Today I received the light green durable trays that I ordered from Park's Seeds. Then I cut the grid to fit just inside of it. I thought I would need to support it more underneath but it looks like I might only need a center support. I will let you know how good they work after I fill the first one. I had been using the black trays but they were not durable enough to make individual wick trays. I will keep you updated as to how well it works. Here is a photo of it.
Jesse
Looks like an awesome idea Jesse.
What is the address to the place you bought them?
Aha! I have one that looks almost like that! I've been fooling around since I got the trays & a piece of grid to play with. I was trying to cut the grid large enough to rest on the top rim of the tray, but then it wanted to slide around (not with AV's on top, oh no you don't!)... I like your idea better! I will take another row of squares off my grid... *sigh* at the thought of yet more bits of plastic flying all over the place!
I think I am going to try capillary matting on top of the grid... I'll start with an old piece of terrycloth towel & see how it goes before I order "official" capillary matting. I figure I can cut a few "fringe" strips to dangle down into the reservoir and keep the mat moist, and then I can place pots directly on top of the mat.
I was just thumbing through the previous issue of the AVSA magazine, and in an article about hydroponic techniques I found a very interesting idea for a wicking reservoir that could be attached underneath my grid shelves on my plant stand... It's very simple... Take a length of PVC pipe and cap off both ends. Drill small holes every so often along one side so that wicks can be inserted. Attach underneath grid shelving with cable ties. I don't recall the specific design, but it seems like you could put an elbow at one end of the pipe and cap it off with a screw cap, and it would be very easy to fill the pipe with water. The opaque PVC pipe should limit the amount of algae growing in the reservoir, too, unlike using clear plastic containers under individual pots.
Park Seeds... here's the link to perma-nest trays... http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=6116&PrevMainPage=textsearchresults&scChannel=Text%20Search&SearchText=perma-nest&OfferCode=S1H
Note how the pricing gets better when you buy more. :-) I got a dozen. I'm tired of those black plastic trays that last one or two seasons before developing little leaks (and I swear they are getting flimsier every year).
Jesse, that looks like it should work. Good job.
Way to go Jesse! Looks great. I love the grids on my trays. Makes watering so much easier.
Is that the best price any have found on those trays? And another dumb questions, where do you find the grid?
I got my grid at HD in the lighting department. It is ceiling grid for light fixtures. I think it was $10.00 for a 2ft. X 4ft. piece of plastic grid.
Yup Yup..I used the lighting grid too for the wicking shelves I have :) it works really well :)
I shopped around and Park's Seeds was the cheapest place that I found them. But I ordered in quantity so I got the cheapest price. I also get my grid at Home Depot. I can make four trays out of one piece.
Jesse
Are all your plant Av's set up like this ? How did you know how many trays to buy what you would need what would fit on your stands. How many did you buy ? Pictures of the set up ?
I have to leave right now to take DH to run errands but I will post pictures and show my setup when I get back.
Jesse
I think Nanna posted some time back that she'd gone to HD and found the grid...I just can't remember. I think she already had the trays. I want to do that because I think it will keep me from overwatering, or at least make it less likely.
I thought you did something like this Allison, No?
No I never did . I've used the same cheap plastic covers from plastic boxes used to keep leaf cups. Tops are used for trays. They are long lasting , you can bleach them and cheap. I've been using the same ones for two years. One has a crack I ran it over with my wheel chair. lol
They are excellent and cheap for a person on a low income. :))
Nanna did set this up and made a thread with excellent pictures.
Jesse, that's cool. How did you cut the grid?
April I bumped up Nannas she just did this little while back too ! Can compare ..info.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/584273/
Yes, I know Nanna did this a while back. That is where I got my ideas. And I made mine like she did. But I kept having to get down on my knees to get to all of my violets and it was just causing me too much pain. So I decided to see if I could make a freestanding one, one that stood on its own. The thing that I have found is that the center point needs some support so I'm going to Home Depot today to find something.
This is the tool I used and it works great. I started out with scissors but failed miserably with those so I got these out of the toolbox. They are some kind of pliers/cutters. I took pictures of both sides. They worked great.
Jesse
Thanks, Jesse!!
Here is a picture of the other side. I put the straight edge up aginst the side to be kept and just cut off the rest.
Jesse
You are welcome. I have several ideas of what to use as supports so I'm going to make my Home Depot run soon. I just love that store.
Jesse
Looks like some kind of nipper/wire cutter/thinger... wonder if I have one around here? I will just ask my DH, "Hey do we have one of those nipper thingers?" I am sure he will know just what I am talking about. LOL
I know that Nanna said she got her grid @ Lowes and you got your's at HD; I have been to both of mine and walked through the lighting dept but couldn't see it. Does this stuff have a name for it or am I going to have to ask them for the grid stuff that silly people use for lighting projects but smarter people use for AVs? LOL.
I will be waiting to hear how it turns out.
Ok I looked back at Nanna's posting and she said the grid is called ceiling grid or something like that.
Also, though it may be more expensive, but you don't have to cut it, I found grid at Charley's
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=8307
Neat April
Tell them you are looking for the panels for a dropped ceiling. That is what they are used for. When you put the ceiling tiles in, and you have a light, they use a different color or the grid to cover the bulbs. So just say dropped ceiling and they will know.
