• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

container Sterilite Containers

W

wordwiz

Anyone use these? I want to try to grow about 60 tomato plants upstairs this winter, using hydro, but really do not want to spend upwards of $300 on buckets and lids. Walmart sells a set of eight 58-quart plastic containers with lids for about $5 each. I should be able to raise six plants per container - that's more than nine gallons of solution per plant - and the only possible negative I can see is that they probably are not food grade. But I have not seen any articles that say hydro containers need to be FG - I'm pretty sure most of them are not.

Your opinions/experiences?

Mike
 
Someone else had trouble with the weight of the water bulging out the sides of their container. No idea what brand it was or if that will happen to the Sterilites.
 
I can't see this being a problem, as the lid should hold the sides in place. Plus, it will not be filled to the top, only to the bottom of the 5" net pots, and once roots start growing, not that high!

Mike
 
Yes the Sterilite containers need to have a frame or sturdy latice, like a crate to help support the sides. Sterilite storage boxes are made to hold sweaters, papers and shoes. 9gal per tote is still 72lbs of fluid pressing out sideways, plus the weight of plants pressing down on the rolled lip of the tote.

How much extra will some 1x2s and 1x4s cost to make an open crate for these things?
 
I never use any plastic containers unless they're stamped NSF or food grade. You can get free NSF buckets at any bakery, dog nut shop, or grocery store. Way too much scary shit is recycled into plastic containers. I prefer 100% virgin material
 
Treemanjohn,

I did a lot of Googling and found the Sterilite containers are made of polypropylene, which is suppose to be safe for food. It's used a lot in NFT systems and does not allow leaching according the manufacturers.

Datil Patch,

I can build bins or a framework if I need to but one thing, I plan to have a bunch of these in a row, abutting each other. I can get at least 10, if not 11 in a 15' space.

One other question, somewhat related, is whether I should go with three 600-watt lamps or four, 400 watts? The former will give we way more lumens (200,000 vs. 152,000) but the cost per lumen is almost the same for both lamps. But the initial costs difference is significant: four 400-watt systems will cost about $500, three 600-watters about $700. At the same time, growing four plants per 3.5 sq. ft. is going to create very lush and thick plant canopy. I'm thinking those extra 2133 lumens per sf. might be worth the extra cost - if each plant produces 3 extra pounds of fruit, I would recoup my costs the first grow.

Mike
 
Don't know about the lights thang. I'm usin one as a DIY Earthbox sorta setup... Polyprop is pretty chill, the dyes they use fer the colorin' is the main thing as to if it is food safe or not. As I understand it anyhow... I wouldn'y wanna use it as a res with a buncha hydro chemicals for somethin I eat, but filled with dirt and whatev- I wouldn't trip on it WW.
 
The recycled materials is where you can get issues. I own a surplus/salvage company and I've seen the crap people recycle into consumer products. Pesticide bottles, car battery cases, chemical containers.........

I'm not into indoor growing mathematics, so I'm not much help calculating lumens. I personally use 54 watt high output T5 lights and for me they're far superior metal halide or high pressure sodium. I'll never go back to hot bulbs again
 
There is a thread somewhere about food grade plastics. Most storage bins are polypropylene/ (pp)/ type 5. The container will be marked to tell you. The only thing I see would leach is the colouring but I have a shop bought nft system which is black and is sold for this purpose.

Just make sure you sterilise with some H202.

Chris
 
Color is not a concern - they are clear! Yeah, I line the outsides with something or spray paint them. My plan is to have them 2 wide (about four feet) and 3 or 4 long (they are 19" wide) per 600 watt lamp. If I can get four plants per container and eight containers per light, 1800 watts of light will cover up to 96 plants. At 20 pounds per plant, that's 1900+ pounds of toms that I can sell for $1.50 per pound (in winter and early spring). Not bad for a $200 investment in a light, $120 in containers and $300 worth of electricity, especially since I can do two grows a year.

The one thing I am not sure about is if a 56-gallon container is large enough for 4 plants. But most stores selling these systems show six plants growing in a similar size. My first system was 56 17 gallon and was made to grow 5 plants. My game plan does involve lots of trimming of leaves. I will be trying Celebrity and Trust; the former is a determinate, the latter the opposite. I've never tried either before but both are highly recommended. Plus, a few people have said Trust can produce for 8-10 months! Can you imagine: start growing in September, get the ripe tomato in January and keep getting them until June!

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top