Negev Garden Project

[George]

I just wanted you to take little glimpse of my garden project on our roof! With the concept of an earthbox, and since they don't ship earthboxes to Israel, I created a type of earthbox — the Negev Box — that maximizes the yields of plants while at the same time conserves water.The Negev Box (my created Earthbox) is 2 constructed of 2 black plastic tubs roughly 24 inches by 30 inches. This is a photo of the bottom box with 50cm cut PVC pipe cut 6.5 cm tall. It holds roughly 12 liters of water in the reservoir. At the side of the bottom box is a water drainage hole roughly 7cm from the bottom.The 2nd box is laid on top of the bottom box with 2 large holes in the rear that hold a 2 liter bottle cut in half with slits down the sides of them. When the box is filled with soil each of these 2 liter half bottles act as a wick to draw water throughout the box. Additionally small holes are drilled throughout the box allowing the roots to have direct access to the water. On the bottom left corner is a 50cm PVC pipe with holes drilled at the bottom to allow the water to enter the reservoir underneath. This gray pipe is the only place the watering takes place. Once the box is filled with soil then the entire box is covered with plastic to prevent any evaporation of water. Each box depending on the plants they contain take roughly 3-4 liters of water daily.. The plastic removed so you can see the moistness of the soil mixture. The soil is a combination of 60% sphagnum peat moss, 20% vermiculite, and 20% perlite. It's nutritional source comes from organic fertilizer called Humus.30% shade cloth covering 1/2 of the garden. It's totally movable as the base is a 5 gallon bucket filled with cement with a 120 cm PVC pipe in the center. Bases for the Shade Cloth. 5 Gallon buckets filled with cement with 120cm PVC pipe in the center.A row of cucumber plants under the shade cloth. Each plant produces roughly 3 cucumbers weekly. And there's 27 cucumber plants growing. However by the end of the season, we'll probably produce a cucumber per plant daily as the vines grow.Celery plants.Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano, Thessaloniki Tomatoes, Bell Peppers The Thessaloniki tomato plants are yielding roughly 10-15 golf size tomatoes daily. The cherry tomatoes haven't started yielding yet. Bell Peppers haven't ripened yet.Lettuce is producing roughly 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) every other day.Cucumbers beginning to ripen for harvest. Each flower will become a cucumber when pollinated.The cucumber that got away. This 780 gram cucumber was hiding under some leaves! As you can see, my son Obi can't believe how big it is!That's just a glimpse of our Negev Garden Project on our roof. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

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[Fez]

Nice George! I am experimenting at home with an ebb and flow hydroponics system at the moment. Built it myself using a pond pump and a timer. The plants are in a mix much the same as yours, they sit in pots that are flooded every 4 hours or so with water to just above the roots. The water then drains away slowly back into the tank, and the whole process repeats itself, day and night.

I am having a few problems with water Ph, and have to adjust it, and find it difficult to get the right nutrient mix where I live. The only stores thyat support hydroponics are a good 4 hour drive, and I have not been able to get there yet.

I am pressed for space, and can't plant in soil beds.

[nebula]

Awesome!

[George]

Nice George! I am experimenting at home with an ebb and flow hydroponics system at the moment. Built it myself using a pond pump and a timer. The plants are in a mix much the same as yours, they sit in pots that are flooded every 4 hours or so with water to just above the roots. The water then drains away slowly back into the tank, and the whole process repeats itself, day and night.

I am having a few problems with water Ph, and have to adjust it, and find it difficult to get the right nutrient mix where I live. The only stores thyat support hydroponics are a good 4 hour drive, and I have not been able to get there yet.

I am pressed for space, and can't plant in soil beds.

Sounds interesting. The water here in the Negev is a ph of 8, but with the acidic nature of the soil mixture I believe it evens itself out pretty nicely. Right now, I'm testing to see how tomatoes do with some plants under the shade cloth and some others not. One thing I've notice is that my tomatoes under the shade cloth haven't even turned or begun to turn red thus are much bigger -- however the number of tomatoes are much less. So everything is an experiment for me these days. I still have another 1/2 of my roof that I can utilize -- and probably will next year. I'll just take it one step at a time.