Oregon Organic Guerrilla 2009, with your host BACKCOUNTRY

[coralreefer]

BC the King Earthhole the Bomb

BC the King Earthhole the Bomb

I used the 18-gallon tote method for all 4 of my fine young ladies and they have matured into beautiful busting women. I am out of town at the time visiting my lovely girlfriend, but will be back on saturday to get pics and throw them up. Have gone all organic and hopefully can find some money to get some nuts. Enjoying life

 

[theJointedOne]

ahhh the days of OG...that screenchot takes me back to the days of the great "Filter" tool. I mean you could read only what the thread author had posted, it saved alot of scrolling. Good luck this season BC, Love the ideas!

 

[BigTex]

Lookin good BC. Hope that kiddo is doing better

 

[Dr Dog]

This is one of the best threads going, great updates and great info

Much respect dude

 

[junior_grower]

I am damn glad your up and running this year. I was hoping to see a 500 plant monster grow but this is just as much fun.

 

[Sportster]

Hope last nights storm didn't kick yer ass too bad BC!!!

Hope all is well buddy...

 

[coxswain]

Great idea...its been around for years
Glad to see someone putting it to good Use.
My only ? is R U gonna leave all the "Stuph" ie Trash
out in the woods as Pollution?
or ?​

I respect people that care for ecology and environment. Still, I fail to see how a burried wooden container with small pieces of plastic would pollute environment. I'm sure if BK decides to stop growing he'll clean up after himself. If you're out in the wild as much as he is you're bound to love and respect the nature.

Cheers!

 

[Gantz]

let's see...one builds a setup that allows him to go about a week or more without having to water...would he just abbandon it there and never use it again??? not if he wants to get buds in the future...

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Thanks guys!

Sportster- The storm didn't hit my local much, a few thunderheads, but not much wind and no rain. I was not aware you were a member here, much less a Supermod, learn something new everyday!

Great idea...its been around for years
Glad to see someone putting it to good Use.
My only ? is R U gonna leave all the "Stuph" ie Trash
out in the woods as Pollution?
or ?​

Yeah, I spent all this time designing this, building it, and maintaining it, with the intention of it being "Stuph" in the woods.

It is true that I did not invent the thing that drives this apparatus, that being the soil wick, it is a very old idea, and one that works well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I have already observed, my Earth hole plant has become a much larger and healthier than my more conventional plants. Part of the reason it looks bigger is because it was accidentally topped early on(during a botched planting attempt at another location).

Usually I plant in Late April/Early May, part of my drive to get out as early as I can is to take advantage of the last part of the rainy season, before it slows in June, and ends by Early July. During my warm, moist May/June, my plants rarely need water from me, so these months are when most of my plants put on most of their size.
When the dry/hot season is in full swing(usually starts between June 15-July 4th), I can't get enough water to my plants by hand to sustain the fast growth of May and early June. As the weather get hotter and drier, the water I give simply keeps the plants alive and growing at a slow pace, until the plant switches to blooming around this time of year.

But the Earth hole allows me to cheat, since the plant takes the water it needs, as it needs it, growth doesn't slow, the plant does not get retarded by the hot weather, it just keeps booming! The only time I have been able to accomplish such nice plant growth before is when I've had plants very close to a water source, and lots of time to visit 2-3 times a week, but even then.........

Through the years, I avoided trying to create a system that was this involved, tried to avoid complicated techniques, but I see now that for a dry country grower like me, the efficiency and reliability of a soil wick driven planter like the Earth box or Earth hole is really a good way to go. I'm getting alot of bang for each gallon I give.

Starting next year, I won't be in such a hurry to get my plants started early for May planting. Instead, I'll be planting In June, considering that the plants should have no problem putting on the 3-5 oz each that I desire.
Being able to plant late will also make producing sexed females or clones easier, since I have virtually no indoor facilities of my own to use(I'm banned from producing starts in any building on my families ranch).

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Sorry man.....
I was really inquiring about the Garbage Bags....
digging them out and replacing them will be a PITA.
I would have thought Wooden sides for the hole like the Original design would work longer/better.
Ya already packed the Box in ?
whats 4 more pre cut pieces?

