i saw these that cowpea had made in the accessible gardening forum and was itching to have my oh so capable DH make several...cost...300.00 in road grade pipe and 150.00 in materials...my enjoyment and goose proofness...priceless!!!
kuddos to DH for making me these container gardens!
one more
i lied...here's the last one...i plan on filling these with coconut coir...i've never used it before but have been hearing great things about it...should i have any concern about our coastal winds blowing it out of the containers? thanks...virginia
Did you build these because they were WC accessible? Just curious.
no, but i do have a bad back and working on the ground doesn't help it at all...plus, i was looking for weed control...i do have geese, ducks, chickens and peafowl who love to eat my garden veggies whenever they can...hopefully they will be deterred with the height of these containers
very cool ideas. Can not wait to see them with plants. Don't forget to post pictures when you're done.
Your coir wont have a tendency to blow out of the containers if you keep it moist but if it dries out, a strong wind might take some of it.
will post pics..because i know...no pics...didn't happen...and thanks jay, i'll make sure to keep the coir moist...i've read your posts on your self contained gardens and was very impressed...the idea pool on this website is mind boggling...there are not enough hours in the day to consume all the information offered here by the posters...a big thanks to everyone!!
ps ...last years garden
Hi neighbor, how about if you set up a drip system; that should keep the coir at the proper moisture level.
ahoy neighbor...i would love nothing better than a drip system...discussed that with dh and got a negatory on that one... but i think i may be able to slip in some drip hose...did you get any snow the other day? we did here on edisto...
Yes, we did, all day long too, it was such a surprize. 40 degrees and snow, only in the Lowcountry!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6028819
Simple drip systems are really easy to set up and make a world of difference in our climate.
Those look great Virginbred! What a great husband you must have!
Hi Alice! You had snow??? LOL! And it wasn't even cold.
if the air is hot there.. and with your metal containers.. it will soon have the soil temps the same as the air.. metal is like that.. adrip system will help somewhat there.. a layer of thin foam lining the inside of the metal will also help even strips that will allow drainage..andstill keep the dirt away from the metal.. most of it is shielded by the wood.. but it sticks up above and below that. so the sun will shine right on the metal.. what's your car hood like 1:30 pm July 14th.
great bunch of planters keep working on them..
w e're dripping here
Gordon and Kell - good to hear from you both.
Good thinking Gordon about the heat build up; the ocean breeze is the only thing that keeps us from burning up in the summer, we might as well be on a Brooklyn rooftop, LOL.
But, in looking a that second photo VB posted, do I see channels in those pipes? Could they be filled with water which would act as insulation for the soil (or would just the air in them work as well?)
They are such neat planters.
gordon...the pipes are made of a heavy road grade plastic...not metal...ardesia, they do have channels in them but with holes drilled for drainage i think all water that accumulates in the channels will drain...however after talking with DH bout this, he says he is sure he didn't hit every channel with his drill...so we are thinking any water collected could possible keep the dirt either heated in winter or cooled in summer...or i could be wrong and it be visa versa...i'd be interested in your thoughts...virginia
gordon...i remember seeing your posts before and loved your roof top set up...you have a wonderful collection of plants...an oasis above the city...
ardesia...loved your pic of the snow...all day, eh? we only had an hour or so...nothing stuck...
kell...my husband is the greatest man i've ever known
This message was edited Jan 31, 2009 12:08 PM
Watch it Kell that usually mean there more on the honey do list LOL
~Tubby
(A lurker) Cool planters hats off to you
LOL Tubbytee!
If I wasn't mad at mine at the moment I would have said that you just haven't met my man Virginbred but since he is in the dog house for the foreseeable future even though he is trying to make nice nice by just bringing me my morning tea, I will have to agree yours is the best. And he makes flower planters too! Can't beat that!
you are so right tubby t...i would so love a green house ; )
kell...ahhh...making up is great isn't it...
I have a good one too although he does not make cool planters for me. I'll have to show him this thread and put a guilt trip on him. LOL
Kell, what on earth did your wonderful Tom, who takes you out to eat in these fabulous places all the time, do to get in the dog house?
Virginia, with the strange weather we are having this week you should be able to figure out how the channels will insulate the planters. Tuesday evening is supposed to be nasty again.
BTW, where are you getting the coir?
That's it the old guilt trip..You women are such conivers (sp) Shame Shame LOL
~Tubby
Wait I forgot to ask what is KUDDOS
This message was edited Jan 31, 2009 4:38 PM
Coniving? Me????? :-)
Kuddos are like Attaboys or a good pat on the back.
