Ideas for making Floating Island for my sinkhole

Anyone who has one or has ideas for making a floating island .I guess it should be pretty big or maybe several small ones.I've got a couple of ideas but I'm not sure they would be practical or more of an eyesore,Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Don

Don, I've been in your area, my FIL lives in NPR. I've seen floating islands for sale in my local nursery. They are made from black Styrofoam with cut outs for the plant pots to sit in. The cutouts go completely thru the Styrofoam. The pots sit in the hole which is just big enough for the body of the pot but not large enough for the ring or lip at the top of the pot to go thru. They come in different sizes some with 3 pots some with 5 pots. Something like that would be easy to make if you can find a good type of foam to use. Where you live you should be able to find something. I was wondering if dock makers in your area would have styrofoam scraps? Also the foam type swimming pool float might work.

Good ideas Thanks HollyAnn

Before I found those black floating islands I tried several different ideas. The pots just kept going belly up. It would probably be a lot less hassle on your part just to buy a couple at the garden center. The ones that I have actually have the pot that goes with them with a black styrfoam band that goes around the pot. They come in several different sizes.

I used bulk black filter material. Made a frame of PVC pipe, under it, to keep it afloat and to hold tight to the sides a tub for my lotus, which I also used for a hatching tub for KOI eggs.

I wonder if you used something porous like filter material would you need to put some types of plants in a pot at all. Could you just let the roots grow thru the filter material? I have iris that we just tie onto a basket in our pond and let the roots grow thru. No soil at all.

Donlaclair I met you at the Lakeland RU today and you asked me to write up how I made my Floating pond pots. So here it is:

Supplies:
Spray paint.
Aluminium Roof flashing
Minwax Paste wax
A couple of cans of regular expanding foam..."Great Stuff"... red can.
(My pots are an irregular shape..about 16 inches wide and it took 2 cans of foam.)

Steps
1.Figure out the desired width of your pot.
2.Cut aluminium flashing to suit said circumference .
3.Liberally grease one side of the Flashing with the Paste wax..... pile it on good!
4.Tape the flashing together with the greased side on the inside. ( you can bend the flashing and make an irregular shape if you like .)
5.Set it on the ground (dirt, not grass).

6.Make the bottom of the pot by spraying the foam in a spiral motion to cover the dirt- begining in the center.
(Wait until it expands and fill in any holes that are very large...very small ones are ok, but even if you try not to have any holes there will be a few .)
7. Let the the bottom set...4-6 hrs.......
8. Do the sides one row at a time working up the side of the aluminium flashing form vertically ..take your time ....you don't want sides to fall over in towards the middle.
9. Let set up for 24 hrs at least.
10.Remove flashing and spray paint the top half of the pot on the very top and on the sides on the outside.

I put my soil in and tested it in a barrel of water for a day. Then I planted it up with an LA Iris and put it in the pond. I have never had to water them as the tiny holes in the foam allow water to enter into the pot. Plants love it.Now I have 5 of these and love them.

I came up with this when I realized I couldn't afford the floating pots for my deep pond and I had this stuff on hand in the garage....maybe someone can improve on them down the road and share.

Michelle:)

Michelle,
Thanks so much! That is just what the Doctor ordered. Your real inventive. Now to the workshop!
Hey the Round-up was a blast wasn't it!
Thanks again
Don

Michelle, what a wonderful idea! This means that you are not limited in size or shape and can make them to suit yourself rather than what the garden companies think you should have. Thank you so much for sharing with us. :^)

Glad you like it Tetley, I love making stuff to suit my own needs. Quite often I can't find what I want out there in the market place, so I have to come up with a solution.. lol!

Yes Don the RU was fun, it was very nice to meet you....my face has a pretty good sunburn tho...lol!
Thank you for the great plants I 'll enjoy them for sure!
You must come to the next Pinellas county RU.... probably in the Fall after the summer weather cools a little.

Michelle, I can't wait for another round-up. Since you gave me your great floating pot design my little pea brain has had few ideas.I'll get to work and report as to how well they work.
Don

I'll be watching this thread...... and thrilled to see what you come up with!
Budgie and I are going to be at Molly's RU in Gainsville on the 5th of May. It's a bit of a hike, but a nice getaway and it is very close for Jeremy to bring plants too. Molly also has a pond .

Sitting here reading this thread and thinking. Dangerus. right?
How about the blue siding insulation sheets?
They are 1/2, 3/4, 1 and 2 inches thick at a lumber yard.
Glue them together, shape and cut holes to fit pots.
Cover them with black material, like land scape fabric.

Hi TA , fancy meeting you over here!
Do you mean your thinking is a dangerous thing? lol! I understand!
I do think any kind of foam would work to make a floating collar for a pot...worth a try if not for the blue insulation foam being so elusive in our southern area, but some other types of insulating foam sheets doubled up might work well too.....some folks use a triangle of PVC pipe and put the pot into that...don't know all the details....I think its on some thread here at DG.

One time I tried to make floating collars for Tea light candles out of one of those swimmer's Noodles. I cut slices from it and then cut a hole in the middle, but not all the way thru. The height of the slices was too much and when some one made a wave in the water they tipped and turned upside down.....and it was lights out.... lol! Will try again this year....I'm no engineer lol!

Think I will try one out of this blue foam. Got a piece 2 inches thick. Will cut some holes in it for pots and see how will it works.

I think your idea will surely work well and take pics for us!

Love this thread!

I'm so glad you came up with an idea to make your own.

Does anyone have photos of the process or finished product?

My first try and it worked. Will build a larger one later.

That looks great! How did you get the Great Stuff to go from that orangy/yellow to that attractive color?

Jeez thought I posted a reply before I left to go out and now it's not here!
Sorry I do not have pics of the process and have not obtained new batteries for my Camera to take pics of the one I made yet

TA did a great job on his, but he did not use the great stuff as I recall. I think he covered insulation foam board with crete. Right TA? Any way they sure look nice, better than mine I think.

You can spray paint great stuff with regular spray paint and it won't melt.

I used mine for LA Irises. I have 5 pots and thought I would try to make a great big one and combine all the LA's into one big floating Island. I can't divide them until next year so that project isn't in the works till next fall.
I'll take pics as soon as I can.

Insulation board I am familiar with. Crete I am not familiar with. And yes, it looks really great.

For a newbie with no imagination could someone post more pictures.....these sound like great ideas. Put in my water garden this summer.

Thanks
Joyce

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/706272/
This was all that I posted

Thank you so much to show the link to the display. The pictures are worth a 1000 words to me. That is so cool. I am going to have to make one this winter.

Joyce

Yes, photos were a big help.

For others interested, here's a pathetic photo of one I bought. I think I paid over $30 for the tag hanging from it and it's not nearly as nice as the one custom made by TARogers5 and I seriously doubt it's nicer than the one made by shellabella-

Here are a couple pics of one I made last week for my VFT. Great stuff & faux stone finish paint. Cost about $6.00

This message was edited Dec 26, 2007 6:09 PM

close up

Bravo! That floating island looks like it was carved out of gray pumice!

Do you think the VFT will be happy there?

Great job Jan!!!!!!

I dunno? I suspect that wouldn't work for me up here in zone 5 because it would end up an dmuscipulacicle frozen perpetually in ice until spring but by you down in zone 9... maybe. Who knows until somebody tries it out. Bottom line is you are south of their natural range and I'm way north of their natural range. Generally, 3 months of 40° to 50° temps seems to meet their dormancy requirement so perhaps the water will be cool enough to give it what it needs? Try it, see what happens.