global buckets

[Taz Baby]

Saw this cool webpage and thought it was interesting. I can't watch the video but thought maybe someone might have seen this? Has anyone tried this before? If so does it work?

Benefits of the 2-bucket system:
1) 50% to 80% reduction in water usage.
2) 100% reduction in weeds...never pull a weed or use herbicides.
3) Once planted, very little attention is required.
4) Foolproof: People with very little training (like us!) can reap bountiful harvests.
5) All you need are a few square meters of space...even rooftops, industrial wastelands, etc

[Katrina]

Taz,
I got to watch the video, it was really good.

[Sniper-T]

don't know if this is the page you were at:

Global Buckets (http://www.globalbuckets.org/)

Good site, great idea, and some awesome how-to videos.

Thanks for Sharing Taz!

[LUNCHBOX]

Just checked the site. It's a good concept and if we didn't have room for a full blown garden this would work nicely.

[Taz Baby]

yep that's the one. Thanks for putting the link up, I did but this stupid phone missed it I guess.

[msomnipotent]

I bookmarked the site. Thanks.

[Sniper-T]

So has anyone tried it?

I set up 9 this weekend, with 3 more on the way. I have another week or so before I can get things like this outside, but since I had to pot some seedlings anyways, I decided to pot them directly into the buckets

Assembly line:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/Pantry/0513121032a.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/Pantry/0513121035a.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/Pantry/0513121037b.jpg

[Sniper-T]

Finally got mine planted and out. A couple of peas and the rest are tomatoes.

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/0530121934a.jpg

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/0530121934b.jpg

[Sniper-T]

necro post for some new members.

I've been using these 9 buckets plus another 11 for a couple/few years now, and love them; but the ones pictured above are in my yard and my wife is tired of looking at them, so I made some boxes to cover them, and added a vertical frame that I will hang ropes down to tie the plants to.

Additionally, I added a smaller planter on the front either for flowers to attract bees, or for things like lettuce/spinach... or both.

Each box will hold three buckets

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/1122151232a_zpsvzoyhisc.jpg (http://s605.photobucket.com/user/Sniper-T/media/garden/1122151232a_zpsvzoyhisc.jpg.html)

So each large hole is for the plant to grow through, and the small holes will facilitate the watering pipe.

An inside view:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/1122151232c_zps8fhvhvsu.jpg (http://s605.photobucket.com/user/Sniper-T/media/garden/1122151232c_zps8fhvhvsu.jpg.html)

I don't have all the uprights on yet, as the boxes store better without until I get them treated and put outside

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/1122151233a_zpsasu5o1ro.jpg (http://s605.photobucket.com/user/Sniper-T/media/garden/1122151233a_zpsasu5o1ro.jpg.html)

[bacpacker]

Nice covers. Bet the wife loves them.

[Sniper-T]

Yep. I made one first as a prototype, and got her approval. then made the others. I'm really looking forward to not having to deal with tomato cages!

[Caveman Survival]

Those are pretty sweet brother. I'm gonna haftA try it out next season

[Kesephist]

OK, I think I get the idea of needing potting soil for a wicking system from bottom to top.

A slightly more labor intensive setup, I'm guessing, that would allow use of regular soils, would be watering from the top down, using the lower bucket as a catch basin for excess water and could use the overflow holes to drain the basin and recycle the water, to be watered top down.

You'd still need that ring of fertilizer at the top, I suppose. The black plastic film thing, my Gramps taught me about for his garden... saved his knees many an hour of pulling weeds.

He clevered it, though... Side slit 45 gallon trashbags with holes punched in them, weighted down with 2x4, from planting to harvest. Take it up at the end of the season, use the previous years composted remains to put overtop during the winter, both to recharge the soil and reduce wind-erosive loss, rototill it under in the spring, and start over.

No wonder I recollect them carrots soooo good. "Boy, crop, fish, or hunt, nothing like food you have seen to yourself from start to finish."