Gotcha Live and learn And then forget LOL
~Tubby
I am on the forget end too.
Oh the joys of getting old I like this saying
You come into this world wetting your pants
And go out the same way LOL
I'm not touching that one, no comment.
Cluk cluk
Oh Alice, he was downright evil. LOL. I tried to stay mad but before dinner he brought me wine and I should have said NO, THANK YOU but he looked so sad I took it. Lucky him! LOL So of course out tumbled about 20 things I had been dying to tell him all day. I hope he learned his lesson. LOL Oh and I let him eat the dinner I made. Originally I was going to serve myself and then put it way fast before he got any. Normally he may appreciate that gesture as one of friendship as I am such a poor cook, but I made roast chicken so it would make the house smell great and I happen to make that one well. LOL
I said HI to you on that rose thread the other day but you never came back. I hope you are doing GREAT!
You are hysterical Kell and I bet you really are a good cook.
This has turned out to be the sweet spouse thread. LOL
OH>>Virginia..
yes.. I see the channels.. that's another problem cause in old age..you give something a look.. and you think it's just like all of the things you've seen before.. can be disastereous..
So there's aninner and outer skin.. WOW.. perfect material...I might have put the channels to use then..tilting the entire planter some so the water would drain out large holes in one end..or the other.. that would have left the channels sealed except for the open tops of them... filling the channels with water would give a great amount of solar mass.. like a heat /cool sink.. it would in the summer pick up and store the evenings cooler temperatures in the solar mass of the water.. releasing the cooling throughout the day... and would have the opposite effect in the spring and fall.. where the water would pick up the heat of the day .. and slowly release it to the soil in the evenings.. kindof like that product they sell for early season tomato growing called wall o' water
http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/product/season-starter-the-improved-wall-o-water-plant-protector-3-pack
A perfect use of the channels you have there anyway.. the channels would serve as some insulation... surely.. but to have them filled with water.. you'd have them manfacturing heat and cold for you also.. more of an active system.. like the recomendations for having lots of water in buckets and barrels in ones greenhouse ...to help mediate the temperature swings there..when making mothers greenhouse I put in lots of masonary.. tiles.. and stone.. along with a 350 gallon fish/water plant tank to do the same type of temperature mediation.. relieveing the need for some of the added heating/cooling you'd have to pay for every day there after.. forever.. Although mother now has her tank empty.. as she houses 4 or 5 Bengal cats/kittens there awaiting new homes.. up from the cattery / in pens and buildings in the back yard.. they have a love of playing in the water.. as they might fish in the wild..
Virginia... are the pipes it looks like he cut in 1/2.. were they plastic culvert /drainage pipes... a great product for sure... with the double walls.. just wnt to know where they were available..
Thanks all for the garden complements..
I saw one of those "culvert" looking gizmo's at Tractor Supply Company yesterday. They have quite a few outlet stores and may have one near you.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Home_10551_10001
I am going to have to check that one out; we do have a brand new Tractor Supply very close to Virginia's home. I pass it frequently and I bet Virginia does too.
there is a tractor supply close to me??? where? i'd love that...
There is a brand new one on 17; I believe it opened just before or right after Christmas. It is on the east side of the hwy and, to the best of my memory, somewhere between Jacksonboro and Ravenal. When we head up that way we are usually in a hurry to get to Charleston, then we are usually too tired on the way home. I am going to try and make an effort to stop next week time.
well you might consider some nice vines run up the legs.. before the bed.. perhaps on some strings.. and then chop them off when they get to the top.. or around the bed on some strings.. even a trellis attached to the bed.. on the north side of the planter. would set it off..
did you consider getting weeder geese
http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/poultry/g08922.htm .. guess you'd have to grow something they would leave alone..
guess they already stand guard duty there for you.. ..there's one in TX ..Sam...that does duty as a school crossing guard http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/042408dnmetgoose.3088b3f.html
gordon...not sure if you are referring to me or not but the planters will continue to stay on the concrete pad and i already have geese...one of the reasons i wanted to get these elevated planters...last season the geese, peacocks and chickens devoured my garden...i didn't get to harvest one tomato...they would peck holes in every tomato they could reach...the geese ate anything that was leafy green...what amazed me was that there was so much grass for them to eat but they decided to eat what was in the garden...maybe because there was so much activity with jim and i always weeding, hoeing or watering...they do like to be were the action is...
planters are growing well...strawberries in this one
broccoli and onions in this one
cauliflower and cabbage in this one
lettuce in this one
