Earthboxes, and Earthbox clones, the answer for growing in droughts?

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Hey Gantz! I wondered when you'd show up! Cascadia seems to be intent on making the Earthbox Guerrilla friendly, and I am developing a spin-off device I call the GSWD, its kind of a attempt to bring the advantages of the Earthbox to in the ground planting.

What do you think of the air-tight refill system I came up with? I figure its just the thing to extend time between visits for the Earthbox and the GSWD, I'll have a build with pictures up on the GSWD and the airtight rez sometime in the next couple days.

 

[Gantz]

Cascadia has also seen that an earthbox is easy to build and it helps you lessen your watering visits. It certainly can be buried and can be made from buckets to big rubbermaids... all and all it's easy to use, easy to maintain and it works like a charm.
There's one thing wrong with the whole picture: how do you get a 50 liter rubbermaid earthbox and the soil you need in a forest, off the beaten path, in that place where nobody will disturb your plants, without being seen?
There's also another question that i am asking myself: what size does it have to be in order for you to have to refill your rubbermaids once every two weeks, when the plant is at the climax of it's growth during the hottest days in the summer?

your GSWD BC is nice and it reminds me of something similar we discussed in the past. It's easy and inexpensive to build but unless you use a container water will be leached by other plants, if you want to have an external reservoir then you'd better be prepared to camouflage it really well or dig deeper...your back will thank you for it.

silverback is going for simplicity and i love the idea of doing less in order to get more. despite this the device uses up all the water it has pretty fast and it's not the stealthiest thing i've seen.

but if we were to use your idea with digging a hole, using a bag with a hole at the end to prevent drowning and wasting water on other plants, also add some news papers for mulch and then add a underground version of silverback's system that isn't susceptible to being affected by the roots and is easy to refill...then it would be a good mix. we just need to test it (just like the other ideas) and see how we can fine-tune them and tweak them to get good yields with minimal technology and a little effort in a small number of visits....

....and if all of it would fit into one simple backpack....

 

[Gantz]

well....the earthbox, as shown in the video in my signature has a drain hole for the excess water . even if it would rain, you do have a lid with a hole for the plant to grow out of so no extra water will get in. but if you do not include a lid and let's say it does rain, the excess water would go out through the hole and into the thirsty ground around it

 

[Cascadia]

Hello Gantz! I also think the earthbox can be buried, provided it was not buried in heavy clay soil. If the soil was too thick and poor draining, and you got some heavy rains, it may be possible the hole the box is buried in may act like a tub and actually flood the box.

If many drain holes were drilled around the box(at the same level as the original), and the soil isn't to heavy, I think it may be just fine. I'm feeling good enough about this idea, that I think I'll be burying my earthboxes/buckets this summer. Most of the hills around my new home have a gravelly texture to them that should allow good drainage.

 

[cway]

Cway- Sweet plants! How long were they in there? Yields??

Hey Back Country



They were vegged one month and 4 plants yeilded like a 3/4 lb when it was all said and done. real easy just water every week once and your good to go..

 

[VirginHarvester]

I'm really glad I found this thread, I need it. Obviously if this is in your backyard it's easy, you just refill the reservoir when needed. But what if you are growing in a spot that is a hike away from a water source. In that case as soon as it dries out you have to refill it, hauling gallons of water to the site, right? Now, maybe you can cut off the flow so that if you are expecting a lot of rain you're saving water. The problem in my experience outdoors once plants get pretty big is that even with rain the pot doesn't collect much water because the potted soil is blocked by the plant. That's not a problem if your plants are in the ground because as long as the soil around the plant gets soaked the drier soil underneath your plant will absorb the moisture around it. But if you're in pots rainwater at some point doesn't do that much good wetting the soil in the pot deep. So that's just a watering issue I've found with outdoor pots away from a water source and I don't know any way around it.

So a couple questions:
1) how much good is one of these if you are growing outdoors away from a water source where you have to haul water to the site?

2) if you have a 5 gallon reservoir for water how long will it water plants for? If it's a month, that helps a lot. If it's only a week how much good can it do?

3) can you cut off the water supply when it's raining a lot then turn it back "on" when it's dry?

4) What if you have a lake somewhat nearby, could you use lakewater or sealed might that kind of water turn "rancid" or something?

This idea is really intriguing and I've wondered about something like this because it could solve a lot of problems if a few gallons somehow went a long way and especially if it waters from midway down where the roots really need the water because that water stays in the soil a lot longer and it's where the plants need it and drink from. I think of a lot of the water I put in the top of a pot as wasted just because it is soaked up by top soil never getting down to the roots.

Thanks.

 

[Cascadia]

Hello! I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.

1) how much good is one of these if you are growing outdoors away from a water source where you have to haul water to the site?

