I grew Kale in the what was stamped 1600 and was 11.5" in dia at the top by 10.25" high by 9.75(+ or - a touch). I planted 3 plants in potting mix with SRF mixed in and they grew OK. I was cutting them pretty regular and letting them come back and I let them go for a little over 3 months. The ones I planted in 18 gal. totes are still producing but I really have them crowded to much. When I pulled the ones out of the round plastic pots the roots had pretty much filled it up, but I do not recall seeing a tap root. I plan to use them for brocollii this week coming at one plant per pot. provided I can find the seeds LOL

Here are several methods that I have used.1. drill a 1/4" hole in the bottom of a bleach bottle 2. cut a triangle piece of cloth 8" tall and 5" wide at the base --non cotton cloth only-I used an old sweat pants of a material similar to spandex-woven not fluffy on one side. 3.tie a piece of string to the top of the triangle about 1/2" down. 4. thread the string thrue the hole and out of the top and pull on the string in order to draw the cloth into the hole and make sort of a leaky stopper-the harder you pull the slower the flow. 5. screw on the top after filling with the string hanging out to allow air to enter..--- the cloth is the most critical part--some adjustment is always neccessary--the flow will slow down as it empties. II. the quickest way-not the most adjustable-- cut a 6x6" cloth -see above-make a pin hole in jug handle for air to enter fill jug with water-place cloth over spout and use screw top to tighten down on cloth to slow flow and adjust. III. drill a larger 3/8 hole in a 5 gallon bucket -cut your cloth larger and with extra cloth to act like a filter when folded inside the bucket. I get 2-3 uses from my pond befor I have to pull it out -rinse it off and reinsert--I use a forked stick to hold the folds down over the back of the hole to act as a prefilter. IV. 5 gallon bucket--lenght [say 6 ft.] of 3/8 inside diameter clear plastic hose-from hardware store-drill a hole near bottom of bucket the outside diameter of your hose-insert the hose in the hole 1/2" now find a old ball point pen unscrew the front from the back and insert the front into the 1/2" of hose to wedge it in place and make it a water tight seal.- cover this water outlet with several layers of sheer curtain type material held down wit a forked stick to act as you filter. --to controll the flow at the plant end you can try another ball point pen inserted into the hose as before but this time take out the ink cartridge and rescrew the top back on -loose for more flow tight for less flow-- adjust with a cloth filler for better controll. I hope you can use one of these as is orpart of one to design your own. Good luck!

I think one piece of tape, usually on the side opposite the hinge side, should be enough. If you are like me and look in (i.e. pick up and put down) your jugs almost every single day for sprouts, even in the dead of winter, lol, then you may want a bit more tape, since the jug takes a lot of jostling. Some of my earlier-sown jugs I will tape all around the cut, but for the later-sown ones (since they are not exposed to as much weather or as much jostling by me!) I will use just the one piece of tape. I WS my zucchini, usually in April (I guess not technically winter, but I use the method). I don't grow acorn squash, but if I did, I would try it by WSing. Never tried leeks, but again, would certainly try it by WSing. Dee

I know you don't need a tool, but I'm glad I finally got one. I can do thicker things with it, with the hot knife tip cut out the bottom of a dozen pepsi bottles and put irrigation spikes on them. And believe it or not, it was slow going. I cut out the bottoms so I could fill them with the hose and not have to pull them out, unscrew, and fill every time. Plus I tried a milk jug once w/a slit, and with the cap on, it collapsed in on itself so figured the bottles might do the same. They also catch rainwater. After a lot of fiddling, I put sand in the spikes, but they still get clogged after awhile, not nearly as bad as w/o the sand, got the idea on another forum. Yes, they're ugly some would say, but I do whatever makes things easier for me, just pulled them and brought in for the winter. Plants conceal a lot of them. I used scissors to cut the top around the gal jugs, start a slit with an exacto knife, have a huge bag full of some I'll just clean out, bleach and use again. Whatever works for people is fine with me. I've got a bunch of kitty litter buckets I'm going to cut holes in to try to grow just a few veggies. That stuff is too thick to cut so will use the hot knife attachment or if that is too tedious will try a drill bit, think the hot knife will work best if I don't force it and am patient.