Startin' cleanup of the tower....needs to be scrubbed with bleach...in progress. I will edit this main post as needed to provide more detail as time goes on. Suggestions on what to put in it are welcome....but needed QUICK. This will be fully loaded and growing in the next 2 weeks under grow lights + natural sun in my sun room. Making room for it and thinking as i type this...
Definitely Lettuces, Maybe some kale and chard, perhaps some cherry tomatoes and a cucumber. Salad on a pole!!
I never knew how big some varieties of plants get until I started growing them. It seems to me this system would be hard to grow bigger plants. One of my tomato plants first yield last year was over 40. this thing would crash and burn from the weight of one of them. I tried the Floating system and it seems like Lettuce, spinach, flower kale may even be too big, regular curly leaf kale grows up to 4 feet high. I backed away and turned to raised beds. I've been doing raised bed gardens in my 12x30' greenhouse. I have 18 Collards, 9 Flower Kale, 11 Broccoli, 6 Cauliflower, 3 Swiss Colored Chard, Garlic and Strawberries. We went out last Saturday and gathered a leaf or two from each plant and ended up being able to feed the Family and Can 6 quart jars of greens. It's a week later and the plants are right back where they were a week ago. Sustainable harvesting is working very well! One of the beds has nothing but rabbit pooh and the plants are going crazy. The other is strictly Black Cow and Rabbit pooh, also going crazy, the Third bed has Composted soil and Rabbit Pooh, that ones doing better since adding the Rabbit pooh, but not as good as the others. the forth bed is 5 Garbage bags of Wood Shavings, 3 wheel barrels of Rabbit pooh, 1 Bag Potting soil and 1 bag of Black Cow, Psychedelic Mushrooms took it over, the Vegetables seem to be OK with it, but, Going to spray it with Lemon Juice to kill the mushrooms, their everywhere. We could conceivably eat off these plants till summer comes along and kills them.
If you notice the lack of size of the plants in these videos you can see what I'm talking about. Auqa- Ponics is definitely a good way to grow lettuces and spinach, and the nutrient delivery system is better, but the tower just wont work very well for much else. At $4-500.00 a pop you can build a ground based unit for that and get a better variety of Vegetables. Again stressing the size factor, some of the leaves on my Cauliflower are 12" wide and 18" tall. These towers would be good for the kids but for that kind of money they'd probably rather have an X-Box! These plants have been harvested 3 times already! Not trying to be wet blanket, but these towers are more of a hobby thing than practical survival strategy. The flower Kale is 1 foot in diameter and about a foot tall, the broccoli is almost 30" as are the rest of the collards, cauliflower. These plants are 60 days old.
I absolutely agree that the COST factor is a MAJOR factor...hence why I want to figure out DIY method of comparable results. I got a few ideas...stay tuned. The idea that his can be patented is absurd.... Here is a cool DIY system that caught my attention today... @kellory - note the guy loling the patent office.
I've been researching all day....my brain hurts... What's on my mind...and aboot to leave my wallet.... Lifeline Medicinal Herb Garden, (18 seed packets), organic Astragalus, Holy Basil (Kapoor Tulsi), Gobo Burdock, Mixed Calendula, German Chamomile, Echinacea purpurea, Elecampane, Evening Primrose, Brown Flax, Lemon Balm, Marshmallow, Official Motherwort, Stinging Nettles, Cayenne Pepper, Garden Sage, Official Valerian, Wood Betony and Yarrow. Four Sisters Seed Collection: 1 pkt each of Bean, Hopi Yellow; Corn, Hopi Blue; Squash, Yellow Crookneck; Sunflower, Hopi Black Dye. All organic Japanese Medicinal Herb Seed Collection (Ashitaba; Burdock, Gobo; Jiao-gu-lan; Shungiku; Yomogi), Organic Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei koidzumi). Source of healing chalcones, one of the bright stars of the herbal sky. Burdock (Arctium lappa). Gobo is the standard variety, producing clunker roots that are great when grated and marinated or sliced and boiled up in soups. Nourishing to the nth degree, this is an herb that helps one recuperate from illness, giving vital strength to the vital essence. Furthermore, in combination with Dandelion, it is a well-known treatment for drug resistant staph. Jiao-gou-lan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum), the adaptogenic cucurbit with leaves that contain ginseng-like saponins. Shungiku (Chrysanthemum coronarium). young, green leaves are excellent in salads or as a stemed vegetable. Very high in vitamins, alkalinizes the