You will need to place it where you can get water to it as needed. You have several options, you could store water nearby in a buried reservoir, you could plant a easy hike from a creek or lake, you could plant a easy hike from your parking spot, you could run a hidden hose down a hill to the planter from a roadside. Just like in any other type of grow, you do need to be able to get water to your plants, it needs to be a integral part of your planning when growing in dry climates.

2) if you have a 5 gallon reservoir for water how long will it water plants for? If it's a month, that helps a lot. If it's only a week how much good can it do?

Well, its hard to predict how long a given size or style of Earthbox will supply water in a given climate, there are so many different climates, and so many different Earthboxes.

I envision making your reservoirs large for Guerrilla growing, even adding a external reservoir in the 10 gallon range in addition to the onboard reservoir. In my old home in Washington state, a 18 gallon tote earthbox with 10 gallons of soil, 8 gallons of water internal, and 10 more gallons external would last most of the summer unattended.
In the mountains of Northern California, where I now live, I'd say that same rig I just described would last at least a month, but I have not actually tried yet, so its just a guessimation.
I think 5 gallons would be enough for 2 weeks, maybe 3 in my new climate, but I'll go with at least double that water capacity.

3) can you cut off the water supply when it's raining a lot then turn it back "on" when it's dry?

There is no need to restrict the water supply ever. The Earthbox waters itself through the capillary action of the soil it contains, as the plant sucks water from the soil, the soil itself will suck water from one soil molecule to another. A constant flow of water moves on demand from the reservoir up the chain of soil molecules to the thirsty roots. If it rains, and the potting soil saturates to maximum water capacity, the capillary chain of water from the reservoir to the soil will stop, until the soil dries enough to make the chain move again.
Water is only moved as needed, a efficient closed system, thats the cool part of the design, the watering system can't malfunction or plug.

Another thing I should mention here is that most people use a sheet of plastic to cover the top of the planter, this acts like a mulch and keeps excess moisture from escaping or entering. Many do not use the mulch, I think I will use it on mine.

4) What if you have a lake somewhat nearby, could you use lakewater or sealed might that kind of water turn "rancid" or something?

Nope, since the plants are not depending in the water for oxygen(like hydro plants do), it does not need to be fresh. I've seen some pretty rotten looking water used on some great looking gardens before, its just not a concern unless the water is actually polluted with heavy concentrations of sewage, Fertilizer or Herbicide runoff.

 

[VirginHarvester]

Nope, since the plants are not depending in the water for oxygen(like hydro plants do), it does not need to be fresh. I've seen some pretty rotten looking water used on some great looking gardens before, its just not a concern unless the water is actually polluted with heavy concentrations of sewage, Fertilizer or Herbicide runoff.

I don't believe the water is polluted I just didn't know if anything other than "clean" water might produce some problems and bacteria, mold, fresh water algae that the plants couldn't handle. I don't believe there's much sewage or herbicide in this lake although there are some houses on it so who knows what kind of run off from their yards. But I could at least test the ph just to see where that stands. If def has wildlife living/thriving.

I can honestly say I don't understand the "mechanics" of the box. I would have to see a video of one being built. A problem I envision is growing multiple strains. If I had to have a separate earthbox for every plant it would be hella work. So maybe with one big earthbox-like tub I could get a few females which should mean that I would have to veg the old fashion way in pots then after they sex move them to an earthbox to flower. Otherwise I could end up with a few empty earthboxes at the site if the ones I start inside some of the boxes turned out male. I can envision one, maybe two earthboxes each with a couple females, preferably one box with 3-4 females of different strains. Hopefully I'm not making this too difficult, just trying to make sure I understand the semantics also.

By the way, what if I were able to plant at a spot close to this lake, say within 3-4 feet of the water's edge. I've always wondered how far away from the bank and how far below the surface moisture from the lake penetrates. Certainly it doesn't just stop at the bank, the soil at the bank has to be soaked and that has to penetrate somewhat into the soil surrounding the lake. If it happened to be on average three feet away and 2-3 feet down I know that after a couple months of vegging they would be almost self sufficient because of tap roots running down- and yeah, I have no idea where someone would get that information but am just wondering about that because I think I found a spot a while back where I could get some plants to within three feet of the lake bank.

Another thing this thread has really helped me with is the idea of eventually growing indoors but needing to be gone for a week or more. Unless the water reservoir has to be inside a grow space/tent it seems like I could build one of these and design it to be gone for two weeks IF I was very comfortable with my set up and had taken all the necessary precautions to prevent fire and other mishaps. Before I attempt anything like that I will def explore with experienced growers to find out what the real dangers are of leaving a grow alone for that amount of time. Another cool thing about this idea though is that done on a mini level even with no real grow going a mini earthbox could be designed that let you leave your moms in a small space for a week or more without worrying about them drying out and dying. If it's just powered by a CFL or two that would not be very dangerous at all.

