Post by Jay on Apr 5, 2012 21:37:00 GMT
UPDATE: The secret to adapting John B.'s stock watering float valves for rain barrels is to add a solar powered (w/car battery backup) 12v demand pump. I've been working with a truly brilliant irrigation/landscaping guy for the past few weeks setting up the perfect (to me, anyway) system. I will post photos and a more detailed description shortly (should be finished this weekend). It will automatically fill my raised beds to a preset depth, and any overflow (when it rains, e.g.) will fall into large reservoirs created underneath (each is 256 gallons, and I will have two beds, effectively doubling my current 500+ gal supply of rainwater).
A second pump will move water from these reservoirs back into the rain barrels if needed, and a separate line now goes into my greenhouse allowing me the high pleasure of using a hose and trigger nozzle to water my CP with rainwater, under pressure :-).
Life is good, and will get great on Saturday, if all goes well .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Posted on this on Terra Forums, but without any response. Hoping I have better luck here :-).
I've seen some great examples of bogs -- raised, circulating, etc. I'm looking to build (or have built) something a little different:
I prefer to grow my outdoor (greenhouse in the winter) CP in pots, despite all of the advice to the contrary from experienced friends. I don't have a good reason except for preference. I live in USDA Zone 7A, so the plants could easily survive the winter in the ground, but I like them in pots, I like being able to baby them through the winter, I like the portability, and frankly, I like the look (shrug).
When I have been semi-permanent in a locale, I've built long raised rectangular water beds out of 4x4s, filled with topsoil (or whatever) to a reasonable depth, lined with landscape plastic and then topped with 2x4 caps. These have worked reasonably well, but filling and draining water have always been a manual process, and I'm sure I have lost plants because of the wildly varying water levels (e.g. too high for too long after a heavy rain when I'm traveling for work). The water also stagnates (and smells).
I'm hopefully permanent again (this time for good, or at least close to it), So this time I would like to do it right. I would like the same raised wooden water beds, at a comfortable height, with a mechanism to keep the water flowing and at a specific depth.
Tap water is not an option for me, so I collect rainwater in two 275-gallon plastic tote containers (can post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing). I would like to pump water from these containers to the water beds when more water is needed, and to pump (or drain) the water somewhere else when it's more than a few inches deep) -- either to drain away or to recycle.
I also realized that I don't need to fill the raised beds with topsoil (or whatever). I could build a false bottom and have a large reservoir underneath, either for equipment (pump, float valve, etc.) or an extra sun-protected reservoir for water (maybe even with a filter and/or UV setup), or both.
I'm not handy by nature, and I'm planning to hire somebody to build these for me, but I've had difficulty finding someone creative enough to concept what I'm looking for.
Any suggestions -- either for designs and operational details/materials, or even someone (hope against hope) in the Mid-Atlantic US (I live in Virginia near Washington DC) who gets what I'm talking about and can design and/or build it for me -- would be MUCH appreciated.
A second pump will move water from these reservoirs back into the rain barrels if needed, and a separate line now goes into my greenhouse allowing me the high pleasure of using a hose and trigger nozzle to water my CP with rainwater, under pressure :-).
Life is good, and will get great on Saturday, if all goes well .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Posted on this on Terra Forums, but without any response. Hoping I have better luck here :-).
I've seen some great examples of bogs -- raised, circulating, etc. I'm looking to build (or have built) something a little different:
I prefer to grow my outdoor (greenhouse in the winter) CP in pots, despite all of the advice to the contrary from experienced friends. I don't have a good reason except for preference. I live in USDA Zone 7A, so the plants could easily survive the winter in the ground, but I like them in pots, I like being able to baby them through the winter, I like the portability, and frankly, I like the look (shrug).
When I have been semi-permanent in a locale, I've built long raised rectangular water beds out of 4x4s, filled with topsoil (or whatever) to a reasonable depth, lined with landscape plastic and then topped with 2x4 caps. These have worked reasonably well, but filling and draining water have always been a manual process, and I'm sure I have lost plants because of the wildly varying water levels (e.g. too high for too long after a heavy rain when I'm traveling for work). The water also stagnates (and smells).
I'm hopefully permanent again (this time for good, or at least close to it), So this time I would like to do it right. I would like the same raised wooden water beds, at a comfortable height, with a mechanism to keep the water flowing and at a specific depth.
Tap water is not an option for me, so I collect rainwater in two 275-gallon plastic tote containers (can post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing). I would like to pump water from these containers to the water beds when more water is needed, and to pump (or drain) the water somewhere else when it's more than a few inches deep) -- either to drain away or to recycle.
I also realized that I don't need to fill the raised beds with topsoil (or whatever). I could build a false bottom and have a large reservoir underneath, either for equipment (pump, float valve, etc.) or an extra sun-protected reservoir for water (maybe even with a filter and/or UV setup), or both.
I'm not handy by nature, and I'm planning to hire somebody to build these for me, but I've had difficulty finding someone creative enough to concept what I'm looking for.
Any suggestions -- either for designs and operational details/materials, or even someone (hope against hope) in the Mid-Atlantic US (I live in Virginia near Washington DC) who gets what I'm talking about and can design and/or build it for me -- would be MUCH appreciated.