colanders were too wide (circumference) so I had to cut them down with metal shears. I may just save these too big colanders for some OTHER project and find some smaller colanders because GEEEEZ what a hassle it was to cut into that plastic colander.

ANYWAYS... I think I got it all figured out. I'm curious to know how long the water will last. ?? I planted some 'spaghetti squash' that I had started from seed... so we'll see.

Jann

Jann,
Here's Gessieviolet's (one of the colander eBucket design originators) concise building instructions. He cut's inverted "Vs" into the colander so it fits (sort of like making a dart in the sewing world...)

http://mckarion.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/frugal-gardner-self-watering-bucket/

Hey Linda.... Ahh...the darts in the colander are a good idea....although the colanders I bought for $1 are from India and 'Dude' (as my kids say) is that rim tough. I had to get my husbands metal shears to cut through it. I'm excited to get more of these eBuckets built just to see how well they work.

Jann

Jann,
Is it a plastic colander? If so, could you lay it down and run a utility knife around the rim? That's what I do with ones that don't exactly fit.

Yea Linda...the colanders ARE plastic...but a really tuff plastic....I tried the utility knife at first and couldn't cut through. However ~no worries....got all but one completed this afternoon.

I want to try growing some cantaloupe and watermelon in them. If it works I can put them in an area where I haven't yet amended the soil etc etc. Where we live here in N. Texas we have REALLY REALLY sandy soil (which is good for horses)...but we also have a lot of rocks. I have to amend with lots of compost, green sand, lava sand, molasses, etc and tilling....and more tilling. I'll eventually get it all done the way I want it --- it's a new garden area that I started last year so hopefully by next year I'll be satisfied.

Jann

Jann I was reading in tygr compost and soil forum about using molasses 2 break down compost faster. How do you use it in your system? What brand? Where do you buy it?

Hey Linda.... I buy my 'dry molasses' at our local feed store in these 50lb (?? -- OK not sure how much they weigh....but they're BIG) --- bags. I understand that the molasses also is helpful to feed the "...microorganisms and is a source of carbon, sulfur, and potaash. It is a good, quick source of energy for the soil life and microbes in the compost pile, and will chase fire ants" (quoted from my 'Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening' by Howard Garrett and C. Malcom Beck)

The way I use it is to just spread it around my garden plots -- along with the other amendments I use -- and then till it in really well.

I made some "E-Buckets" today, my first as well. I'm hoping that the steady water supply will help me to grow tomatoes a little longer into the summer heat. This is a picture of the before and after, with the parts laid out before adding dirt. I used buckets from Lowe's (couldn't find free ones) and colanders from the local dollar store. I actually bought the smaller colander, after trying a larger size. The larger one required too much trimming and wasn't stable when it finally fit.

The tomatoes I planted were very leggy, since they'd been in the 4-inch pot too long. I planted them deeply, about 1-inch above the top of the colander. I'm trying a mix of a few determinates, indeterminates, open-pollinated and hybrid (8 buckets total) that I'm also growing in the ground. The plants in the ground have been planted for 4-6 weeks, so they have a really big head start.

Here is a picture with all the parts fully assembled. I made the watering tube out of 1" PVC, since I had a hole-saw just that size. The plastic of the colander was soft enough that it could have been cut with shears. The tape around the water tube is just to be sure that too much soil didn't leak into the water reservoir while it was being packed.

For the overflow tube, I used straws from McDonalds. I found them to be slightly thicker material and slightly larger in diameter than all the other straws I checked. The seem to be fairly durable. The hole-size requred for the bucket was 5/16". I did use shears to cut one of the plastic strips between slots enough to allow the straw to pass through. The air-gap between the colander bottom (top of airspace) and the drain straw was about 1-inch. It's radius is about half the bucket, so there is plenty of soil packed below the water level.

I used a potting mix to fill, since that was all I could find easily (and cheaply). I packed the soil by hand as tightly as I could around the colander, then packed the remaining mix a little more loosely, but still tight. Hopefully it will wick correctly. The total water volume should be somewhere near 1.5 gallons, but I didn't measure it.

David

Dreaves,
That is one mighty fine lookin' eBucket. Job well done!

Two comments:

1. Careful not to plant your seedlings too deep. 1" above the colander could still be kinda damp down below...

2. I cut my fill tubes at least 22-24" (I get 5 out of a 10' length of PVC), especially for tomatoes. Once the foliage fills in, you might have'ta hunt to find it hidden in the greenery.

I can't wait to see how your experiment against the soil grown tomatoes turns out!

P.S.

2 Cups of pelletized Dolomitic lime sprinkled in to the top 4" of your potting soil.
2 Cups of fertilizer (any three number between 10 and 15 -- I use Triple 13 or 14)
poured in a 2" wide ring close to the sides of the eBucket. Water in gently.

Hugs!

linda



This message was edited Apr 30, 2010 11:35 PM