Great thread for me because it at least helps me solve a dilemma I want to face in the future- maintaining a grow indoors but sometimes be gone for a week at a time, and how to possibly keep moms/clones alive for weeks at a time. I know I've heard hydro growers say you can go up to a couple weeks without changing water but that still leaves the possibility of mechanical failure of a hydro system or some other problem with them. Maybe they're very reliable, I just don't know much about them.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

hmmmm.

Do you guys plan on burrying these earthboxes.. they dont seem low profile above ground. What about covering the spout where you pour water in? is that necessary to keep pests away.. etc?

If you're going to bury one of these, definitely drill more drain holes and, for extra reliability, pour some gravel into the space between the bucket (where a drain hole is) and the soil before filling it in. This way the gravel acts as a filter for the drain and allows it to seep into the soil better. (Look at septic systems)

Yes, putting a bit of foam in the top of the pipe or covering it with a filter cloth would keep bugs out. Probably be a bit cleaner inside when you went to use it next time.

 

[Vol Funk]

It sounds like it's a good idea to use those 5 gallon earthbox up in a tree to shorten up the trips of climbing tree.

 

[hyposomniac]

It sounds like it's a good idea to use those 5 gallon earthbox up in a tree to shorten up the trips of climbing tree.

Dude, you grow up a tree? My friend and I were theorizing about that today, and why I found this thread. Any tips?

EDIT: Yet I miss the enormous thread dedicated to the exact topic.. fuckin dope I am.

 

[sugabear_II]

I have some tomatoes in one of these with potting mix / coco using epsoma brand organic dry ferts - 2 cups tomato tone and 1 cup plant tone plus 1 cup of dolomite - and they are going nuts look like hydro

edit: I have the store bought earthbox which I am using - has really nice built in wheels for moving about on my patio.

The tomato plants I have in it are really growing very well - looking like hydro in that they have very lush vegatation - the leaves also are wider and just super green and the stems are thick and green, not at all woody just like hydro - reminds me of ganja in a dwc bucket - If you have ever seen a strain grown in dwc and also grown in soil they you will know what I mean about wider leaves - it is like the fingers fatten cause they can take advantage of the additional light thanks to a ready supply of oxygen, nutrients and water to the roots.

I think the only down side to the earth box would be the ability to flush. If you follow the instructions you create a fertilizer mound on the opposite side of your plants - the fertilezer is protected from rain to make sure it doesn't leach into the soil too quickly - instead leaching slowly into the soil only moistened by the water wicked up to the surface.

Growing tomatos obviously I am not worried about flushing, but I would think if I had this system set up for ganja I would want to consider flushing at the end.

I suppose you could take off the cover and dig out the soil strip and flush from above.

The thread here is more concerned with the use of this principal to avoid watering - what is the general plan on feeding?

I would think that a heavy soil mix with lots of organics might not work as well as potting mix or coco/perlite mix in terms of even wicking and aeration which is key to the super growth potential of these setups.

Bottom feeding might be an option, but I always have heard that the bottom roots are the water roots and upper root structure is for feeding so this seems like it might not work so well.

Maybe some top feeding plus bottom watering and then just cut off the top feeding to achieve flush?

thoughts...

I am thinking of a friend who I think could benefit from using these with coco/perlite inside to extent his watering times as compared to hand watering - possibly with the trellis system that is also sold for these in a vertical arrangement.

 

[High]

Earthboxes work great.

 

[harold]

i would love to see more pictures of this setup in action

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

My Earth hole is basically a Earth box buried in the ground, since I used all Organic homemade potting soil, no flush will be needed.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Here are a couple pics of my Earth hole in action-

On May 28

August 26

 

[Fluss]

Great thing... Going to build my own this weekend for sure!

Found this GREAT PDF file, showing" how to make your own EarthTrainer (detailed)"

http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pdfs/EarthTainer-Construction-Guide.pdf

Hope my first post contributed something

 

[Gantz]

the earthtainer, earthbox and other simmilar bottom feeders are great and can be sucessfully used outdoors to lessen the watering trips...the only thing is that if you biuld it on the spot, add soil, water, soil, water...and so on to make sure that the soil is wet, it is impossible to move it afterwards so make sure it's in the right spot.

 

[High]

http://earthtainer.tomatofest.com/pdfs/EarthTainer-Construction-Guide.pdf

Hope my first post contributed something

Yes, TYVM for the file.

 

[Hemphrey Bogart]

Finally tried the earthbox and I'm happy with it so far. Building one would have been cheaper, but I just wanted to try it once to see how they performed.

Pictured below are two Querkles from clone. They've been in the box for about a month or so and seem to like it. FFOF with a bit of perlite added. I'm feeding them PBP, Budswel, and a bit of molasses and calmag from time to time.

I'm thinking about getting a few more of these boxes and doing an indoor coco run with them, but I want to see how it works outside first.