Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kate Mink on April 13, 2011 at 1:45pm

Hey, thanks, those look pretty good!

 

Kate
christopher john muns said:

here are a few pictures of my towers. ok 1 picture. so these are sold at the aquaponic source, and can be made in 3 ft or 5 ft increments. they work great for soil gardening as well.  In aquaponics they do a couple of different things.  they add aeration to the system, and act as a bio-filter. I have some draining into gutters going back to my fish tank, and are filled with hydroton.

Permalink Reply by M Cosmo on April 13, 2011 at 1:52pm

I always gauge the price per plant.  Vertigro are Retail at 4.5 per pot.  Last 5 years or so and are real easy to stack. They also insulate cold and heat. That at 1.25 per plant.  Hard to beat.

 

Permalink Reply by Nate Storey on June 30, 2011 at 10:01am

price per plant is one way to do it, but you also need to calculate labor and support equipment costs as well as convenience and ease of handling.  If you have to rotate your stack to get good light, or clean out towers because of clogging and you figure your time is worth even $10/hr. the cost of maintenance quickly makes your price per plant calculation more like $9 or $10/ plant.

Permalink Reply by Averan on June 30, 2011 at 11:00am

I've been considering some sort of vertical or NFT component in the designs for my next system and I'm really curious why so many folks are only thinking of hanging pipes vertically.  I came across an article in Backyard Aquaponics about growing strawberries in horizontally-mounted corrugated drainage pipe.  The things I like about this approach are:

• No tricky hanging method needed...it's easier to build a vertical rack with many rows of tubes.
• No custom melting and bending PVC.
• You don't have to buy an expensive pre-made kit.
• No media required makes it cheaper and easier to keep clean and maintain.

Check out this related thread to see what I mean: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydro/msg0315495420684.html

Permalink Reply by Nate Storey on June 30, 2011 at 11:04am

Averan,

You're right- there is definitely an element of simplicity to an NFT style or aeroponic style vertical setup.  The problem for folks like myself is that this is a "dead end" for light.  Essentially, this forms a wall that light can't get through, so I can't manipulate my light penetration and configure my plant production elements in a mass.  This is also not very mobile or easy to handle (although it's arguably more simple to handle than many vertical setups as well).  Anyway, this type of setup could be very appropriate for some folks, but it just depends on application.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Averan on June 30, 2011 at 11:26am

"Manipulate your light penetration"?  If your plants are growing, they will eventually form a wall no matter how you set it up...unless you space them so sparsely as to defeat the purpose of going vertical in the first place.  The benefit of a vertical system is simply that you can increase the usable grow space.  Light always dead-ends when it hits a plant.  If you are trying to let light pass by your vertical setup, then you're not maximizing growth or your use of space and you'd be better off sticking with just your flat beds more densely planted or going full vertical.

Permalink Reply by TCLynx on June 30, 2011 at 12:03pm

But Nate's hanging verticals are such that as plants grow and need more light, it's easier to move them or space them more and even pull the full towers and take them to market.

 

There are so many different methods and so many different situations.

Permalink Reply by Nate Storey on June 30, 2011 at 12:37pm

Hi Averan,

That's where you're mistaken.  Most people don't understand that plants experience photorespiration when light intensities are too high, or think about how seedlings use space really inefficiently.  I don't have the time or energy to explain it here, but I explain it on my website somewhat.  I'll try to get some better explanations up as I have time.  http://www.brightagrotech.com/downloads/ZGCGG_CH3.pdf .  I have the data for you too if you're interested.  I've been studying light effects and massing densities for the 4 years of my doctoral research.  The reality is that light seldom dead ends when it hits a plant leaf, it often reflects.  You can use reflected light effectively-especially if it's reflecting off of a white or reflective surface effectively to dramatically increase your production efficiency.  TC is right, depending on what you want there are tons of acceptable techniques- it just depends on what you want. 

Permalink Reply by Averan on June 30, 2011 at 1:42pm

Just for the record, TC's statement is not very helpful and seems entirely obvious....kind of like saying water is wet.  The OP wanted a cheap DIY solution and it seems to me that the cheapest and simplest solution is the one I posted.  My point in posting this alternative is simply that it looks to me like not many people are considering it as an option.  I just wanted people to know they have a choice and don't have to hang pipes vertically in order to make use of vertical space for growing.

Thanks for the info Nate.  The one aspect I really like about your diagrams with grow tubes hung vertically is the conveyor approach to production.  This is a very strong advantage that your design has over horizontal tubes.

Permalink Reply by Catherine Crowley on July 29, 2011 at 8:44am

Averan,  That is a really nice set up.  I have been looking into 'windowfarms.org' (FYI for everyone someone mentioned 2 ltr bottles and this group site has some fantastic examples), but I want to do something a little more extensive than the 2 ltr bottle set ups I've seen, and outside as I'm in Mesa, Arizona and running out of ground space.  I'm also considered an expert in edible landscaping in the desert and understand the limitations of small container gardening in the desert, so the large frame work of the tubing you are showing is of great interest to me. Thank you.

Averan said:

I've been considering some sort of vertical or NFT component in the designs for my next system and I'm really curious why so many folks are only thinking of hanging pipes vertically.  I came across an article in Backyard Aquaponics about growing strawberries in horizontally-mounted corrugated drainage pipe.  The things I like about this approach are:

• No tricky hanging method needed...it's easier to build a vertical rack with many rows of tubes.
• No custom melting and bending PVC.
• You don't have to buy an expensive pre-made kit.
• No media required makes it cheaper and easier to keep clean and maintain.

Check out this related thread to see what I mean: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydro/msg0315495420684.html

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