Earth holes: A experiment in Guerrilla irrigation

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Mixing soil

Mixing soil

Well, yesterday I decided to take a break from tilling the garden, and mix some soil for my Earth holes. I want to get it mixed up and let it "cook" for a few weeks before planting time rears its head.

I decided to try using a 55 gallon drum for mixing, this drum was used for shipping food(no petro chems), and has a lid that can be secured tight with a steel band.

Here is a picture of my ingredients and the barrel-

And here is a list of the ingredients:

3.8cuft Peatmoss(would rather use Coco, can't afford the quantity needed)
5.7 cups Dolomite lime(approximately 3tbs per gallon of peat)
4 cups 0-2-0 Soft rock Phosphate
4 cups Kelp meal
4 cups 12-8-4 Seabird Guano
28 cups 3-2-2 Chicken manure
28 cups Down to Earth compost(a mix of several manures, Guanos, Worm castings, and other organics)

First the Peat goes in-

Now the Guano, Dolomite, Kelp meal, Soft rock phosphate-

Now the Compost and Chicken manure-

Now I poured in 6 gallons of water, mixing with a shovel as good as I can, then I secured the lid onto the barrel-

I rolled the barrel around the yard, flipped it over several times, opened it, mixed it by hand a bit more, and put the lid back on loosely. Every few days I'll check it, and remix it again, for the next few weeks until planting time.

I'll need to mix up another batch soon, as I am sure I'll need a bit more than this for all four Earth holes.

The wicks and the middle core of the earth hole will this potting soil in its pure form, the sides, top, and area of the hole below the emitters of the Earth hole will be mixed 50/50 with this mix. The parts where the potting soil is pure will ensure that the moisture is distributed to the rest of the hole, acting as the core of the wick.

Anyways, back to the tilling, rain is coming again soon, and clay soil can't be tilled when it is wet!

 

[North]

BC,

that barrel's a good idea for mixing. I use a 20x20 tarp, layer my ingredients on it, off to one edge, then fold the edge across to the other side. this tumbles and mixes it. unfold the "lite" edge flat again and repeat folding back and forth. it works well as long as you dont put to much on at once and have to bust a nut pulling on the tarp.
when I'm done I'll pile it all in the center of the tarp and let it sit for a few weeks, exposed to sun and rain, turning it by shovel every 4-5 days.

better keep an eye on that in the barrel, it might not be able to breathe well?! could get sour on ya.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Yep, the sourness possibility is why it will be mixed often, and the lid is very loose to allow breathing.

 

[Cascadia]

Thats quite a mix BC!

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Tomato test!!

Tomato test!!

It is a pretty rich mix!

This morning while running errands in town, I stopped off at the local hardware store for some various items. When passing through the gardening section I noticed some really nice looking Tomato starts for a reasonable price. Its a bit early yet to plant Tomatoes outdoors here with out frost protection, but I have a makeshift Greenhouse to hold them so I figured what the hell.
I selected 3 plants of different varieties, and on the way home I was thinking I should transplant them to larger pots, and then I started thinking about what potting soil I should use? Then inspiration hit me, and I decided I should use the soil I just mixed for the Earthholes, if the plants start going unhealthy on me between now and Earthhole planting time(a few more weeks off), it would help indicate the soil may be too strong or unbalanced in some way before more valuable cannabis plants are committed to it.

We will watch these buggers for a few weeks, and see if they like the soil...........they were bought in pint size containers, and are now transplanted to gallon size pots.

 

[BigTex]

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe someone already covered this, but here is what you are looking for so pay attention!

Get a plastic 55-gal drum and cut the top third off, flip it over and secure to the other part of the drum. The large part of the drum is your res. (about 35gal) and the small part is your soil container (about 15 gal). Drill holes in the "pot" and run cotton rope through up into your soil, that's your wick. Do about 15 or so. Also run a small piece of garden hose from the top of the soil to the res., add on a funnel and that is your fill tube. Bury to keep cool and for stealth.
Maybe that'll help you out. PM me if you want details. You can store as much as 35 gallons in this manner and not waste a drop! Might not last as long as you are looking for but it'll last for a minute or two. Pretty cheap to construct and will last for many seasons. It can be alot of work burying 55 gallon drums though.

