Hey, guys/gals. I'm currently growing flowers in 4x 20 gallon pots. They take up the entire space of my grow tent and I'm thinking about switching to one big bed instead, but one that provides me with some space to walk around or trim. Any suggestions? What are you guys using? Cheers, Zack
I dunno about space to move around lol, but I put a 100g smart pot in a 4 x 4 tent. The ones I use are 38" in diameter. hth, P-
I'm not growing in a tent, but my 36" diameter #50 Big Bag Bed Jr. fits in a 42" kiddie pool and is on a plywood disk with casters so it can be rotated. Would probably fit nicely in your 4x4 tent. I've had as many as four plants and have grown only one with no discernible difference in yield. Instead of walking around in your tent, you'd be able to rotate it from outside. Here's a look at it this past weekend.
The 100g smart pot is 20", and I think I filled mine to about 16". I tried to get kiddie pools for my current project, but the pools were 34", and I needed 38" - murphy's law lol. Really like the rotating disc. P-
Yeah? The Big Bag Bed Jr. is 12" x 36". At first I thought it might be a bit too shallow but so far, it's served me well. There should be a lot of kiddie pools available as summer winds down.
The only real issue I've seen with more shallow beds is the need to stay up on watering. I'm jealous, your pot and kiddie pools are awesome. I don't have a lot of choices around here. Kind of planning on going with a homemade tray using some heavy duty plastic draped over the trellising frame. Om shanti, P-
The last several runs I've used Blumats to water but this run, I'm using the Blumats and I'm pouring a 3.5 gallon bucket of water weekly into the kiddie pools to augment my watering. When I set the beds up, I dumped red lava rock into the bottom of the pools before filling the fabric beds with soil. It acts like a huge SIP when I bottom water the plants and I'm pretty satisfied so far on the outcome. If you make some homemade trays, you might consider waterproofing them with one of the liquid membrane systems designed for shower pans. I'm a tile setter by trade and these membrane systems will make a tray or receptor completely watertight. I had originally considered using 40" x 40" pallets and plywood to construct watertight "pans" to accept the fabric beds but the square shape was prohibitive for my space. There are several different liquid products that offer a complete, watertight monolithic membrane and my plan was to waterproof the plywood pans. The best I've used is Laticrete's Hydro Ban, but Custom's Red Guard and Mapei's Mapelastic Aqua Defense all work well.
This is incredible and just what I was looking for. I'll have to order some casters and make a trip to Home Depot.
You're in luck! Home Depot has casters! I installed the casters about 10" in from the edge to center the load better and not risk it sagging in the center, I have 2 of these units and put 4 casters on each one. Is your tent going to be set up an a hard surface? If it's on a carpeted floor, you might want to consider putting the other half of the sheet of plywood from your disk under your tent so the disk will spin effortlessly..
It's on hardwood floor. In my bedroom actually. I'm only able to access one side of the tent, so this will be extremely helpful.
How durable are these membrane paints? Can I paint a pan and turn it into a sip with lava rock, or will the rock destroy the membrane over time?
There's a couple of ways to approach it @Sc00byD00bie . They make a polyester fabric specifically designed to reinforce the liquid membranes. If you were to roll out a thick coat of the liquid membrane then imbed the fabric in the waterproofing material and immediately apply a second coat to fully encapsulate the fabric you'll end up building up the mil thickness. Apply even a 3rd and fourth coat alternating roller direction between coats for further buildup. You could also just roll out 2-4 coats and after it is dried, cut and fit a piece of heavy duty permeable weed matt to place the lava rock on as a protective buffer. When we do outdoor decks and mezzanines upstairs, we really have to take care to insure the surface is properly waterproofed and all of these materials are rated for these applications. You'd be amazed at how durable these materials are and especially if they get on your clothes or tools!
Sweet! I fully plan on getting blumats setup here soon. Being where my space is located, it wouldn't be the end of the world if some water escaped the trays. I had even thought about not using any trays, but I also wanted the pots to be able to suck up a little water if needed. That is a really cool idea about the membrane though. I'll have to keep that in mind for other projects! You're always full of good info Chunk! P-
@Sc00byD00bie ,@Patanjali , I should probably mention in this discussion another option for you if you're considering square or rectangular waterproof "pans" . In the tile business, 9 outta 10 pans we do are with a pan liner sheet product that we buy by the lineal foot. This material comes in 4', 5' and 6' widths on a roll and we buy it oversized to allow the liner to be folded and ran vertically up the base of the shower. We have a special way to fold and glue the corners so there are no cuts or penetrations and it makes a watertight receptor. Here's a pic of the product local to me from HD but I've used about all of them. And here's a pic of an installed pan (this guy really did a great job)
@Chunk do you recall back in the 70's shower pans were made from a sheet material ~1/4" thick and was something like asphalt between two thick layers of some kind of material. we'd fold those corners like you described, nail it to the studs with roofing nails, and both slop mop the entire surface area with molten tar and then pour the bottom about 2" thick with tar - right up below the drain. we were the plumbers putting the pans in and the poor tile guys were of course the last ones in to do the finish work on top of what we had laid down. that was then current building code lol. somewhere on the time line of the last ~45 years i'm quite sure 100% of those type pans have been replaced. the new materials you reference are so much nicer to work with. .... stumbling down memory lane with the smell of molten tar wafting in the air
AFAIK, they're still doing "hot mop" pans in So Cal where I cut my teeth in the tile business. When I moved to Central Oregon in '89, I had to relearn my shower pan skills with the membranes. Shower pans are supposed to be pre sloped prior to installation of the membrane to allow water movement under the concrete shower floor. With the hot mop pans, this was accomplished with 3 tab roofing shingles under the tar and 30# felt roofing paper. We accomplish this now by "pre-floating" the plywood subfloor with a sand-cement mix to get 1/4" per foot. We then install the liner, more mud and finally tile. Once the liner is installed, we put a plug in the drain and fill the pan with water and call for a plumbing inspection on the pan.
I like this liner thing but I assume it doesnt come with that hole in the middle? Do you think this is a good product? www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HEC426/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
No, The hole is cut to the drain. There is a flange below the liner that the drain top bolts to. The drains are positioned differently in just about every shower and hole is cut once all the sides are determined and the corners folded. That product is the same as I buy at the local Home Depot except I usually buy it off the roll because it lays flatter in the receptor. If you get the folded product, lay it out in the sun for awhile and let the folds relax before installing it. It's a bitch to use in cold weather in an unheated house. I have a heat gun to help fold the corners.