[BACKCOUNTRY]

Silverbacks Watering collar has given me a idea for a reliable system for refilling the earthboxes internal reservoir from a external reservoir. Essentially you have a large bottle or other airtight container that is turned upside down and connected to the earth box by pipe. The end of the pipe is positioned so that the end is just below where the highest water level will be in the earthbox. When the earthbox is full of water, no air can enter the pipe, meaning no water can drop from the external reservoir. When the soil soaks up water, the water level in the internal rez will drop, when it drops below the end of the pipe from the external rez, air enters the pipe, travels up to the external rez, exchanges place with the water, allows water to flow down the pipe into the internal rez. When the water level in the rez reaches the pipe from the external rez, water flow stops again preventing wasteful overflow.

Post that idea up after youve worked your way though it BC and let the rest of us know your thinking.. There are a bunch of us that have benefited from your thought process and experiments.. In doing the initial research for collar design we used a number of resources, but a compilation of your threads and drawings were one of our primary resources. Your trials and discoveries of concepts that seemed to work and those that didn't put us light years ahead when we started..

[wisco61]

With that idea BC you might as well have 4-2 liters, one in each corner I'm thinking. Though I suppose they would have to be all perfectly level to function correctly? Also, if you had the pipes go into the water, but then had a hole drilled in the side of the pipe at the max water level, would that make it more of a gradual top off? Just thinking of surface area exposed of a 1/4" drilled hole as opposed to the whole bottom of the pipe. I'm baked so I'm surely overthinking it.

[eclecticshaman]

Do you think its safe to grow with straight coco in these earth boxes? along with putting the neccesary nuts for a coco mix?

[wisco61]

I think the only issue would be increased water usage. It is my understanding that given equal environments, a 2 gal pot of coco would require more watering than a 2 gal pot of soil.

This thread in the Coco growers forum shows a pic of soil vs coco when left 7 days with no water. Coco on the right

[eclecticshaman]

thanks that pic helps alot.

so if you were to use coco with the earth box you may just have fill the resvior at the bottom 2-3 times a week instead of the average one fill up a week when using soil?

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Here is a drawing of my latest idea for extending time between watering visits-

The rez used for this must be airtight, a tote with the lid sealed with caulk or epoxy, or a bucket with a air tight lid for example. A hole with a removable plug should be installed in the lid for refilling, and a nipple needs to be installed near the bottom of the container for connection to the earthbox.
The red is a hose or pipe extending from the external rez, into the earthbox, it then runs straight down to the internal rez, and sits just below the maximum water level of the internal rez.
When the earthbox soaks up enough water to lower the level of the internal rez below the end of the pipe, air can bubble up the pipe to the external rez breaking the vacuum that holds the water back and allowing water to fill the internal rez. When the water level rises above the end of the pipe, the exchange of air for water in the external rez stops, and the flow to the internal rez stops.

What ya think?

This same style reservoir could also be used for feeding Silverbacks Guerrilla Collar, and would allow for peak efficiency with that system.

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Yep, yep, I can see what you mean, thats one of the main downfalls I can see about the Earthbox, it can't be totally buried.


I suppose a guy might be able to figure out a way to get the planter below ground level without being in danger of having a flooded planter, if you are planting on a hillside. Perhaps if a space was left on one side of the hole to provide ventilation, and if a small ditch was dug to allow excess water to drain out.

A pipe could lay in the ditch and be buried as well.

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I was spending some spare braincells today to explore the various configurations Silverbacks Guerrilla Collar could take, and I came up with this idea, it kinda borrows from both the Collar and the Earthbox. It has the advantage over the Earthbox because it allows you to bury it completely, and also allows you to plant straight in the ground, allowing the plants to also send out roots in other directions.

This would need to be used with a airtight, non-collapsing reservoir, 5 gallon buckets come to mind.
A by-product of the device would be Oxygen provided directly to the roots deeper in the hole because of the need for air to run the refill system.

What does everyone think??

[wisco61]

My only thought is that's getting to be a lot digging. In my sandy soil it wouldn't be bad, but in some rocky/clay soil, that could turn into one helluva job. Though, its worth it considering the value of the plant you could grow with this.