Hi.
Installed 5/16" i.d. tubes in the planters as in post #14 instead of those 1/8" narrow green ones. At the beginning got blocked by dirt above their level. After clearing repeatedly, seem to drain fine. No flooding.
Some contraption idea needs to be implemented to ensure the drain tubes will stay unclogged and the phreatic level does not rise, to obtain both the 'draining soil' so often sought-after in gardening and a lasting wet reserve below. In other words, the 'draining soil' to drain into a ~4" depth below. I think

Perhaps reversing wicking ? A wick reaching above the surface inside the drain tubes for draining. Slower, but the tubes would not clog. Hey! Much larger drain tubes diameter with wick inside...

 

Looking good. The moisture levels look stable. The spikes are where I watered after fertilizer.

 

Growing like weeds.

 

The global warming hit today In brutal heat, the artichoke plants died today, the tomatoes got dry leaves, and they have drip irrigation 24/7. Bell peppers suffering. Lettuces moved to shade. Not good. The planters with the internal drain subject of this thread destroyed by marmots.

 

The global warming hit today In brutal heat, the artichoke plants died today, the tomatoes got dry leaves, and they have drip irrigation 24/7. Bell peppers suffering. Lettuces moved to shade. Not good. The planters with the internal drain subject of this thread destroyed by marmots.

It's been over 100F for several days while I was gone. The 5gal drip bucket gets empty quick under those conditions so I called the older child to check the house, top off the bucket and wet the planters. My water monitoring system keeps track using a remote 'cloud' connection to Home Assistant. That BLUMAT watering system seems to working well with large planters. The small planters are seeing heat stress and dry leaves using the same system for watering. https://www.blumat.com/en/tropf/das-tropf-blumat-system/vorteile


Water Sensor


Large planter soil.

May 11

July 11

 

 

Hi.
Playing with 2 litre PET bottles. The bottoms are bottom cut cylinder sections, just holding water. The top half is a second cut bottle, with lettuces in soil getting moisture with a piece of old towel as wick from the bottom. So far, a successful way !
Also on image: 3 pomegranates begging for transplant, culantro, and junipers.

 

I solved that problem with our hanging planters. I put drain holes in the bottom and artificial plants set in styrofoam in the top.

That was my solution, too

 

That was my solution, too

That's the source of those tasteless tomatoes.

 

You might want to check out sub-irrigated planters. There are a variety of designs and they are much more immune to high temperatures and dry conditions than other options. The link is to Wikipedia but there are a lot of sources online for various practical implementations.

 

Just to add some color to the thread...

 

 

 

For a bit of colour, here are my Impatiens Vinylis.

 

About 300 on the tree...



Before the squirrels get to them...



About a sack of pears given to the neighbors. So far, 2 gallons of puree, frozen until the next summer. But not everything went well. Zero artichokes, Marmot took care of watermelons and corn, few bell peppers, just a dozen of plums, insects got the peaches first. Not many tomatoes this year.

 

The season is about done.

Apr 16


Oct 3

Still producing fruit.
https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/faq/can-i-ripen-green-tomatoes-indoors-frost
Can I ripen green tomatoes indoors before frost?

 

Picking all that's usable.

 

Getting the pots ready for this years crop.

 

My daughter has a company that provides custom painted pots. She sells a couple novelty pots. She sells this design (which Dad just had to purchase). See attachment.

 

My daughter has a company that provides custom painted pots. She sells a couple novelty pots. She sells this design (which Dad just had to purchase). See attachment.
View attachment 345525

Strange looking eyes.