I don't know if this will work...

ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
So last grow I planted in ground...that had many issues since I was in clay. Soil was like soup every time It rained hard.
I however want to be able to access the native soil here tho which a fabric pot won't allow the tap roots through.
I do like the idea of root pruning so my idea is this... I will be driving wood steaks into the ground and tacking a tight mesh screen to the inside to form a box this year.
It will give the sides oxygen but will allow roots through to the bottom.
The steaks will be high enough that I can attach trellis netting from the top to do Some scrogging for both support of the plant and to get as many colas as possible.
I am very curious to see how this will play out but I think this could work.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
start working that soil...
Add a bit of biochar and compost to the top layer (or as far as you can till with a fork) Also add lots of calcium, bonemeal etc.
Then cover with mulch and give a watering with earthworm casting or compost tea every now and then to innoculate th4e soil.
Scratch any leftover rice into a pot and go put it under your mulch so it can ferment and grow fungus.
It will take less than a year to break down the clay and turn it into good soil. Remember to top up the mulch if it starts getting thin.
Also look at what you can do to improve drainage.

I've grown in those paper/clothy shopping bags you get, just place it into a larger cardboard box to keep the sun off the bag. Don't try to move those bags while they are wet and heavy...
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
start working that soil...
Add a bit of biochar and compost to the top layer (or as far as you can till with a fork) Also add lots of calcium, bonemeal etc.
Then cover with mulch and give a watering with earthworm casting or compost tea every now and then to innoculate th4e soil.
Scratch any leftover rice into a pot and go put it under your mulch so it can ferment and grow fungus.
It will take less than a year to break down the clay and turn it into good soil. Remember to top up the mulch if it starts getting thin.
Also look at what you can do to improve drainage.

I've grown in those paper/clothy shopping bags you get, just place it into a larger cardboard box to keep the sun off the bag. Don't try to move those bags while they are wet and heavy...
Click to expand...
I'm using 400 gallons of amended composted manure per plant this yr. We can get 12 inches of rain at one shot so I don't want to mess with in ground any more lol! It was a nightmare. So I want to try the raised bed.
I will be using mulches and teas.
The rice idea is really smart...thanks
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
I was gonna say, you might have to landscape your ground a bit so you have a terrace that can drain freely.

There is a 5 step fermenting thing you can do with the rice. I think it is trying too hard...
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
I was gonna say, you might have to landscape your ground a bit so you have a terrace that can drain freely.

There is a 5 step fermenting thing you can do with the rice. I think it is trying too hard...
Click to expand...
So point being is I'm making a garden box out of mesh screen ...
 
Indacouch

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
ganga gurl420 said:
So last grow I planted in ground...that had many issues since I was in clay. Soil was like soup every time It rained hard.
I however want to be able to access the native soil here tho which a fabric pot won't allow the tap roots through.
I do like the idea of root pruning so my idea is this... I will be driving wood steaks into the ground and tacking a tight mesh screen to the inside to form a box this year.
It will give the sides oxygen but will allow roots through to the bottom.
The steaks will be high enough that I can attach trellis netting from the top to do Some scrogging for both support of the plant and to get as many colas as possible.
I am very curious to see how this will play out but I think this could work.
Click to expand...
If I set my fabric pot on grass they are literally stuck to the ground at the end of the season......from roots growing straight through the pot into the ground..... My green houses are all sealed tight with slabs as the floor..... But I put seedlings into 5 gallon smarts and then I plant the whole 5 gallon smart into a 100gal smart .....roots go straight through no issues ....hope that helps in some way.....GL

You can always back fill your holes with good soil if you really wana be in the ground.....but Gophers suck

Again GL
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
Indacouch said:
If I set my fabric pot on grass they are literally stuck to the ground at the end of the season......from roots growing straight through the pot into the ground..... My green houses are all sealed tight with slabs as the floor..... But I put seedlings into 5 gallon smarts and then I plant the whole 5 gallon smart into a 100gal smart .....roots go straight through no issues ....hope that helps in some way.....GL

You can always back fill your holes with good soil if you really wana be in the ground.....but Gophers suck

Again GL
Click to expand...
Right on. I am positive my roots won't go through fabric... maybe some fine feeders but I get some huge roots lol
 
CaptainSnap

CaptainSnap

Well-Known Member
Yeah I can't even see the fabric of the five I sink into the 100 when I dump the root balls at the end if the season.
Click to expand...
This seems like a waste of money if you have to buy new fabric pots every season. To each their own but I never understood why people do this.
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
I don't want to use smart pots. If I do it this way I can just pull up the stakes and roll up the mesh and till the compost into the ground. At least the ground would become healthier when I am done lol.
 
too larry

too larry

Well-Known Member
When making your own pots, remember size equals soil needed to fill. It is easy to make big pots. Filling them, not so much.

Cylinder Volume {in cubic inches} = 3.14159265 x radius squared x height

. . . . and to put that into gallons, you would divide by 231.

So a pot 32 inches across and 18 inches high would be 62 2/3 gallons.

3.14159265 X (16 X 16) X 18 / 231 = 62.668
 
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