New setup for my tomato's

[txice]

Nice setup. I bet that hole was fun to dig...

[GpsFrontier]

I bet that hole was fun to dig...

I got my exercise, that's for sure. It took 4 days, and I already had the hole started from the way the system was before. I kept filling the hole with water overnight to soften up the soil. The farther down I got, the harder it got. I couldn't swing the pick anymore past about half way down, without making the hole wider. And it's kind of hard to dig a hole with a shovel when you are standing on top of where you want to dig. I dug most of the bottom part with hand tools. But that was difficult (besides the obvious) because I couldn't get down on my hands and knees, and the hole was not wide enough to bend down from a standing position without my head being in the way. So I had to bend over while stand in the hole, resting my head on the side of the hole opening. While stretching down to dig rock with small hand trowels and picks. I even broke one hand pick, and bent a hand trowel. But ya, I had a good time.

[txice]

Makes me tired just reading about it...

[GpsFrontier]

Well it's been a month for these tomato's now. The weather up until the last 4-5 days has been cold, cloudy and even rain. But despite the weather the tomato's have been able to grow. The chicken wire around the buckets is for the benefit of the rabbits (mischievous little buggers). I haven't changed the nutrient solution yet. I started with 9 gallons in the reservoir for the first 2 weeks. But because the plants were still relatively small and the capacity of the reservoir, I just added 6 new fresh gallons of nutrient solution to the reservoir. For a total of 15 gallons in it right now.

I have checked the pH about twice a week, but other when mixing the nutrients the pH has remained stable at about 6.0. The water temp in the reservoir seems to stay right around the low 60's, time will tell how it does in the summer. I will need to add more pipe insulation to the PVC tubing, as well as the black vinyl tubing (possibly even the buckets) before it starts to get hot. Or the nutrient solution temp will rise to much from simply flowing through the system. The weather is starting to warm significantly. By this weekend it will be almost 90 degrees. Also, the forecast for the next 10 days says it should be sunny, and in the mid to upper 80's. Should be perfect weather for the tomato's.

[widespreadpanic]

I love what you've done. What is the temperature of your reservoir? I thought about burying mine until I found a cheap aquarium chiller. I also like the way you insulated the pipes. TOO cool. Keep us updated with more pics.

[GpsFrontier]

Originally Posted by widespreadpanic

I love what you've done. What is the temperature of your reservoir? I thought about burying mine until I found a cheap aquarium chiller. I also like the way you insulated the pipes. TOO cool. Keep us updated with more pics.

Thanks, The temp of the nutrient solution remains constant at about 76 degrees. That's a little higher than I want (68-72), but as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I ran into a rock that I just couldn't dig out. So the hole is only 30 inches deep instead of the 36 inches that I originally planed. I have checked the temp of the buffer water (the water between both trash cans), This water does not run through the system, it stays underground 24/7. The temp of the nutrient solution and the buffer water are always the same. This tells me that the nutrient solution is not really heating up as it flows through the system, at least not yet. It will get 30 degrees warmer before the summer is over, to at least 125 degrees.

I actually have not finished it quite yet, plan to build up the top portion about 6 to 8 inches, hopefully that will make up for not being able to go deep enough. I attached some images of the way I plan to finish it off. All the above ground tubing should be covered with pipe insulation to help keep it from heating up as it flows through the system. Although I need to redo it all. The tubing is 3/4 inch tubing but the pipe insulation is 1/2 inch, it's just what I had on hand. I plan to get some 3/4 inch insulation within a few weeks. I have not taken new pictures yet, I've been meaning to but I will tonight or tomorrow then post them.

[GpsFrontier]

I got busy the last couple of days but here are the pictures I said I would post. As you can see I added some pipe insulation (still not 3/4 inch) although the fill line is 1/2 inch and fits perfectly (that's what is laying on the ground). I have still had problems with insects and have gone to a different product (NEEM). I have noticed the leaves starting to come back, but I know the plants are stunted because they were infested. Also If I had it to do over again I would use 5 gallon buckets instead of the 2 gallon ones, all lessons learned. These 4 plants drink about 3 gallons per day right now, so I need to replace this daily, or the nutrient solution becomes concentrated. It's a 15-20 gallon reservoir, so it needs daily checking. Also As you can see the plants are growing more to one side than the other, this is because the tree is now blocking much of the direct sunlight.

[rabHydro]

What is the blue tape in the pictures?

[GpsFrontier]

Originally Posted by rabHydro

What is the blue tape in the pictures?

I think the blue tape that you are referring to is what is around the 2 gallon buckets. That is not actually tape, it's rolled foam insulation. I warped what I had around the buckets to help protect against heat in the root zone from our 120+ degree temps. What I need to do is use 3/4 inch flat Styrofoam insulation on the bottom, and top to bottom rolled foam insulation on the sides. They use the rolled foam insulation in building some block walls if I remember that right. It comes in 4 and 6 inch widths rolls. Although you can also get rolled foam insulation as a floor or carpet underlayment, and even as packing supply's. The flat sheet Styrofoam can be found in the home insulation department at any home improvement store.