Indoor Raised Bed Q

[Revolt!]

Hello everyone. I've searched the forums far and wide and couldn't find anything really on this. I know GrowMaster utilizes this set-up, but I can't find much info on how to go about constructing it.

I am looking at indoor raised beds for my next grow. I am thinking of either 4'x11' or a little bigger. I want a couple of these, so I can stagger the plants by a couple weeks, so I have a perpetual harvest. Or just enough so I can harvest about 30-50 plants a cycle or so (every 2 weeks-month). How deep would you want the beds to be? Like I said, this idea is just in the planning stages, so I'm open for any kind of suggestions.

Looking for all-organic soil grow as well, so I can reuse the soil after each grow. I will be amending the soil again after each use with dry organic ingredients though.

Thinking of doing like a SOG style with them, each about 1sq.ft. apart from each other. This is strictly for cash cropping, for the most part (I will take some out for me & my wife). Maybe 2-3 600W HPS for the set up?

Let me know what you guys think about this idea. All input appriacated.

 

[dusty]

Here's how I do mine sorry it's a blurry pic.

 

[Revolt!]

Very nice, dusty!

What are the dimensions on those boxes? 4x4? Also, what kind of drainage (if any) is there? I see you have them off the ground too. Looking for some advice on how to actually construct the raised bed. Thanks a lot!

 

[dusty]

Yea each bed is 4x4..any bigger and once they're watered any larger is way too hard to move around.

The way I build the beds is to build a 2x6 frame that has 4 5" casters on it ...the 4x4 E&F tray sits on top of the 2x6 frame with casters there's 5 2x2 beams that go across the lip of the tray. The sides are 1x12 and over the 2x2s I put 2 layers of 1/2" hardware cloth...I had Smart Pot custom make me a 4x4x1 liner that I staple in to the bed. I hear you can buy them now.

 

[kushpheen]

Check out this book..Organic Marijuana, Soma Style. He has a great section on building and running these raised beds...

 

[Revolt!]

Yea each bed is 4x4..any bigger and once they're watered any larger is way too hard to move around.

The way I build the beds is to build a 2x6 frame that has 4 5" casters on it ...the 4x4 E&F tray sits on top of the 2x6 frame with casters there's 5 2x2 beams that go across the lip of the tray. The sides are 1x12 and over the 2x2s I put 2 layers of 1/2" hardware cloth...I had Smart Pot custom make me a 4x4x1 liner that I staple in to the bed. I hear you can buy them now.

Thanks for the info! Do you just water from the top, or do you flood the E&F trays under and wick the water from bottom up? I was thinking of maybe some kind of drip system for my beds. Not sure how easy that will be or not. Sounds like your E&F idea is where its at. How is the drainage on them?

Kushpheen, I was looking for that book because I know that he has his own indoor raised beds in there. He puts PVC piping down to the bottom of the bed though, seems kind of strange. I'll have to check it out.

 

[dusty]

The water drains in to the E&F tray and I shop vac it out and pump it out of a drain in the room. I water with a hose and watering wand and pump.

Also this is not my design. Some one showed me just like I'm showing some one :)

 

[kushpheen]

more info

Hey revolt I've also used the plastic 100 gallon reservoirs for my beds instead of wood.
The advantages aside from having to build all the boxes, is they will last much longer, are light, much easier to clean, and can be stacked/moved around very easily. The cost of wood being so high these days, it makes more sense IMO to use large plastic reservoirs

{Thanks for the info! Do you just water from the top, or do you flood the E&F trays under and wick the water from bottom up? I was thinking of maybe some kind of drip system for my beds. Not sure how easy that will be or not. Sounds like your E&F idea is where its at. How is the drainage on them?

Kushpheen, I was looking for that book because I know that he has his own indoor raised beds in there. He puts PVC piping down to the bottom of the bed though, seems kind of strange. I'll have to check it out.}

I used to the drip soaker hose to water. It just makes life much easier. Use a prefilter so the little emitters don't clog.

Soma uses the pvc pipe in corners to add extra oxygen to the root zone. This helps prevent the bottom of the bed from becoming to wet. Its not absolutely necessary IMO but the cost of implementing it is negligible and it def doesn't hurt. If i remember correctly he doesn't add drains to the bottom of his beds. I would suggest a layer of lava rock in the bottom of the bed along with a layer of coco-mat over that, this gives the roots a layer of air in the bottom and the coco-mat will even out the moisture level preventing dry spots. Ive used both soil and coco in these beds with great results but IMO coco is a better medium due to its water retention rates. Hope this helps you....

 

[sanvanalona]

I love grow boxes, I have them built in many different sizes and shapes depending on the situation. If I am growing one strain or multiple strains that grow similarly then I try to build the biggest box possible in order to cover the light foot print. The bigger the box, the bigger the plant. I use only coco and perlite and love the results. The cool thing I have noticed is that a little Darwinism comes to play, as I have seen many of the stronger plants take over and kill the weaker ones. It is pretty intense. We also focus on having longer boxes instead of deeper, it seems that the plants roots grow out. The boxes are filled about eight to twelve inches. We also lollipop the plants and build trellis to hold up the plants.

 

[kushpheen]

. The cool thing I have noticed is that a little Darwinism comes to play, as I have seen many of the stronger plants take over and kill the weaker ones. It is pretty intense.

I normally plant the largest plants on the sides, but your right some plants will just get eaten up, one of the downsides of the bed growing, is not being able to rotate, once there in, there in.....