Stacker pots, pole system and part pictures.

I love my stackers but couldn't get them to stay straight when I did the pvc pipe. But I know I didn't do it correctly. I was it such a hurry - just threw the pipe in and started stacking. I like they look with the flowers so maybe I'll try that next year only stacking three high. Very pretty. The begonias really stand out in the black.
Rose
'

I have grown begonias in my stackers for about 4 years now and they have proven to be tough enough to withstand my central Texas sunshine. The darker leaved begonias are supposed to withstand direct sun better than those with lighter colored green leaves but I have had good luck with both types. But I have to say that begonias in dappled shade look noticably better than those in direct sunlight.

I have 22 poles of 4 pots each with a grow mix of approximately 50/50 coir/perlite and have never had any trouble keeping them watered adequately with two waterings a day. Occassionaly on extremely hot and windy days I will hit them 3 times a day. Each stack is watered only from the top through a 1/4th inch tube. I have a mechanically adjusted timer that directs water to all stacks. I just crank the timer to a bout 5 minutes but when all stacks start dripping water from the bottom pots, I shut off the main water supply. If some stacks are heavily planted with large leafy plants, like large leafed mustard greens or chard, etc, I make sure those stacks are dripping water before cutting off the water because those stacks definitely need and use more water.

For fertilizing, I use a 32 gallon trash barrel filled with fertilized water that is sucked from the barrel by a siphon jet and mixed with the water going to all stacks. The siphon jet theoretically draws one gallon of fertilizer/water from the barrel for every 16 gallons total water flow. The haphazard way I mix the soluable fertilizer in the barrel results in a weak fertilizer solution going thru each stack each time I water...........twice a day. Probably about 1/4 the normal fertilizer mixture....maybe.......maybe more or maybe less.......kind of.........sort of by guess and by gosh where you look at the color of water in the barrel and say I guess by gosh I need to juice up the fertilizer barrel a little bit. Just for good measure, I sometimes add a cup or so of vinegar to try to compensate for my high PH water supply. And I throw some epsom salts in the barrel sometimes too as well as some hydrogen peroxide I happen to have on hand. I cant exactly remember why I do all that but I do remember doing something like that in the past and it seemed to work pretty good. I am kind of like the old herbal doctors who would feed a patient some kind of weed and if it cured the patient it was good medicine and if it killed him, dont use it anymore. So if I come on here complaining about all my stacker plants dying...all 352 of them....you will know that I squirted the wrong thing.......or maybe too much of the right thing......in my fertilizer barrel.



This message was edited Jul 23, 2011 11:57 PM

I cut mine with a plain old pipe cutter.
I have carpel tunnel syn. but I didn't
have any trouble you just turn it round and round.
Hope this helps. Yes I am talking about pvc
pipe.

Annie

This message was edited Jul 31, 2011 5:05 PM

Hi everyone!

I'm new to the forums and I've been browsing thru the discussions for 2 days now...lol

Where do you buy these stacker pots? I saw someone mention a co-op.. is there still one open or was that a one-time deal? Is there a DIY option like for the bucket EB's? I sure could use this idea in my yard to save space!

Thanks in advance for any info!
~Wendy

Here is one source for stacking pots..........www.theezgro.com. For another just google "stack-a-pots". A grow mix of 50/50 coir/course perlite works good for me in the stack pots. Actually, a mix of about 75% perlite and 25% coir will work good too. The EZgro company sells a mixture of about 80% perlite and 25% course vermiculite to use in their stacking pots.. I haven't got around to trying tapla's pine bark fines in the stackers yet but I bet it would work good also. The best source for coir in both price and quality I have found is www.hydrogarden.com. For more info on my adventures with stacking pots, hit the search button on this forum for posts by "Jaywhacker".