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in-ground containers? ground? need opinions

wulf...if you will tell me how many plants you are going to grow and want to fertigate, I can give you a ball park estimate in USD....
 
yeah, saw that and was in the process of editing my response...

OK...I have read somewhere and I don't remember that you shouldn't run more than 40 1 gph drippers per section....assuming you use 1 gph drippers...that's about $50...

5 sections @ 40 1 gph per section/station

Orbit makes a 4 station timer...if you want to try 50 drippers per section that is up to you, but it will save you a lot of money if you can get by with one of the 4 station controllers...

http://www.orbitonline.com/products/Timers/01/04/01/2376/

these controllers are $50.... http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Garden-Center-Watering-Irrigation-Sprinkler-Timers/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbx4m/R-202783727/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

and come with two valves....you will need to buy two more valves...which are about $20 each

so now you have ~$140 already in equipment before you run your lines...I don't use the drip line because my runs are in straight lines...I use 1/2" PVC pipe that I tap and die for the threaded 1 gph drippers I use....you can use the 1/2" black vinyl or poly line for your main line and 1/4" micro tubing to run from the main line to the plants and then put your dripper on the micro tubing...

I figure for less than $200 USD you can set up this system which ideally would support 160 plants....oh yeah, that is strickly for watering...if you want to fertigate, get ready to spend another $100-150.....
 
I have grown up to 350 and had room for another 50....but I have well over $500 in my system because I use a 3 gallon EZ-Flow inline fertigator, have made a bypass manifold, have two 4 station timers with valves....another 2 station timer with valves...oh, yeah, I forgot the water hoses that run to each station....so add the cost of 10 50' heavy duty garden hoses...

take a look at this youtube video...this was the year I grew the most plants and you can see my plants and the pvc pipe running to them........the video is October 21, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QTnyzQxow4&list=UUmjlE8OU6Vz-xsRRC5ADALg&index=8&feature=plcp
 
AlabamaJack said:
yeah, saw that and was in the process of editing my response...

OK...I have read somewhere and I don't remember that you shouldn't run more than 40 1 gph drippers per section....assuming you use 1 gph drippers...that's about $50...

5 sections @ 40 1 gph per section/station

Orbit makes a 4 station timer...if you want to try 50 drippers per section that is up to you, but it will save you a lot of money if you can get by with one of the 4 station controllers...

http://www.orbitonli.../01/04/01/2376/

these controllers are $50.... http://www.homedepot...1&storeId=10051

and come with two valves....you will need to buy two more valves...which are about $20 each

so now you have ~$140 already in equipment before you run your lines...I don't use the drip line because my runs are in straight lines...I use 1/2" PVC pipe that I tap and die for the threaded 1 gph drippers I use....you can use the 1/2" black vinyl or poly line for your main line and 1/4" micro tubing to run from the main line to the plants and then put your dripper on the micro tubing...

I figure for less than $200 USD you can set up this system which ideally would support 160 plants....oh yeah, that is strickly for watering...if you want to fertigate, get ready to spend another $100-150.....
Click to expand...
wow thanks alabamajack im going to look into all of this....

THANKS AGAIN TYLER

omg im oly in 2 mins to the video how do you get the plants soo big and sooo tall my plants now are only like 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall you have pepper trees how do you do it????
 
practice
tylerdodd25_92 said:
omg im oly in 2 mins to the video how do you get the plants soo big and sooo tall my plants now are only like 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall you have pepper trees how do you do it????
Click to expand...

practice
 
I went with the option of container growing, mainly because of the short growing season here in south Wisconsin.
But i can say that it was a lot of work for 70 plants in 6 gal and 4 gal containers, most of the cost was for soil and additives to the soil, the containers were either free or fairly cheap.
One thing though with the lack of rain and hot weather here the containers need watering every day compared to the few plants i put in the ground.
I figured with the growing season here i would be better off planting in containers and moving them indoors around the end of September.
A drip process would sure be the way to go if you do not have the time.
Doing containers so far for me is working out as i have the time to mess with them.
 
wulf...if you will tell me how many plants you are going to grow and want to fertigate, I can give you a ball park estimate in USD....
Click to expand...

My setup this year ended up with < 20 plants outside and about 15 runts that never took off left inside. Next year, after correcting my mistakes, I could see up to 50. Year after that, who knows. Depends if the woman leaves me for spending more time with peppers than her, I guess. 50's a good cut-off point for planning though, or less if there's a breakpoint that pushes 50 plants into the next price bracket.

I don't have the room to do them in a straight line, so it sounds like I'd want the drip line then. Or am I running with few enough plants that I should really just put them in a circle and set up a sprinkler timer, or something more aesthetically pleasing along those lines?

Edit: Fertigation doesn't seem necessary to me at this level, if it will double or more the cost of the system.
 
tylerdodd25_92 said:
wow alabamajack you are like a pepper god those plants look amazing your smallest plants were double or triple my biggest plants lol....
Click to expand...
For sure on that, a good investment brings in the rewards.
One thing i have noticed about container growing is it seems like all the plants have eyes!
I swear when i go out in the evening to water them and notice there wilt before watering and when i start watering the first few and look up seems there double wilted its like the dang things know when your start watering then wilt even more until they get there share.
 
+1 for what AJ said earlier about what works best for your individual needs.

This year I did a mix of in ground, 5 gal nursery pots and 5 gal lowes buckets. With what I have seen with my in ground plants, I will be going 100% in ground next year. Not only have I gotten way better results from the in ground plants but I only have to water every few days instead of every night. Also the direct sun in the hottest parts of the day have no affect on them... the container plants are another story, they look like death with sun on them after noon-1pm ish. Whoever said black gumbo clay isn't good to grow in is crazy :P.

-J
 
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