I looked at Charleys and they want $5.95 each for them. They cover a 22 x12 inch pan. Mine at Home Depot is $11 something, make it $12 to include tax. But my grid makes 3 or 4, depending on how you cut it. So the grid from Charleys is way too expensive. If you need these things I could have them shipped to you but I think that the HD there should have them.
Jesse
For me, it was time and money very well spent.
Jesse, I saw on another web site where some one used regular old white PVC pipe and used a saw to cut 'O' shapes the height you need and put them under the grids in each corner and in the center. It can be bleached too. Just FYI.
The plastic ceiling grid isn't that hard to cut, but boy do those little bits of plastic fly around when you do so! It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to wear safety glasses when you're snipping. Even scissors (or pruning shears) will do the trick. Or you can pay the extra $2 apiece and get them ready made from Charley's!
Parks had the best price I could find on the Perma-Nest trays, and I bought a dozen of them, planning to use them for starting seedlings as well as on my AV shelves. I figure I'll use them for years, so they're a better investment than continuing to buy the less durable black plastic trays at a dollar or so apiece... plus, as Jesse said, the black trays aren't sturdy enough to support grids for watering.
I did the same thing critter. I also bought a dozen of them. They are so sturdy and a much better investment. I have been thinking of cutting the pvc pipe and I've been looking at using other stuff too. I did not make it to Home Depot as planned but I did find something to use in one of them. Or maybe two. DH had me cutting up boxes because where we live that is the only way that the recycle truck will take them. In a couple of the boxes was some plastic-looking styrofoam. I used that and it works great. You can see it in the photo, the white stuff under the plants. I'm thinking that I'll either styrofoam or pvc pipe, whichever is cheaper.
Jesse
If you're cutting pvc pipe for any reason, one of those little pvc "saws" is a good investment... it looks like a piece of wire with handles (flexible), and it cuts through pvc pipe like butter! I misplaced mine and was cutting pvc with my dremel tool last week -- the saw works better!
Using that piece of packing material is a great idea! Looks like you found one exactly the right thickness, too. I'm always squirreling away stuff like that... DH was LOL at me saving yet more styrofoam packing peanuts last week, but with all these trade boxes to get out I know I'll go through my supply quickly!
My DH was doing something with the peanuts that came with the trays from Park's and I yelled, "please save the peanuts." He thinks that is so funny.
What I did was take a plastic plant label. I stood it up in the tray and measured how far it was to the top of the grid. Once that was done I held it up against the grid to measure the thickness of the grid. That way I could tell exactly how far it was to the bottom of the tray to the bottom of the grid.
This plastic stuff was like styrofoarm but some of it was pressed together into layers. So I just cut the layers thick enough to come up to the bottom of the grid. And it worked. I filled it with water and put the plants on it while it was sitting on the floor to see how sturdy it would be when I picked it up. It was great. No bending or anything. If you have the same trays as I do, I can give you the exact measurement of the length and width of the grid for cutting it and I can tell you how deep it is to the bottom. I will do this if you would like for me too, anytime you would like. Well heck, I'll go measure it now.
Okay, I'm back. It is 32 x 15 squares. I can't find my ruler so I'm not sure how deep. But you can do it like I did or I'll measure mine when I find the ruler.
Jesse
It looks wonderful. You did a fantastic job!
Well I will tell you what I do w/ my styrofoam peanuts; I put them in the bottom of my potted plants...not the AVs, but the other plants that have regular potting soil. It helps drainage and keeps the dirt from compacting too much, allows the roots to get air, etc. Also, if you have a really large pot and you put a few inches of pnts in the bottom it decreases the end weight a bit and on some of those big pots, when you are toting them into the garage during the winter, it makes a big difference.
Great idea!
I had to do something w/ them, if I put them in the trash I had to bag them or else they blew all over when the trash guys dump my containers into the truck! It looked like snow!
Gee April, I wish I had done that with my 7 gal. Kumquat. I have a huge 30" clay pot (I think it's actually larger?) anyway, I filled the bottom with tennis ball sized rocks (like the ones in my head! Duh!) and moving it to the greenhouse in the winter is a feat in itself! Note to self, reuse peanuts in big pots!
April,
That is what I meant when I said my DH thinks I'm nuts, for putting them in the bottom of my pots instead of using more soil. I use them for the purpose of not having to use as much potting soil, if the pot is very deep, which means that the cost of potting soil that I use is not as much. I never thought about using them like you do, using them in the bottom of other plants to heIp the air circulate. That is a great idea. You are such a smart peep (thanks to Anna for giving us all this new word). I do not understand why they make pots taller just because they are bigger (diameter wise). So I use the peanuts and I have used styrofoam in the bottom of pots. Oh, I don't use them on my AVs either.
Jesse
Jesse
I wouldn't go so far as to say I am so smart, plain old smart is adequate.
I think I "borrowed" the idea.
Also, I have some really, really big outside pots w/ roses, black bamboo, etc and following my daughter's suggestion I put empty coke cans in the bottom of the pots for the same reason.
April
