Do-It-Yourself Wall-O-Water
jkirk3279
18 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (29)
atillathepun
18 years agoalbert_135 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
18 years agoRelated Discussions
wall o' water
Comments (1)Patty, right below the Frugal Gardening forum heading is the Garden Experiments forum. You should post this over there, those guys are up for anything. They've tried some wild experiments and then they report how it went. It's very interesting reading. But to answer your question, yes, I think it would work and I would probably put a large clear plastic bag over the soda bottles if the weather as very cold. The advantage of the soda bottles is that they are significantly larger than the cells in the wall-o-waters and would stay warmer longer. They're not as tall, so if your plant had outgrown the tops of the bottles, the clear plastic bag would help keep the cold out. Cheryl...See Morewall o water
Comments (19)I don't use Wall of Water devices because our land slopes too much and when you try to fill up the WOWs, once they're about 1/3 of the way full, they fall over and roll downhill. However, if I did use them, I'd use Gordon Graham's method. For those of you unfamiliar with Gordon Graham, he is the gentleman from Edmond, OK, who holds the record for raising the world's largest tomato, a record he has held a long time. And, because I know someone will ask, it was the "Delicious" variety and it weighed 7 lbs. and 12 oz. He grew it in 1986. Mr. Graham once wrote a little booklet telling how to grow a giant tomato, and Marvin Meisner reprinted the booklet in his Giant Tomato book (which is a really great book, even if you are not trying to grow a giant tomato). In the booklet, he described how he used WOWs to get some plants off to a head start. He also said that even though WOWs were supposed to keep the tomato plants warm down to about 19 degrees, he'd had them keep tomato plants from freezing when temps went down to as low as 9 degrees, although for extra protection he had wrapped the tomato cage in Reemay floating row cover material to help keep the plants warm when temps dropped colder than that 19 degrees. As best as I can remember, Mr. Graham said he put together a teepee of three 1" x 1" stakes. (These used to be sold in bundles in nurseries as tomato stakes. I don't know if they still are.) The teepee was sized to fit just inside the center of the WOW so it would keep the WOW from collapsing or falling onto the plant. Then he put the WOW over the teepee and filled it. He left the teepee so the WOW wouldn't tip over in the wind. He then put the cage around the WOW/tomato plant. I would imagine it was not especially easy to remove the WOW when the weather warmed up and it was no longer needed, and I assume he had help or he had to remove the cage in order to remove the WOW. The other thing he did that I found interesting was that he would stack a second WOW on top of the first WOW once the plant was as tall as the first WOW. I don't know if he routinely did that with every plant, or if he is only referring to his then-worlld champion plant (a Sweet 100 plant that was 53.5 feet long) or the plant that grew the World Record tomato. Once the second WOW was filled, if snow or sleet was expected, he'd roll up a ball of Reemay frost blanket material and sort of stuff it into the top of the WOW to keep the precipitation from reaching the plant. (Remember, he'd already wrapped the tomato cage in Reemay.) He never mentioned in his booklet exactly when he put all his tomato plants in the ground, but with the World Record tomato one, he wanted to get an early start, so he put the tomato plant in the ground a full two months prior to his average frost date, so that would have been in February. In his booklet he even drew an illustration showing the two stacked WOWs inside a tomato cage. Hope this info helps. Dawn...See MoreWall o Waters how to secure them in wind
Comments (25)This year, my WOW plantings will be later then in the past - my garden is under 2' of snow (first time ever in Feb). As such, I just started my seeds. Normally, I like to plant in mid-March, starting seeds in mid-Jan to mid-Feb, so perhaps I'll plant at the end of March. With a mid-March planting, I don't quite fill the WOW tubes, maybe fill 3/4 full, so the tubes close more at the top. They rarely seem to totally close, so if a snow storm comes, I take rubber bands and close the tops. When the storm passes, I remove the binders. As the weather warms, I fill the tubes completely so the WOW opens more. I think a tunnel would work better for my use, as I put out about 30 WOWs, tiring on the back!! Seems so much easier to just create tunnels. With tunnels, I could plant ALL of my plants early, instead of only the quantity of WOWs I have. I also lay black plastic near the WOWs. This serves two purposes - less mud to track around because we can walk on the plastic and it helps to warm the soil. Straw also helps retain the heat at the root area. I also think the plants grow incredible roots while sitting in the WOWs, or whatever product is used as a season extender. I have had plants get top growth damage from the cold/snow, but the advance on root development helps the plants recover quickly, once the WOW is removed....See MoreWall 'o Waters and hardening off
Comments (5)I use WOWs every year and I really like them. No need to do any hardening off. The WOWs will do that for you. I usually put out my tomatoes around May 1. No need to do it any earlier as the cold keeps them from growing anyway. They really protect the plants great. I even put a little extra water in them from the beginning so the top stays open a bit for a chimney effect. They can get really hot inside. You can prewarm the soil if you want but I've never done that and they work just fine. I usually plant the seedling, then turn a 5 gal bucket upside down over on top of the plant and put the WOW over/around the bucket and fill 2/3 of the way or so, then SLOWLY lift out and remove the bucket, and fill the rest of the way as needed....See Morebrendan_of_bonsai
18 years agoatillathepun
18 years agocheyjohn_z5
18 years agojkirk3279
18 years agocheyjohn_z5
18 years agojkirk3279
18 years agohabitat_gardener
18 years agochuckr30
18 years agotriple_b
18 years agowackyweeder
18 years agobarrie2m_(6a, central PA)
18 years agomaineman
18 years agowatermanjeff
18 years agoaliceinvirginia
15 years agocyrus_gardner
15 years agoheather38
15 years agorwig2
14 years agoGumpa
13 years agoweedlady
13 years agoGumpa
12 years agooliveoyl3
12 years agosnoggerboy
11 years agofwaid
10 years agoSeysonn_ 8a-NC/HZ-7
8 years agovbrown32
7 years agoHU-154573299
last year
Related Stories
ORGANIZINGPre-Storage Checklist: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Store
Wait, stop. Do you really need to keep that item you’re about to put into storage?
Full StoryREMODELING GUIDES5 Ways to Protect Yourself When Buying a Fixer-Upper
Hidden hazards can derail your dream of scoring a great deal. Before you plunk down any cash, sit down with this
Full StoryREMODELING GUIDES13 Essential Questions to Ask Yourself Before Tackling a Renovation
No one knows you better than yourself, so to get the remodel you truly want, consider these questions first
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESDecorating 101: Do It Yourself or Hire a Pro?
Learn the advantages and disadvantages of decorating alone and bringing in skilled help
Full StoryBATHROOM DESIGNLovely Little Luxuries: Pamper Yourself With Towel Warmers
Heat your robes, dry delicates and wet mittens — with these warmers around, toasty treats go beyond just towels
Full StoryLIFESimple Pleasures: Spoil Yourself
Renew your spirit by indulging in treats, quiet time and letting someone else do your chores for once
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNFind Yourself in an Epic Garden in the Shade
Feeling hot and tired gardening in the sun? The world of shade gardening beckons you to its cool mystery
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESTreat Yourself to Spring Blooms in Winter
Get a jump on spring with a fragrant pot of paperwhites and other bulbs indoors
Full StorySMALL SPACESCalm Yourself in a Former Hippie Commune’s Tiny Hut
Need to relax? Check into this simple, secluded lodging at a New Mexico retreat and say, “Om”
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNSteel Yourself: Industrial Kitchen Islands Are On a Roll
Sleek mobile islands can make traditional built-ins seem downright outmoded. Find the right idea for your kitchen
Full StorySponsored
steve116