blood. Yomogi (Artemisia princeps). Japanese mugwort is an herbaceous perennial used for flavoring mochi, soups and rice. Does well in pots, and can even be dried and used as a smudge, very similar to white sage. Chinese Medicinal Herb Seed Collection (Dan-shen, Dang-shen, Gan-cao, Huang-Qi, Huang-qin, Ku-shen,Tou-gu, Wu-we-zi) [AUS/NZ NO] Dan-shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) is Chinese Red Sage. The dried roots are used to tonify the vascular system and are a well-known anti-stroke medicine. Dang-shen (Codonopsis pilosula) is a perennial climbing vine making ornamental dangling bellflowers. The root is a well-known ginseng-like tonic, sweetly edible and delicious. Gan-cao (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) is an herbaceouse perennial that makes the sweet root of TCM, used to harmonize Chinese herbal formulas. Huang-qi (Astragalus membranaceaus) is the well-known "yellow leader" that makes the deeply delving, perennial roots that are immune enhancing and help prevent illness and disease. Huang-qin (Scutellaria baicalensis) is Baikal Skullcap, one of the prettiest of all flowers, deep purple blue, with a perennial root that acts potently against infection and pestilence. Ku-shen (Sophora flavescens) Herbaceous perennial subshrub to 5 feet, native to China and Japan. One of the Chinese herbs that clears heat. Long racemes of cream colored flowers give way to generous follicular clusters of seedpods. Handsome and fun, like any good lover. Tou-gu (Impatiens Balsamina) is Chinese Balsam, the easiest germinator we know of. A perfectly brightly flowered plant in pots or garden, the entire plant may be ground up and used as a soothing poultice for treating poison oak or ivy, sunburn, dry skin, etc. Wu-wei-zi (Schisandra chinensis) is a perennial vine that makes the bright tasting "many flavored" fruits that are a potent adaptogen in TCM. *twitch*
This is a perfect system for Herbs! I saw people using it for landscaping the other day, It is beautiful and very tasty, Its leaves are very dense you harvest from the bottom up. their not as voluminous as regular kale but they continue to grow upward. i get more volume of food from my Collards, Broccoli, Chard and Cauli. That other system seems to be better thought out, lighting and size still a big issue to overcome. I have converted one of my sheds to a greenhouse for my Tropicals, Guava, Coffee,Papaya, Passion Fruit, Avacado, etc... and have 4 big grow lights in there and boy does it suck down power!lol The light doesn't reach down very far I have a big window in there so that helps. i never thought the 4 beds would be enough to feed us, buy its actually amazing how much greenage these plants produce. I'm going to build a small 2' bed all the way around and plant lettuce's next year. That's actually Garlic, but also works well for pest control! gets some rabbits! Great fertilizer and they taste great!
Actually, I see a fool flaunting the law on YouTube. He is laughing now, but may not in the long run. Depends upon how much damage he does to the patent holder's business.
I'm not at all sure that something like these wouldn't be adaptable. There's one pic in the bunch that looks pretty good for a door yard herb garden. strawberries in a barrel planter - Google Search
Absolutely adaptable. Drill some holes, fill with netcups and set up the drip system and return up pump. Still violates the patent...but others are as well.... Foody Tower Garden Systems | Foody Garden Towers Cheaper than the tower garden...($350) and holds more plants...(granted - smaller netcups)
Have you thought aboot switching out to LEDs? You could prolly save a fair bit on hydro....although the initial cost layout sucks. These suckers have wicked penetration but you won't find them on craigslist.. EXTREME LED Grow Lights | Hydro Grow
$399.00- $269.00. Absurd when a rail barrel like this is worth $15-$25. It's the labor of cutting and molding the slots that kills. I don't have many "full days labor" to fool with it. Thanks for the pic though. For $400 i could buy this... My 2015 garden budget is $1000 or so...i want to spend it wisely. Aquaponic Vertical Growing System | Foody Garden Towers
use a heat gun and some metal workers wide lipped vice grips... that should make the molding easier...
Staying on topic .....i'm doing an indoor aeropoinic/hydroponic garden tower under grow lights. It's set up - lights undecided - ordered some seeds and will have some decisions and a video to make in the next couple weeks. Soil ideas should prolly have their own threads - hydro thoughts and DIY nutrient solution suggestions would be great - especially if anyone on SM has hands on experience with this sorta thing.