Big above-ground planters

[fractal]

Finished the first one today. 3x3x3 planters with wire fence supporting two layers of weedguard fabric. Filled with a mix of organic planting mix, peat moss and perlite. That is a 24 yard load of planting mix under the blue tarp, and some of the amendments in the pile.

The goal is a california legal medical grow with 24 of these planters. The plants are in large pots right now getting ready to transplant, the royal kush clone pictured here was in a 7 gallon pot and is one of the smaller to mid sized plants. The design is inspired by a grow that tom hill did like 6 years ago and posted on overgrow. The planters were larger than mine, but based on the same principle and I know for a fact that he pulled 7 pound plants from those. Next year with a proper start to the season I think these planters will handle 4+ pounders with a little effot.

 

[dusty]

a yard of soil is a good amount, i'd go another layer of fabric around the outside.

 

[fractal]

Just like a gallon pot will not hold a gallon of milk, a yard of soil is not really a block of it 3x3x3 feet. I just found it a yard is 10' x 10' by 3". Funny way to measure it. That fencing material is very strong, the weed blocker is also very strong. . . I could not rip it with my hands. It's definitely capable with two layers. We are making slow progress when it is over 100 f! haha.

 

[jlve187]

Wow love the way you are doing it mine are outdoor but in Pots!!Hope all is well my man!!

 

[Burned Haze]

A great way to control everything my man, plus transportable :)

Very smart, I am thinking about doing that next year for a few swampy sites :)

Thanks

-BH

 

[ChiGuy23]

Sick planters man. 4+ pounds X 24 will be a heavy harvest. How much did the 24 yards of planting mix cost ya? Good luck and hope to see some pics soon.

 

[caliskunker]

:rasta2: fire plot!!! big up & stay safe !! keep us updated!!

 

[Badmf]

Yeppers Tom's grow was nice. Yours has great promise too. I love the fact you're mixing our own soil, smart farmer!!
Check out azomite for trace elments made a big difference in my grows. I do Terra Preta and make my own lacto Bac. and add mycorr. I like the size, for this time of year. Depending on the strains love for the Sun you will have some bigguns!!:party0033:

 

[Sensi_Amigo]

nice bro i thank u 4 the pics, i did mines 4x4x4 ... its 9:53pm EST and i just finished mixing my own lil soil mix!! i dont have quality genetics yet all i have is some fine herb's seeds from a 1/4 i got few months ago don't know much bout it but tha smoke was mellow and took care of my pain!!!

 

[fractal]

Thanks for the kindness, everyone. ChiGuy the soil cost me just under 800 dollars delivered from a local landscape supply yard. A yard of soil is 25 cubic feet - just under an actual cubic yard of material and so for $38 a yard or whatever it was, it's the equivalent of 12-20 bags of potting soil with the average bag being 1.5 cubic feet. Even after adding peat and perlite the cost is about half of what it would be for bagged soil of lower quality. And you still will need to add perlite.

This year I got a late start and of course yields will not be nearly what they could be. The biggest plants will come in around 2 pounds, with 6 of them probably being less than a pound. Still will do alright this year and have a lot of good meds for everyone involved.

 

[fractal]

Making more progress. We have about ten planters done now. Planted some GDP and chemdog, super silver haze, and some of JLP's phoenix haze f2 ( going to be some f3 seeds of that).

 

[fractal]

About half of the plants now have pistils and preflowers, everything is looking more lush by the day especially this first one, Royal Kush! She is definitely going to get another shot next year, but I will veg her three times bigger than I did this year and try for 6 giant royals possibly. This one has shown strong growth and heat tolerance, and is an early flowering variety. I just read that she is supposed to be 'old school Humboldt purple' x sour diesel x afghani, something like that. This one along with the LA / Pure kush will have people smiling in the fall when it hits the scene down south.

 

[fractal]

This is the first Granddaddy Purple that I have grown and she proves to be a ravenous feeder. This plant was extremely rootbound before being transplanted and almost did not make it. Lessoned learned, and I am thankful that she looks so lush and halthy now.

 

[fractal]

Trainwreck will never go out of style. It is still an extremely vigorous clone that grows like a vine and yet develops some very strong and woody stalks. Smells like straight pine sap and skunk, I am so happy to have her in the garden. This was one that Tom Hill grew in his fabled jacuzzi-sized planters because it stretches for the sun and sets a lot of buds on those stalks. Definitely one to maximize yield and still produce top quality.

 

[fractal]

Trainwreck cola stacking up. This means good things to come. :RastaBong::icon_spin:

 

[fractal]

Chemdog #4, of all the plants has just totally kicked ass in every way. This one soaks up 100+ degrees like a champ and has a very vigorous growth structure. I really need to make sure and feed them chems enough to make the buds huge and dense like they ought to be. In hydroponics they require a much stronger food than any plant I ever grew.

This is my medicinal Chia Pet!

 

[another_sellout]

Like your work. I'm using 5 gallon barrels sawn in half on my outdoor... I have a Bubba Kush x KC Brains monster that just this month looks like your Chem from last month. Congrats!

 

[another_sellout]

55 gallon. Sorry. Typing with the pipe in my hand...

 

[fractal]

^^

Well that's more info than we needed bro but I'm glad you like the ladies. . . I think they're sexy too but obviously not as much as you do. :D

 

[fractal]

FYI Tom Hill is back online and just put up some pictures of his massive planters with 10 pound plants. You guys should go see where I got my inspiration. This year I barely had time to get things together by late summer. Next year I will really have some monsters!

Should not be so hard to find, it's a new thread on another site.