I know 2 guys who only use holes like this....
they r all downhill within 150 ft of Logging roads.....
they watered from a water bladder inside a Van....using a hose and a Transmission funnel.
they R out of the truck/watered/22 gallons @ each plant/and back in the truck...in 10 minutes.
Its a slick set-up.
They built wooded sides that Y I ask u about yours...I did not intend to upset ya

BTW ....
looks like they R workin Hard for ya....
Im in Wa.
and runnin the soaker Hose everyother day on my big plants outside

As far as what you wrote above, and your apology, its really not a big deal at all, but perhaps you should look on this situation and take it as a lesson, and take care how and what you post, because several other people here read it the same way I did, so its not just me. And if you were really sorry, you'd have just deleted the offending post and left it at that. Just a little friendly advice for ya.

This Earth hole will be dismantled at the end of this season, it was used purely to demonstrate and prove the idea, but easier, larger versions will be used next year.

No, I don't think the garbage bags will be a problem to handle, they are pretty tough. The next generation will be built from 18 gallon tote boxes, a 5 gallon bucket, a piece of pipe for the fill tube, and of course, a garbage bag. No heavy wooden parts, since mine are meant for packing to remote places, and not for simple side of the road refilling.

A few people claim to have seen things like this in action, but it always someone they know, and they don't have pics

 

[blackone]

Nice thread man, and nice plants!
In Denmark the "Maxikap" is very popular for growing vegetables in greenhouses. They're using the same principle as your holes:
http://www.pindstrup.com/en/hobbymaxikap.html

My mom grows some really serious tomato and cucumber plants in those - they really do work well. And noone is forcing the plant to send its roots down to drown in the water - that's why they don't get root rot (The same way hempy buckets also work great)

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

"Maxikap" must resemble the Earth boxes that have become popular in the USA.

 

[lunatick]

backcountry,it will be very interesting to see if the roots will fill the res,did u notice any signs for salt buildup?

btw i have some pics from a past grow with a small auto in an earthbox,however it was getting most of its water from a drip system.

if possible it will be nice to see if the roots will totally surround the terracotta pots.

maybe ill use a bigger pot+different shape wile using only one side of it(ill block the other somehow)in order to have a built in reservoir.

how many gal of water these specific pots hold?and do they always contain some water?

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

I have not noticed any salt build up yet, are you asking about the Terracotta "pitcher" plants or the Earth hole?

I intend to dig up the Earth hole and get pictures of the root system at harvest time, will help tell me more about how the system worked. I'll also dig up the terracotta pots and see how the plants reacted to them too.

I have several sizes of Terracotta pots, OR95 1 & 2 have 2 pots that hold about 1 gallon each, OR95 3 has one 2 gallon pot and one that hols about a pint.
The gallon size pots are always empty when I visit, even when I last visited only 4 days before, although they are usually still pretty moist inside. The 2 gallon pot usually has about a gallon left, and I suspect that it is not as porous as the gallon pots.
I'm not being as scientific with the Terracotta project as with the Earth hole, but I am pretty happy with the results so far. I intend to work on system based on Terracotta over the winter, something like the "Wet pots" that I've encountered on the net.

 

[esbe]

awesome karma cheers, i grew healthy monster big plants in the "Maxikap" boxes. plants and dog looking great!

 

[lunatick]

ty backcountry for answering in detail,my salt build up question was about the earth hole.

your plants looks great,especially that earth hole plant.

i went today looking for some big(3gal)tc pots but failed to find any,a diy wet pot system sounds nice,i made a small ver for my basil plants last year and they did great with low water consumption,as for myself i think ill have to use the blumats that i have and ill protect the water lines with a metal shower hose.

 

[WAMEN]

aw man , sorry for missing this thread

This thread reminds me of the old days when the outdoor forum was kinda like more "a few but good" thing with not so much people around and as always BC had some discussions about growing in dry climates, or guerrilla auto irrigation , swamp growing.. and all that , and its still the same!
look i found a little project i made for a thread we had going in 2006


This year i have been graced with a wonderful rain-sun-rain-sun kinda season and i realize how much more work you put into it having to deal with the extra hot and dry summer that you have. And the plants look always good, and the same.. oregon 95

 

[coralreefer]

I have the pictures and the proof that the 18 gallon tote with a 5 gallon bucket works. Wasn't sure if you want me to post pics of my grow in your thread though. I will gladly do it because you're the one who opened my eyes to this style of irrigation. Just give me the green light to post in your thread and I'll show you the proof.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

coralreefer-Go ahead man! I love to see these kinds of things!

WAMEN- Is that a planter for use in a swamp or pond? Or is it for use on dry land?

 

[WAMEN]

yes its the first option mate, its the swamp planter..