A slightly nostalgic Kesephist

[ak474u]

I made cedar boxes out of 2x2 for the corners and 6" fence boards. We just set the boxes over the buckets. Only got boxes made for 1/2 of my global buckets this year though. Busy at work. I did try something to improve wicking... I cut cotton towels into strips, and made sure they touched e bottom of the lower basin, then as I filled with soil, I snaked the strip up thru the soil. It seems to have worked better than the ones that didn't have the actual fabric wick.

[Sniper-T]

I'm going to try a variation this year, with some of mine, based on someone elses garden post from a while back. I made a 48X42" box that I will line with plastic, and then fill with single level buckets with holes drilled around the outside near the bottom. My thought is that with the bottom 1/3 of the pail in the water it should wick up nicely... hopefully!

[Caveman Survival]

Sniper, maybe I am misreading this, if so disregard... If you are talking about setting the pail directly in the bag o' water, you really run the danger of root rot. The soil won't have enough time to dry out and will remain soggy. And could actually leach out nutrients.

[Sniper-T]

You are reading it right, and that is what I am proposing. but it is not without some logic... Every year when I clean out my existing buckets, I have a solid rootball that has grown right through the bottom of the top bucket (via drainholes and through the solo cup that are completely in the bottom pail of water.

I'm thinking that they are treating the water pails like an aquaponics system. or, I could be talking out of my ass.

I am going to try it this year with nine pails of peas, and worst case scenario, I lose my first crop of peas from them. then I can build a stand, add a solo cup and go back to the tried and true, but in a box instead of buckets.

Additionally, I am going to make three troughs, each to hold 3 buckets. Given the feedback, I'll set two troughs up with solocup wicks and 1 flat down on bottom. I'll have 9 other traditional buckets set up, so if I lose 3 plants... meh!

Keep the comments coming... I'd rather hear some issues now and plan for them than hear ''I was worried about that''... after catastrophic failure and my family starves to death. ;)

[Domeguy]

necro post for some new members.

I've been using these 9 buckets plus another 11 for a couple/few years now, and love them; but the ones pictured above are in my yard and my wife is tired of looking at them, so I made some boxes to cover them, and added a vertical frame that I will hang ropes down to tie the plants to.



Additionally, I added a smaller planter on the front either for flowers to attract bees, or for things like lettuce/spinach... or both.

Each box will hold three buckets

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/1122151232a_zpsvzoyhisc.jpg (http://s605.photobucket.com/user/Sniper-T/media/garden/1122151232a_zpsvzoyhisc.jpg.html)

So each large hole is for the plant to grow through, and the small holes will facilitate the watering pipe.

An inside view:

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/1122151232c_zps8fhvhvsu.jpg (http://s605.photobucket.com/user/Sniper-T/media/garden/1122151232c_zps8fhvhvsu.jpg.html)

I don't have all the uprights on yet, as the boxes store better without until I get them treated and put outside

http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt140/Sniper-T/garden/1122151233a_zpsasu5o1ro.jpg (http://s605.photobucket.com/user/Sniper-T/media/garden/1122151233a_zpsasu5o1ro.jpg.html)


Nice tool, want to see a picture of mine?












If you are curious about this post, see what the gremlin left me for a picture tag.

[bacpacker]

From what I have found recently searching Aquaponics sites. It looks like the roots systems form huge masses and are submerged either constantly, or are set up on an Ebb n Flow system. I'm not sure how having the roots in dirt and soaked constantly would effect things.

[Caveman Survival]

If submerged / used in a hydroponic set up it wouldn't be such a problem, providing you keep the nutrients available. It's a constant damp soil that would be the problem. The pore space in the soil gets water logged and effectively suffocates the plants, not allowing them to take up much needed micro (and macro) nutrients. It's why heavy clay soils are typically not suitable for growing. You might want to try using perlite or LECA balls as a growing medium. Hell on this type of set up with water right bags you could even put some tilapia in there with aeration and go full aquaponic. Fish waste provides nutrients, and you can eat them at end of season lol

[Sniper-T]

You know somewhere around here to get Tilapia fry?

Yeah, I'm not sure how/if this is going to work either. But it is worth a try.

Dome guy... You bet! Oh wait, you were talking about your garage tools...
:p

[Sniper-T]

another garden bump, considering the season.

