Any suggestions?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by hpedersen, Apr 18, 2010.

  1. hpedersen

    hpedersen Junior Member

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    I have this long concrete container built into a wall in my carport and I welcome any suggestions to the best plants to grow there. The container is about 30cm deep and the surface is 500cm by 19cm. it only gets the water I give it and the amount of sun is very little, about 2-3 hours in the morning, per day for one end down to much less for the other end thats in the corner of my carport. I tried a few months ago to grow chili pepper, onion and tomato but only the pepper survived but didnt bear any fruit. The container also got water logged easily, any suggestions? I am in Indonesia on east jawa and somewhat up in the mountains (1500 feet). At the moment we are getting close to the end of the rainy season.

    Henning.
     

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  2. butchasteve

    butchasteve Junior Member

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    not sure on the plants, others can help there. all i know is you need to have some drainage, whether you cut some holes in the concrete or not.. waterlogged sealed containers are not the best place to be growing stuff, especially with little sun to evaporate some water..

    good luck, looks an interesting one.
     
  3. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    g'day henning,

    for me i think it would totally miss the mark as a viable planter, it apears to be inside the house not so sure i'd want that? there is the issue of where does the wate drain to, then it could attract ants in as well or give termites a starting point? my advice if you want plants in the house have them in pots as they all need good light and you can then give them a break outside and bring something else in. i'd be thinking of pulling that planter out and cementing and tilling over the spot.

    len
     
  4. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    I think you can probably forget food and grow Devils Ivy, Epipremnum aureum, as a source of biomass.
     
  5. permup

    permup Junior Member

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    I agree, forget the food. Either biomass or just beautify it with some ferns.
     
  6. aroideana

    aroideana Junior Member

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    Some swamp plants like taro would grow , but not well without much sun . Cyrtosperma merkusii may do better but is hard to source .
     
  7. ecodharmamark

    ecodharmamark Junior Member

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    G'day Henning

    Yes, definitely going to need some drainage. You could remove the existing soil, drill a (drainage) hole either end of the structure (in case it has a fall (slope) one way, the other, or not at all), and then attach hoses to the external side of the holes, in order to drain excess moisture. To ensure that the structure drains freely (ie - so that the drainage holes and hose do not block up), I would suggest that you use the 'ag-pipe, geo-fabric sock, and gravel' technique (for example):

    [​IMG]
    Source: https://anlscape.sitesuite.ws/images/products/misc_sock&pipeTH.jpg

    Once you have completed the above and replaced the growing medium (soil), then you could attach a lattice to the wall and grow whatever plant/s suit the micro-climate. Food bearing or not, the benefits of a green wall are substantial:

    [​IMG]
    Source: https://designcrave.frsucrave.netdn...ploads/2009/05/self-watering-green-wall-1.jpg

    Cheerio, Marko.
     
  8. hpedersen

    hpedersen Junior Member

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    Thanks for the input.

    I really appreciate all the suggestions. Since I posted I have had to make some major changes in my plans and I will most likely move to another city soon. I am renting here so not going to make any major changes even if my wife and kids stay here for some time (already paid for the next 12 months :-()
    Maybe when deciding where to live next I will try to find a place that fits
    with my needs rather than trying to fit with whats available.

    I will be sure to give an update on the developments.

    cheers

    Henning.
     

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