 

[Cerb]

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe someone already covered this, but here is what you are looking for so pay attention!

Get a plastic 55-gal drum and cut the top third off, flip it over and secure to the other part of the drum. The large part of the drum is your res. (about 35gal) and the small part is your soil container (about 15 gal). Drill holes in the "pot" and run cotton rope through up into your soil, that's your wick. Do about 15 or so. Also run a small piece of garden hose from the top of the soil to the res., add on a funnel and that is your fill tube. Bury to keep cool and for stealth.
Maybe that'll help you out. PM me if you want details. You can store as much as 35 gallons in this manner and not waste a drop! Might not last as long as you are looking for but it'll last for a minute or two. Pretty cheap to construct and will last for many seasons. It can be alot of work burying 55 gallon drums though.

This was my first thought, as I have been toying with the idea of making a self watering planter with a couple 5 gallon buckets in approximately the same way. This seems like the best way to do it. It's a self contained, single piece that would be easier to haul than a multi-piece system. There's no need for the trash bags either, as the top part of the drum becomes your planter.

The only problem, as you've stated, is burying the beast. You could always make the reservoir and planting areas smaller of course, but it would still be quite the hole.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

Yep, I saw that 55 gallon drum idea in a article in High times like 10 years ago, it was probably the first self-watering planter idea I ever came across.

I'm more in love with the idea of using a soil wick as opposed to fiber wicks like cloth or rope, the idea being that when the water level does drop, the roots can follow the water down into the rez, so that they can continue drawing water just as fast as when the level was high.

I may do some some work on a rope or cloth wick version of my idea this year, but my main money is on soil wicks for this season.
Thanks for the reminder though, this is a season of experimentation for me, so perhaps I should test with cloth wicks as well, we will see how much time I have left after the main stuff is in.

 

[Cerb]

The only problem that I foresee is that if any of the roots get down to reservoir level they will most likely drown. Maybe I'm incorrect about this assumption, and the small holes in the bucket don't allow this, but it seems like you are effectively creating a water table just like those that you would find in soil naturally.

Mind you, a few dead roots aren't going to kill your whole plant, and I'm probably just not understanding what keeps the soil at water level from becoming fully saturated.

 

[BigTex]

I used the 55 gal drum and cotton wicks once. It's not that dry here though so it wasn't worth the trouble for me. It was a bitch burying those things!

Anyway get this backcountry after harvesting one of those drums I was scoping out the root system and when I grabbed the stem and pulled up the root ball a couple of the ropes came up with it (they were only knotted on the top side) because the roots had grown down the ropes. They wove themselves right around those cotton ropes! I used plain ole white cotton rope about 1" in diameter.

I think it was back in '91 when I read about making one of those planter drums. I experimented alot back then. I'm pretty sure it was in an Ed Rosenthal book, but I got rid of all my grow books years ago so I couldn't say for sure. Anyway good luck to you boys this year

 

[lunatick]

backcountry way don't u give the wet pot idea another shot.
if u can get a big ass terra cota pot,the bigger the better,instead of gluing 2 smaller pots and maybe without a res it will be a nice test.

i think that wile keeping some water in them(at least half)the soil+pot will wick that water to the upper half of the pot.

ive seen a few articles that show some very good grow rates(more then a wick system),some ppl use wet pots to grow trees.

i did try it last year(in a small scale)3" pot as a wet pot and a small 10l res and my basil plant did just great.

 

[Bass Akwards]

Cart before the horse ...

Cart before the horse ...

Where's this season-long water supply coming from?

Did I miss something? Will it be hauled in a backpack?

Using a small camo tarp and a container to catch rain water would be seem to be the essential missing element.

