CanisMinor
New member
Hello again ICmag. Old grower, new account for legal distinction.
Question:
For those of you with organic/no-till beds indoors, what is the weight of those beds at their maximum?
In the past, I used 4'x8'x10" beds sitting on a raised platform above the floor. They used about 1 cubic yard of soil each and total weight was never an issue for those particular platforms. However, in this particular buildout, the business' production style is dependent on the maximum weight.
After years of growing organic beds, you'd think this information would be readily available but I have never paid attention to the physical weight of a the rootzone at its maximum -- typically the process involves building the bed and filling it.
By the Math:
Let's assume that each bed can hold 1 cubic yard of soil. Starting with an extreme like planting into 100% worm castings tells me that one of those beds loaded with plants, blumats, etc, is going to weigh about 1,300lbs-1,400lbs without watering (assuming worm castings weight 1,200lbs/cuyd).
If worm castings can hold appx 3 times their weight in water, we would be looking at around 4,000 lbs per bed.
However, the bed wont be made of 100% worm castings. The mix will be lighter with more air-filled pore space from char, perlite, volcanic rock, etc.
If a typical peat mix weighs about 1lb/gallon and I add 20% castings that weigh 7oz/cup, the same gallon will then weigh about 2.5lbs. This soilmix at 1 cubic yard = 500lbs. Holding 3x its weight in water puts the maximum capacity at 1,500lbs.
What would help:
I fell into a rabbit hole yesterday trying to figure out bulk density of organic media, looks like there's some disagreement on how to gather those measurements. But now I'm unsure of how to calibrate this calculation. Can you guys tell me if I'm on the right track?
Would anyone know how much their own fully-loaded beds weigh and you be willing to share specifications?
Thank you for any help!
Canis
Question:
For those of you with organic/no-till beds indoors, what is the weight of those beds at their maximum?
In the past, I used 4'x8'x10" beds sitting on a raised platform above the floor. They used about 1 cubic yard of soil each and total weight was never an issue for those particular platforms. However, in this particular buildout, the business' production style is dependent on the maximum weight.
After years of growing organic beds, you'd think this information would be readily available but I have never paid attention to the physical weight of a the rootzone at its maximum -- typically the process involves building the bed and filling it.
By the Math:
Let's assume that each bed can hold 1 cubic yard of soil. Starting with an extreme like planting into 100% worm castings tells me that one of those beds loaded with plants, blumats, etc, is going to weigh about 1,300lbs-1,400lbs without watering (assuming worm castings weight 1,200lbs/cuyd).
If worm castings can hold appx 3 times their weight in water, we would be looking at around 4,000 lbs per bed.
However, the bed wont be made of 100% worm castings. The mix will be lighter with more air-filled pore space from char, perlite, volcanic rock, etc.
If a typical peat mix weighs about 1lb/gallon and I add 20% castings that weigh 7oz/cup, the same gallon will then weigh about 2.5lbs. This soilmix at 1 cubic yard = 500lbs. Holding 3x its weight in water puts the maximum capacity at 1,500lbs.
What would help:
I fell into a rabbit hole yesterday trying to figure out bulk density of organic media, looks like there's some disagreement on how to gather those measurements. But now I'm unsure of how to calibrate this calculation. Can you guys tell me if I'm on the right track?
Would anyone know how much their own fully-loaded beds weigh and you be willing to share specifications?
Thank you for any help!
Canis