One thing that my reading has created concern about... and something I have noticed... is that late in the season my tomato leaves start turning yellow, and they slow down in production. From what I read... they are getting too much water. and considering I find them growing roots right through the pail into the bottom pail; this makes sense. I'm thinking about adding a tight, but strong steel screen in the top pail to stop the roots from tunneling into the bottom pail... thoughts?

[ak474u]

another garden bump, considering the season.

One thing that my reading has created concern about... and something I have noticed... is that late in the season my tomato leaves start turning yellow, and they slow down in production. From what I read... they are getting too much water. and considering I find them growing roots right through the pail into the bottom pail; this makes sense. I'm thinking about adding a tight, but strong steel screen in the top pail to stop the roots from tunneling into the bottom pail... thoughts?

As much as I like the maintenance level and self watering on a global bucket, I have had terrible luck with maters in them. Like really big plants, and little production. Maybe figure out a way to put a drain plug in the bottom bucket for when you DON'T want it to have a reservoir at the bottom?

[Vodin]

Did the Global Buckets/Water trough idea last year. It does really good. Let me pull up some photos.

[bacpacker]

I've never used these buckets before. But from what I have saw on You Tube doing research on auqa/hydroponics it appears that most all them have huge root masses that go well into the water resevior. Granted most stuff was not tomatos. Not knowing what I'm discussing maybe the ponics systems don't have issues with water since all nutrients are there. Dirt could well be different. OTOH it could be a nutrient deficit. I grew a couple of maters in large pots in our kitchen over the winter. The plants looked decent, but they quit producing much earlier than I expected. I'm pretty sure I failed to add enough nutrients to the pots.

[Vodin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y534/Vodin136/Garden%202015/Starting%20up%20the%20garden%20bed_zpstp4rczc9.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/Vodin136/media/Garden%202015/Starting%20up%20the%20garden%20bed_zpstp4rczc9.jpg .html)

This is after it got started. All BUT the Tomatillos were germinated from seeds.

- - - Updated - - -

This was more toward the start.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y534/Vodin136/Garden%202015/IMG_4279_zps6idrzonf.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/Vodin136/media/Garden%202015/IMG_4279_zps6idrzonf.jpg.html)

- - - Updated - - -

These are the water troughs that hold the water that the buckets sit on.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y534/Vodin136/Garden%202015/IMG_4023_zpsaziveyqj.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/Vodin136/media/Garden%202015/IMG_4023_zpsaziveyqj.jpg.html)

- - - Updated - - -

These are net cups that allow the water to be wicked (pulled) up into the bucket of dirt. No roots in this system ever grew into the water.

- - - Updated - - -

These are net cups that allow the water to be wicked (pulled) up into the bucket of dirt. No roots in this system ever grew into the water.

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y534/Vodin136/Garden%202015/IMG_3899_zpsitm4lngc.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/Vodin136/media/Garden%202015/IMG_3899_zpsitm4lngc.jpg.html)

- - - Updated - - -

And here I moved them so the corn and tomatillos had sun.
http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y534/Vodin136/Garden%202015/Corn%20Tomatillos_zpsuhjogqac.jpg (http://s1279.photobucket.com/user/Vodin136/media/Garden%202015/Corn%20Tomatillos_zpsuhjogqac.jpg.html)

[bacpacker]

One heck of a set up. Very nice.

[Vodin]

It supported 41 5 gallon buckets on 6 water troughs. Each trough held 7 5 gallon buckets and held 5 gallons of water. And I will set them up again this year.

[FLPrepper]

I bought a small starter aquaponics system that I highly recommend from which I learned most of the process. The next goal on my prepper list is to create one of these systems shown in this video as best I can - absolutely loved the video!!

For those of you who want to start slow and learn a little before diving in:

https://completeprepperstore.com/store/back-to-the-roots-aquaponics-water-garden/

[Vodin]

You will enjoy the results of your effort in AP. If you have any questions Helo or I can provide info or find answers for you. If you are interested I am running a FB page for indoor AP System builds. Mine has been running now for about 3 years in the basement since I live in CO. Short growing season and it gets to cold to have an outdoor systems unless you invest heavily.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/650138768462013/