When is a container not a container?
Steven
2 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years agoSteven
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Container soils and water in containers (long post)
Comments (158)Al and Nathan, I hope that you don't mind my sharing a humorous story about Turface, that really highlights your points and underscores how respected a product Turface is in the industry. My son is a Turf Grass Agronomy major at a large Southern university, and did an internship last spring/summer at one of the major league baseball spring training facilities in Florida. Turface is used for excess water on the fields that occurs during rainstorms, especially those "popcorn" showers (downpours) that occur frequently in Florida. It has helped prevent many a game "rainout" due to its effectiveness. It takes many bags of Turface to do this (for one game), which can become a bit pricey---so it's a protected commodity in the baseball industry. During one sudden torrential downpour, the Grounds Crew quickly pulled the tarp over the infield, and then took cover in the visiting team's dugout to wait out the storm. The Turface bags were kept to the side in the visiting dugout, near where the Grounds workers were standing. The visiting team's pitcher had a bad inning just prior to the rainstorm, and came into the dugout kicking and throwing things, as they sometimes do. As he looked for things to use to vent his frustration, he eyed the bags of Turface to the side, and the Grounds workers caught his glance, and could tell that he was tempted to kick them, also. They immediately, in *unison*, said "don't even think about it!". Throw your glove, knock over some bats, kick the bubblegum containers over, but don't mess with the Turface...unless you want to take on the Grounds Crew... :)...See Morecheap containers for frugal container gardening
Comments (23)Hi all. Kind of new to the forum but I've been enjoying and using the tips. Thanks! My cheap containers: scrap plywood [free from a friend] screwed together into a 4'* 2' box to use for a raised bed; flea market galvanized tin containers, various shapes and sizes, drilled holes for drainage, most expensive one was $5 for a good size one; old bureau, recycled into a potting bench, used the leftover drawers to make a flat for bunching onions, added an unused window screen on the bottom so I could use it on the deck; tires from my mechanic [free, he was happy to get rid of them since they charge him to dispose], used to make a composter and planters; freecycled white plastic barrel, cut into 8" slices for raised bed, planted peas in them; flea market wire fencing [$5 for 50'] made a cage for planting potatoes out of 10'[about 3' diameter]. My neighbor never recycles anything so I've managed to get all kinds of pots from her, she finally got sick of me taking stuff out of her trash and now saves them for me!...See MoreContaining the Container
Comments (5)In my opinion, I don't think vents or air add much to the process. I have both vented and non vented bins and I like the closed system bins more to protect from flies coming to lay eggs. I do like a bottom that drains to the soil and helps worms to freely come if they wish. I don't like to imprison my worms. If you have a lot of fresh stuff near the top, I would not open the top. If the stuff is mostly decayed already and you are past the hot stage, there is harm in leaving the top open. I found flies will not lay eggs in my compost once it is a bit more aged. At the later stage you could even transfer to a wire type of bin for maximum ventilation if you have one handy. The need for air only comes after the compost is past the hot stage. I do think air helps, but not at the beginning. And for cold composting, such as mostly leaves and twigs, the more turning the better and the more air the better....See Morecontainer newbie needs input for soil/container mix
Comments (4)We planted tomatoes in "earth pots" that we made using Home Depot 5 gallon buckets and for other plants used plastic bins. We got the idea online. We drilled holes in the bottom of the bucket and took cotton clothesline from Dollar General, cut it into lengths and pushed them through the holes. We knotted the ends so they wouldn't fall out. Sat a brick in the bottom of another bucket that had drain holes drilled into it around the sides at a certain height and then sat the first bucket into it. Filled it with a mix of Jungle Soil and garden soil. Tomatoes went nuts! One place to see directions is www.instructables.com Hope this helps! Good luck! Val...See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years agoSteven
2 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoSteven
2 years agokitasei2
2 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agokitasei2
2 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years ago
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