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Pvc set up growing


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Old 09-14-2016, 11:48 AM
Tommy2525 Tommy2525 is offline
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Default Pvc set up growing

Hello I am building 6 pvc set up in my garden going have 2 pipes strawberrys 2 pipes raspberry and 2 pipes blueberrys these are reli long pips and deep any tips or any information will help thank u

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Old 09-14-2016, 02:14 PM
shillamus shillamus is offline
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Default Need more details

What diameter pipe? 20 ft long? that is a 120ft long system.. I have a 20ft long system I just developed

nutrient Film Technique? NFT? or ebb and flow? I used Ebb and flow in 4" sewer pipe system?

Can you share any links that inspired you? I need a better idea of what you want to do.

Good Luck
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Old 09-14-2016, 03:04 PM
Tommy2525 Tommy2525 is offline
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110mm Terracota Drain Pipe Length 4000mm
Going to have a water dripper pipe in the end off evry pipe thn little pipe in the end off evry pipe for water run off into a water tube all the pipes going to be flat with holes on top for net pots
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Old 09-14-2016, 09:44 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello Tommy2525,
Have you ever grown raspberries and blueberry's before?
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Old 09-15-2016, 04:54 AM
Tommy2525 Tommy2525 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier View Post
Hello Tommy2525,
Have you ever grown raspberries and blueberry's before?
I have been growing raspberrys but this is the first time I'm growing hydroponics have u got any tips on what I need to do
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Old 09-15-2016, 04:57 AM
Tommy2525 Tommy2525 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shillamus View Post
What diameter pipe? 20 ft long? that is a 120ft long system.. I have a 20ft long system I just developed

nutrient Film Technique? NFT? or ebb and flow? I used Ebb and flow in 4" sewer pipe system?

Can you share any links that inspired you? I need a better idea of what you want to do.

Good Luck

110mm Terracota Drain Pipe Length 4000mm
Going to have a water dripper pipe in the end off evry pipe thn little pipe in the end off evry pipe for water run off into a water tube all the pipes going to be flat with holes on top for net pots
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Old 09-15-2016, 06:18 AM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello Tommy2525,
The reason I asked is because both are long term plants and a NFT system isn't a good choice for long term plants. Not only are they long term plants, but they need to overwinter to be fruitful. I don't know what your plan is for over wintering them in a NFT system. Not only will be overwintering an issue, but the root mass will get big and clog a 4 inch tube quickly. I would grow them in an entirely different type of system. A drip system designed as a modeler system so the plants can be stored for the winter and the root systems be controlled and transplanted without much damage as they get bigger year after year.
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Old 09-15-2016, 06:37 AM
Tommy2525 Tommy2525 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier View Post
Hello Tommy2525,
The reason I asked is because both are long term plants and a NFT system isn't a good choice for long term plants. Not only are they long term plants, but they need to overwinter to be fruitful. I don't know what your plan is for over wintering them in a NFT system. Not only will be overwintering an issue, but the root mass will get big and clog a 4 inch tube quickly. I would grow them in an entirely different type of system. A drip system designed as a modeler system so the plants can be stored for the winter and the root systems be controlled and transplanted without much damage as they get bigger year after year.
Or ok would they die in the system over winter cud I put a water heater in system over winter or would a flood and drain be better thank u
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Old 09-15-2016, 09:56 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello Tommy2525,
Overwintering is a period when the plants go dormant. You prune back the bush/spent branches in preparation for winter and going dormant. The plant doesn't need to be watered while it's dormant since it's not growing. But the roots need to be protected from freezing temperatures (below 32 F) and drying out to much while it's dormant.

As I mentioned I would grow them in a drip system so the roots are encased within a growing media like coco coir/chips, so they can be protected while their stored and overwintered. Also when the root systems get bigger they can be transplanted into larger containers each year without much root damage. Like from a 3 gallon bucket to 5-7 gallon buckets, and then to 10 gallon buckets.

I plan to grow raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberry's here in Arizona year round exactly that way in a greenhouse year round. Rotating the plants into a underground refrigerator to overwinter them so I can have year round production. There will be 3 sets of plants getting rotated every 4 months. Each set of plants will be rotated into the refrigerator where they will spend 4 months overwintering, then brought back into the greenhouse where they will spend the next 8 months growing.

One set of plants will be newly out of the refrigerator and starting to grow, the second set will be in full production with berry's to pick, while the third set will be in the refrigerator overwintering. At the end of the 4 months the set of plants that were in full production will be pruned back and rotated into the refrigerator for overwintering. At the same time the ones that have been in the refrigerator for the past 4 months will be brought out to start growing again. And the ones that were brought out 4 months earlier will be ready to start harvesting berry's from. This rotation will allow for a constant year round production of fresh berry's.
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Old 09-26-2016, 06:38 AM
shillamus shillamus is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GpsFrontier View Post
Hello Tommy2525,
Overwintering is a period when the plants go dormant. You prune back the bush/spent branches in preparation for winter and going dormant. The plant doesn't need to be watered while it's dormant since it's not growing. But the roots need to be protected from freezing temperatures (below 32 F) and drying out to much while it's dormant.

As I mentioned I would grow them in a drip system so the roots are encased within a growing media like coco coir/chips, so they can be protected while their stored and overwintered. Also when the root systems get bigger they can be transplanted into larger containers each year without much root damage. Like from a 3 gallon bucket to 5-7 gallon buckets, and then to 10 gallon buckets.

I plan to grow raspberries, blackberries, and boysenberry's here in Arizona year round exactly that way in a greenhouse year round. Rotating the plants into a underground refrigerator to overwinter them so I can have year round production. There will be 3 sets of plants getting rotated every 4 months. Each set of plants will be rotated into the refrigerator where they will spend 4 months overwintering, then brought back into the greenhouse where they will spend the next 8 months growing.

