A New Years Project- Stacked Cups

18 years ago

Happy NEW YEAR. If you have limited space available to grow in, or are thinking of growing some strawberrys, you might like to try the vertical stacked cup system. It is still a system in the process of being developed, but I invite you to join in the fun of playing with this simple design. Using a 1/2 inch pvc pipe as a mounting platform, 32 ounce cups are mounted at an off-set angle vertically. This is a simple and inexpensive project in it's basic form. I am using perlite as a growing medium, and hand feeding for now until I work out the final details. I have some pictures of this project, and if you have time, click on the link below and take a peek. chuck

Here is a link that might be useful: stacked cup system

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Comments (6)

chuck
Original Author
18 years ago
Up Date. Well, I was thinking how much simpler this project would be if I made some wire cup holders and mounted them on the vertical support. Then, it occured to me that a cheap plastic window mount plastic cup holder would be perfect to hold the large 32 ounce styrofoam cups. I only had one on hand in my old camper, so I dug it out and gave it a try. These cup holders typically cost about .25 cents each. I saw them at Wal-Mart for 4 for a dollar a few days ago. I will pick up a dozen and get them mounted. In the meanwhile, I took some pictures of how it looks installed on the vertical support. This time, I used 1 inch pvc pipe. Follow the link below to the stacked project web page and click on the UP DATE link to see the new pictures. Happy new year, chuck

Here is a link that might be useful: stacked project up date
dontsleep
18 years ago
Chuck I enjoy your posts. This is a great idea. Do you have any plans to add to watering/drainage?
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baci
18 years ago
Just a thought. The one inch pipe might be too small as the tower gets bigger for those in high wind areas. A three inch pipe tamped into the ground or other some reinforcement would be needed.
chuck
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi, I would like to work up some sort of system for watering and recycling the nutrients, but it might be a while befor I can get to it. However, I did add PVC tees on the tops of the vertical pipes, and ran some pipe across the tops joining them all together to help stablize everything. On the final set, I used a 4X4 post, and only mounted holders on three sides. My camera batterys are dead, so more pictures when I pick up some.
chuck
Original Author
18 years ago
re: my jan 22 post, I got some batterys for the camera, and have posted pictures of the top brace and the 4X4 post.

Here is a link that might be useful: top brace and 4X4 post mounting
baci
18 years ago
That pole is a great addition, Chuck. Out of necessity, I am starting to make a vertical garden for some of my soil based plants. We get some dreaded 40-60 mile sustained wind storms in my area, so winds and make me very nervous.
By the way, the first design would be fine for sheltered areas or indoor growers. It is a nice, inexpensive method. The post you added should stabilize the tower. Using some sort of concrete device as you said, would also be helpful. Using a bug-resistant wood would also be important.

A New Years Project- Stacked Cups

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