There's a lot to be said for thinking through a growing scheme, and every grower has to make his own decisions, but ... the amount of effort expended to build this thing, haul it into place, dig the hole, and then bury the contraption, would be much better spent finding other spots to plant.

If you're going to dig a hole that big, for crying out loud, just mix in some crushed limestone, several cups of Milorganite, and perhaps some kelp meal and dried leaves & grass from the ground. That's all you really need.

With just an ordinary Spring/Summer rain pattern, that deep, loose, soil will let the plant go deep enough to survive with minimal watering.

I never invest more time, effort, supplies, or equipment in any particular patch than I can afford to walk away from and never see again.

Growing one big, monster, plant can boost your ego, but I'd much rather have 10 smaller plants that took a lot less effort for the same yield.

Good luck.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

The only problem that I foresee is that if any of the roots get down to reservoir level they will most likely drown. Maybe I'm incorrect about this assumption, and the small holes in the bucket don't allow this, but it seems like you are effectively creating a water table just like those that you would find in soil naturally.

Mind you, a few dead roots aren't going to kill your whole plant, and I'm probably just not understanding what keeps the soil at water level from becoming fully saturated.

The soil at the water level will be saturated, thats the idea, then it will wick up to the main roots of the plant through the peat soil.
I don't believe more than the very tips of the roots will go into the water, I doubt the plants will put energy into building extensive root systems into a environment that is plainly hostile to them.
The plants will be allowed to grow as they please, this isn't being forced on them like a newbies overwatered indoor potted plants, I'm sure they will adapt to the various levels of water saturation.

I first envisioned something like this a couple years ago, but my inspiration wasn't Earthboxes(anyone who wants to understand this beast needs to study Earthboxes!), it was swamp growers! In swamp grows you provide a bag or pot of soil that stays above the water line of the swamp, the bottom is open to allow roots access to the water below. My first ideas along the line of the Earthhole was a attempt to reproduce a small artificial swamp for each plant.
I'm just so jealous of swamp/marsh growers, they usually have such nice grows, and this is part of the inspiration for the Earthholes, along with the Earthbox.

Anyone who is really serious about evaluating my Earthholes should make sure they have read up on Swamp grows and Earthboxes, they are part of the same family!

 

[BigTex]

Man I think your earthholes will work just fine. I just thought I'd share an experience I had with a similar device. Be sure and let us know how those work out for ya

 

[Gantz]

the plant will not drown for obvious reasons: as long as there are roots that come in contact with air, all will be well - and since most of the plant's root system is above the water you have nothing to worry about. that's why systems like this one work.

 

[lunatick]

so backcountry what about that wet pot idea,is it practical at all in your situation?

Pitcher irrigation can definitely be an interesting test in addition to the earth holes.

 

[BACKCOUNTRY]

What is pitcher irrigation?

I loved the idea of the Wet-pots, but they are so expensive to buy. Any while trying to replicate them by working with Terracotta planters, I found that the Terracotta used in planters must be much thicker than the wet-pots are, because the sweating didn't work as it should. Essentially I gave up on the idea for the time being until I could find better materials.

Don't get me wrong, I think Wet-pots have real potential, but they either need to get cheaper and easier to buy(plus they have to be shipped from Australia), or the right Terracotta container needs to come along to make my own from.

 

[Thundurkel]

Maybe try out Black Gold Waterhold Coco Blend soil it wicks up water real nice and holds water 2x longer than normal soil. I was thinking of using it in 5gal buckets to limit my watering trips and now I found your system you are making. The Coco Blend is 50% Peat Moss,Coco Coir, WormCastings,Pumice ... I think that would be perfect in this setup and would make your water last a lot longer

 

[North]

BC,

I think this will work out pretty well! I havent spent much time looking closely at it till now, since irrigation isnt really an issue for Me, well not to the extent it is for you.

 

[BigTex]

Easy now boys! Yall sure are high strung for stoners