One set of plants will be newly out of the refrigerator and starting to grow, the second set will be in full production with berry's to pick, while the third set will be in the refrigerator overwintering. At the end of the 4 months the set of plants that were in full production will be pruned back and rotated into the refrigerator for overwintering. At the same time the ones that have been in the refrigerator for the past 4 months will be brought out to start growing again. And the ones that were brought out 4 months earlier will be ready to start harvesting berry's from. This rotation will allow for a constant year round production of fresh berry's.
I was wondering GPS? Is it best to grow blueberries traditionally in soil? I tried once but couldn't move them inside. The fabric plant containers with soil make sense.

Sure am interested in hearing more about the "Underground refigerator"
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Old 09-26-2016, 11:52 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello shillamus,
Why would you think it would be better to grow blueberry's in soil than hydroponically? You can grow anything hydroponically. The key is knowing the plant you want to grow so you can design a system to grow them that will grow them best, as well as be easy to maintain.

As for the underground refrigerator idea, it's very simple. I'm sure you have heard of a root cellar. A root cellar stays cold naturally because it's underground. But I would be using a window air conditioner as the cooling unit to get it even colder. Any outside or exposed walls/doors etc. will be insulated with sheets of Styrofoam insulation. You could build a box/room and use sheet Styrofoam insulation on all 6 sides, but the underground temps will use geothermal energy and use nature to do some of the cooling for you, reducing size of the AC unit needed and the amount of electricity needed to keep it cold.

Basically just dig a large hole big enough for your needs, build the walls with cinder blocks, put a waterproof roof on it, and cover the whole thing up with 3-4 feet of dirt (except the door). Keep the ground all around the bunker/cellar moist so it stays cool. Then install the window AC unit to cool it further. Just being underground will keep it to near 60 degrees year round, the AC unit will then cool it further to the low 40's. You can use a thermostat to turn on and off the AC unit at a pre-set temp.
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Last edited by GpsFrontier; 09-26-2016 at 11:59 PM.
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  #12  
Old 11-16-2016, 02:34 AM
chopficaro chopficaro is offline
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Do not use pvc! Pvc is poisonous! Use a food safe plastic!
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Old 11-16-2016, 05:33 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chopficaro View Post
Do not use pvc! Pvc is poisonous! Use a food safe plastic!
Not only is PVC not poisonous, but it's is probably the least likely to ever leach anything into the water. It's used everywhere including the food industry and even used in household pluming and safe to drink from. Food grade plastics are a waste of money unless your trying to grow certified organic produce.
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Old 01-19-2017, 06:57 PM
Alberta_grower Alberta_grower is offline
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GPSFrontier, is there a reason you want to overwinter for 4 months? Is that a specific length of time for a reason. My thinking would be that when a plant like a strawberry goes dormant, there must be a minimum time it must freeze, and a maximum amount of time where the plant doesn't have any advantage to freezing longer. How did you come to a time of 4 months. Does it just work better for your cycles? My thinking, is that I would only run two crops, and freeze each crop once per year. Save you a lot on refrigeration.

I'm curious because I want to grow strawberries year round here in Canada, partly indoor and outdoor. Would be nice to just take a couple plants at a time and throw them in a deep freezer for a week, and start them again to have fresh strawberries in the winter. As a bonus, it would let me kill off any bugs with the deep freezer at the end of the year before putting them into my grow room.
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Old 01-27-2017, 02:38 PM
GpsFrontier GpsFrontier is offline
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Hello Alberta_grower,
The reason the overwintering cycle is 4 months is because that's long enough to do the job, and the timeline allows for 3 sets of plants to each produce a full crop every year. Changing the timeline wont save anything on refrigeration (not freezing), the refrigeration will be running all year long since there will always be a set of plants in the cooler.

The raspberry plants wont be able to be harvested right after they come out of the cooler. That's when they will begin to grow again. If I want to have a continues supply I need 3 sets of plants so I can be harvesting from one set of plants while one is regenerating, and the other is in the cooler. Once the plants I was harvesting are done, the other plants will have had 4 months to regenerate and be able to be harvested from as well. The three sets of plants insures a continuous uninterrupted supply of fresh berry's, as well as a good overwintering period.

You can do the same thing with strawberry's. However you can buy bare root strawberry plants that have already been overwinters for as low as 5-10 cents a plant. Although, many growers selling the bare root strawberry plants only sell them during certain parts of the year. You can always buy extra, and keep them in the cooler, or make your own bare root strawberry plants from the runners.

P.S.
There is probably a minimum and maximum amount of time the plant needs to overwinter, although I couldn't tell you what that is specifically. I'm sure not all plants are the same. I'm taking my cue and timeline from mother nature. The length of an average winter in most areas.
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Old 01-27-2017, 04:13 PM
Alberta_grower Alberta_grower is offline
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Sounds good. I figured you were doing it for function over specific needs. For me, we get months of freezing temperatures where berries won't grow. I'm looking to do something similar. I invented a new hydroponic tech of hanging gardens, similar in setup to zip towers. The difference being price, with each unit being $5-10 dollars, supporting the same amount of plants per unit. The system pays for itself with one crop. I'm going to grow strawberries with them, which will allow me to grow outside in the summer, let them overwinter a couple weeks outside, and then get rehung in my indoor grow room for the winter. Then, I'll re-winter them again in the spring outside, and let them grow outside in the summer. Rinse and repeat.

In Canada, fresh strawberries are impossible to get. Most of them in the produce section are bruised, and mold in a day or two. In the summer, most of the berry farms sell out quickly to restaurants and organic stores. $6/ lb of garbage strawberries really sucks. Wish we could get quality produce like you guys south of the boarder.

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