Well, it's cold outside; so, I just sit around and dream about planting the garden Adam and Eve would have been pleased with right? LOL I got a huge kiddie pool at a yard sale, brand new, and it will fit perfectly well with my plans. Here is the material I will use to complete this idea: Boca Bob's 5 gallon grow bags with maters in them of course, the kiddie pool, Agloflash for tomatoes fertilizer (1 capful makes a gallon with a gallon of water), lots of twine, 6 long pieces of PVC pipe, and 4 PVC joiners.
My idea in motion. I will put the kiddie pool in the back yard, putting a hole somewheres to make a drain hole, maybe two holes who knows? then I will take the 6 pieces of PVC pipe joining 3 together, 2 for the sides one for the top, making two of them, making sure that the two on the ends can be buried a bit into the ground and still leave about 6 ft of space above. One will be about 1 1/2 " shorter, so that I can fit them one over the other like so: B
B (kiddie pool) B
B
Now, the tomatoes in the grow bag will sit in the kiddie pool, which will have at least one if not two drain holes, so as the water will only reach so high, and I will mix the water with aquaflash tomato fertilizer (1 capful per gallon of water), as the tomato plant grows, I can use twine to tie the limbs to the PVC pipe surrounding the kiddie pool. TADA!
Suggestions anyone???
joy
My new idea!
Joy - you always have such great and new ideas and a huge crop. How many people are you feeding? I add a few new planting areas every year and always try new varieties but certainly don't grow as much as you do.
I love the pool idea. I guess you don't have to worry about killing the grass where you put it. I would put a couple of drain holes in it in case we get a real tropical gully washer. You can probably close them up with a cork or something if you have a drought. Keep us posted.
Thanks, I think more than one hole is important too. I'm also thinking I might want to put in something to help the water move around also, that way I might not have to worry about an algae problem? My back yard is going to be almost full if I keep going and will have to move to the front yard. I do want to get a few above ground gardens to add to the list next year; along with fruit bushes. I might even try a few of those pyramidal gardens in the front. I now have 18 EBs, 6 GPs, 2 square footers, and 10 of Boca Bob's huge stackers and 38 of the five gallon HEBs. Young strong men are hard to find, I need to find one, so I can put a plow in front of him and hang a cooked pork chop at the end of every row perhaps???? LOL
joy
joy
Joy,
So you're making the waterbeds we saw in another thread for your tomatoes, right? I think that's a cool idea. As I recall (I forget who posted the waterbed design for us), she didn't have drain holes so that the containers sat constantly in the water. The plants drew up the water like they do from the EBs.
I've been wondering how to configure my garden this spring, because I don't have my RBs built yet, and I'm starting tomato & bell pepper seeds this weekend. Your wading pool has given me an option for a portable system until the beds are established.
Thanks!
P.S. Post a sketch of your design idea. The pvc frames will sit parallel to each other over the pool, right? And you can use the tomato clips and twine to keep the plants upright by anchoring the twine over the pvc frames? Kewl!
Linda
Linda: Wish I knew how to draw and post it; I also lost my camera, and will have to get a new one when I get this finished. Next week starts the renovations for the new garden designs. I've extended my garden so much, on paper, LOL that I will eventually have to move to the front yard as the back will be full. I will have 3 stacker stackers, I am going to have 2 stacks of 3 and one of 4, for strawberries in the future. And am seriously thinking about the pyramid gardens, for the front yard, they are 3 tiered and a sprinkler on the top for keeping them watered. I'm wanting a few above ground beds myself; but, that will have to wait til next year I'm afraid. No more topsy turvy anything though, am going to replace them with coconut coir liner baskets for flowers I think, that should keep bees in the yard. I don't seed start til the second week of February here. I am going to start a few early though since my cold frame arrived today!
joy