thanks guys. this year is just a for experimentation although i have found a few places on the internet that say as long as the tubes are pretty high (like mine which are 3 feet) then i may be ok. my thought process is that the only root that will hit the really wet deep soil is the big tap root which wil love the water and the great nutrients that are in my swamp. The PH is almost perfect in the water and the muck is just a nice decaying plant life. thanks for the kind words tho, i honestly am just having alot of fun. i check my plants everyday and they always seem bigger and happier than the day before so at the moment i am very positive! Oh and the plants are all a solid 4 inches with 4 leaves and new leaves biginning to grow.
I'm gunna have to try this next year. Got a swamp in the valley I live in, its totally secluded. Good luck on your grow, hopefully you find a good way.
hows the other new england grows going? My plants are all still alive and look healthy but are growing rather slowly because of this shitty weather we;ve had the past 10 days. all this rain and clouds sucks. The plants all look good and arnt drowning which is a plus. Hows everyone else in New Englad doing?
What's up Gardener? I remember when you first joined I was surprised your member name was still available. A couple months ago a nube showed up with the handle "Jerry Garcia" lol. Man I'm really interested in this grow. Swamp tubes are old tech as you know and they have been used with great success in swamps the world over. Basically all you are doing is building up a pillar of dry land to plant in. That said, I anticipate low yields with this grow because I don't think your roots have enough room to spread horizontally. How wide are those tubes across the top? Personally I think the minimum for a plant that fully realizes its potential would be 18 inches or more. But that doesn't mean shit. It just means your plants will be smaller--no big deal. Sometimes monsters aren't possible or practical. What can you say about water penetration up the column of these tubes? How far down the tube must one dig before hitting sopping wet soil? Are you anticipating a grow that doesn't require watering? If so, are you prepared for fluctuations in the PH that may result in an ebb/flow flood/drain cycle? Good luck Gardener. If you have sufficient sunlight and watch out for pests, I have no doubt this will be a success. Rippers certainly won't be a problem. Have you checked out smartpots.com?
hey thanks alot! to answer ur questions, the tubes are a little less than 18 inches wide maybe about 15. I not too worried about them getting huge or not, more just for success. The tubes are about 3 feet tall and the water changes heights but at most is about 8 inches deep. during the summer is will be even less but there will always be water. I have checked teh PH a few times and its always about the same. it seems like it shoudl be fine. as for the watering i will water when necessary. once the plants get big i dont think ill have to water very ofter and rite now with the rain i havent waterted them at all. i think i will only have to water when we have a heat wave in august. all the plants are still alive and doing well. up to about 6 leaves. They are growing a little slow i think but thats becuase of the rain. the conditions havent exactly been perfect, but they seem healthy and happy so no complaints.
This Your environment looks to be succeptable to excessive moisture which is a key ingredient in most sorts of rotting. you might want to poke holes in the container to allow it to drain out as best it can (and even allow for some moisture to evaporate out the tubing) you might even get away with Xplanting the bitch to the immediately surrounding highlands (those that arent in the basin of collected water) looks promising ive got my stuff lying in and around swampland myself. and i'm in MA
quick update. Heres a few pics, its crazy how green it gets out there compared to just a month ago. Ill post better pics sometime soon when i feel like taking my real camera out.
In the nursery do as we do for mositure control & evap problems, in your tube place some pvc 1/4/ inch in diameter around the plant(s) upright and these tubes will allow excess moisture to escape and therefore evaporate. On the bottom of these tubes that will go into the soil, drill holes. About 4 should suffice. Its the chimney effect. You may also create holes in the sides of your grow tube but be sure that if/when the swamp water rises for rain that it won't enter, you would have to ensure that they are well above the water line. Peace, FG
Hey guys. Thanks for all the suggestions and help. everyone is worried about my plants getting too much water but here is a picture of my biggest plant. Its in my lowest tube and is getting much more water than the rest of the plants but its growing awesome. Its getting tall but its stem is also very sturdy. the roots have definitly reached the ground swamp but its still loving it. so im going to try poking some holes in a few of the tall tubes but it seems to me like the plants are loving the water.
I'm loving this! I'm having the same results so far, the plants with their roots in the swamp water thats supposed to kill them, are doing the best. Go figure Keep it up man, I hope you do well.
so im now a little over a month into my first grow and i have already learned alot. I have 8 plants that range in size from about 15 inches tall to about 6 inches. I have been worried that the plants would get too much water and die, but i was entirely wrong. My 2 tallest plants are in my two shortest containers. The roots had a little bit of dry soil but seem to florish once they hit the wet deep soil. Today i even cut one of my swamp tubes down to a shorter size. if the plant in it begins to take off then i know that height actually isnt as important as i thought. After the rain we are supposed to get for the next few days i will go out and take some good pictures of each of my plants. oh and one last thing. my 9th plant is still alive in a tube but its off to the side and for some reason is getting eaten alive by bugs. im not sure why since none of the rest have been attacked. so im just gonna cut my losses and not try to fix it, im just glad its only 1.
wow what an awsome way to start a first grow. never seen this but its pretty interesting. a lot of people are saying root rot but so far it looks like thats not a problem. are you planning on using any ferts for your grow? best of luck man, ill be here watching
thanks for the reply. and yes im planning on some liquid organic ferts but im not exactly sure what kind or when. i actually just posted that as a question in the outdoor grow section. i dont no if ill be albe to find the nice companies alot of u guys use like fox farm so im just trying to figure out what i should be looking for in the fert. like is the fert designed for flowers or for vegetable growing. well thanks for the kind words.
hey guys so im about to add some ferts to my ladies but im worried about adding fish emolision because i heard it attracts animals. since my grow is in the middle of the swamp there are always lots of animals that pass through like deer, coyotes, otters, and shit liek that. should i just stick to worm castings?
Fish emulsion is a liquid, easy to add. Worm castings are a solid - not easy to add to an existing plant in soil.
not sure exactly tea means. i read the stickies and they too talk about worn castings tea. but does that mean i take worm castings and put them in a coffee filter? lol
not a coffee filter. im pretty sure you take your composts and worm castings and shit and put it into a pillow case, soak it in a large amount of hot water, let it sit for some amount of time, than ready to feed. i think thats what you do. not totally sure...