Photos....Finally

[mjb8743]

Hi all

It's taken a  while, but I finally have a photo album on Yahoo:

http://photos.yahoo.com/mjb8743

These pics are a little old, but I have more recent ones I'll be uploading soon.

I'm learning lots of lessons from this experience. Next year will bring a much better garden (I hope  )

Mickie

[ioiosotwig]

Quite a collection of EB's...  Too bad they don't offer a "Frequent Shopper" card, you might be in the BONUS round by now...

Do you hand water everything, or is there some automation hidden away?

[Ratrace142]

I enjoyed seeing your photos.

Ratrace142

[basjoe48]

Hi Mickie,

Your staking system intrigued me. Looks like some sort of metal stake or pipe pounded into the ground. Could you elaborate a little on what you used?

Thanks,
Joe

[Steve]

Nice photos!

How many EB's do you have?  Looks like quite many...

[Deejo]

Verrrrrrrrrrry impressive!!!
dj

[mjb8743]

Steve-

30 EB's... 16 with trellises
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Joe-

My trellis system:

(4) 5 ft lengths of 1/2" electrical conduit ( cheap, available in 10 ft lengths)
(3) straight conduit connectors
5'x??? nylon netting

Borrow a 1/2" conduit bender to bend two pieces at the midpoint. Using a piece of 2x4 to protect the end, pound the two straight pieces into the ground 5 ft apart. That's enough to fit 2 EB's between them. Connect the two bent pieces to form the top of the trellis, and string up the netting onto the top  legs.... a pain in the butt, but beats tying strings if you have a lot of them. Next, slip the top section into connectors already mounted on the side legs, and voila... finished. Depending how deep you sink the legs, you can have a trellis nearly 7 ft tall, and it stays very sturdy. If your ground is hard (mine is sand), you may want to saw the ends into a point to make driving them easier.

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ioiosotwig--
Yes... I hand water everything for now. It takes about a half hour. By next year I'll figure out something to be automatic. It feels a little silly standing there in the rain watering my EB's  . I agree that we need something more automatic.... this is really being a slave to the garden... that's not good  .

To make things easier, I bought a cheap watering wand... the kind that the head unscrews and has a on/off lever. This allows me to reach it into the jungle to the watering tube without my having to bend over. I find that the change in sound tells me when it's full.


This is really an adventure...

[ioiosotwig]

I have pounded flat the ends of conduit pipes (5lb Hammer will do it easy), and they will pound in like butter.  If they are left open, it seems like you are trying to take a core sample of your ground.

Thanks for the details!

[Diana]

Mickie,

What an Earthbox garden!!!!
 

Waytogo!

I dream of having at least that many EBs someday.
You're doing great!

Diana

[basjoe48]

Nice Mickey...I love the improvisation  !!!

Sounds like you used "EMT Conduit Set Screw Couplings".


  

If the EB people just sold the outriggers and box clamps separate, you could do the same thing and have a mobile EB at the same time by buying your own casters.

I've been reading the plastic tees that come with the EB staking system are not holding up in extreme heat. This certainly eliminates that problem and waaaay cheaper...KUDOS!!!  

[mjb8743]

Right on... That's exactly what I used. I should mention that these trellises are about 12 years old now, a bit rusty, and have served me well. I have no need to afix them to the EB's since they're sunk in the ground quite solidly. Sometimes I use wire ties to anchor adjacent trellises to each other for further stability in bad wind storms.

As for mobility... out here on sand, casters would not be practical.... better for the patio/deck folks.

P.S. I found a source for a slip-in tapered connector that uses no screws... looks sort of like the barbed straight hose fitting, only metal with a diameter to fit inside the EMT. Mybe next year I'll replace a few of the rustier units and try these out.