Has anyone else attempted a LakeTainer? - Page 5

lowlylowlycook · June 26, 2011

Another bullet point for future LakeTainer marketing.

Designed to be stable in high winds, unlike the EarthTainer.

To be fair the EarthTainer that got blown over had a Sungold and Black Cherry in it so the wind had a much,much longer torque arm to work with. Also the new cages made sure that the lid stayed on so the only damage was almost a quart of greenies falling off.

Did I say only?

For next year I'll have to decide between fence posts and inflatable rings to provide more stability.

rnewste · June 26, 2011

llc,

I am "blown away" that you had an EarthTainer III fall over due to wind. These suckers weigh over 150 pounds and have a very low center of gravity using the 31 gallon Rugged Tote container. What kind of Hurricane force winds blew it over???

Raybo

lowlylowlycook · July 5, 2011

So I pulled my first tomatoes from the LakeTainer today. Also pulled off a hornworm so I decided to make sure these survived.

Now to summon the patience to wait for them to finish ripening.

rnewste · July 5, 2011

llc,

Looking real good!!

That Hornworm must be a real "Sailor".

Raybo

jamesjbird · July 6, 2011

I have a small fish pond where I feed Herons! LOL that should work well. The Yankee initiative still is alive. Thanx

Katmary · August 11, 2011

ROFL! This is the funniest thing! There's a small lake in the center of my neighborhood, though I'm not on the lake part or I'd be very tempted! I bet if I sent some out there would be one heated HOH discussion! About a fourth of the neighbors DO garden and when I'm back on my other computer, I'm forwarding this to them! Good luck! Seems hornworms can get anywhere, can't they!

lakelady · September 1, 2011

Holy cow, that is the funniest thing ever! I am totally amazed and humbled by your creative solution. What a riot... what about things like muskrats? Don't you have those in your lake? I know we do and they love to come to the shore and eat all the plants and flowers, so I'm wondering if they would eat the maters too, or maybe it's too scary because it moves and bobbles?

I really need to make one of those myself but my float that no one uses anymore is a much bigger donut than that one and I couldn't imagine how big the container would need to be...but wow, how funny is that! I love it!

mayeeta · September 6, 2011

I joined tomatoville because of your post.

Awesome experiment. You can create a floating garden like in the ancient time.

BW_AustinTX · November 2, 2011

I wonder if light reflection off the water would effect the underside of the leaves in a negative manner.
Hope it works for you, really clever!

mysidx · February 8, 2012

This is an awesome thread, I can't wait until you set sail again....

janezee · February 8, 2012

+1
This one made me laugh and laugh. Thanks!

lowlylowlycook · May 5, 2012

Here we see the elusive LakeTainer in it's natural habitat. If you look carefully you can see the weaved exoskeleton characteristic of the mature LakeTainer.

Even more rare is a baby LakeTainer. Indeed few have seen one. Sadly it is deformed by the loss of two of it's usual three wicks. Hopefully it can survive.

The "baby" has cloth wicks instead of the soil wicks that I copied from the Earthtainer design. Apparently if the openings for the wicks are too tight they are quite likely to be sheared off. The original Laketainer has a new rope basket weaved around it so that it fits more snugly in it's tube. Since the tube's covering is getting pretty bad I figured I couldn't count on it to keep the bucket raised high enough.

rnewste · May 5, 2012

Hey LLC,

Glad to see you are constantly "improving" the design!

What Varieties are you growing this year?

As I am now out of space, I've been thinking about putting a couple of your LakeTainers in my Hot Tub.

Keep up the good work!!

Raybo

lowlylowlycook · May 5, 2012

They are both Sophie's Choice. So far my other varieties have been kept for the garden and Earthtainers.

It will be interesting to see how the new one does. I don't know if the last wick will stay on or if the plant will force roots through the slits that were put in for the other two.

The cloth wicks make for a simpler design but it's not that easy to find largish, round and fairly shallow containers with sloping sides to keep them from slipping into the water.

The hot tub should allow some really early plantouts.

Will Actionovate and Serenade keep a hottub clear? Only you can find out Raybo

Zana · May 5, 2012

LLC - Love your Laketainers.

If I spent more time up at out place on the lake I'd be doing it too. I'd just be worried about the idiots with the jetskis running them over.

Ray - You could always check freecycle.com or fullcircles.com to see if anybody is giving away an old hot tub. That way you could have your "tubtainer"

and enjoy your tub too.

Zana

June 26, 2011	#61
lowlylowlycook Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: So. Illinois (6a) Posts: 147	Another bullet point for future LakeTainer marketing. Designed to be stable in high winds, unlike the EarthTainer. To be fair the EarthTainer that got blown over had a Sungold and Black Cherry in it so the wind had a much,much longer torque arm to work with. Also the new cages made sure that the lid stayed on so the only damage was almost a quart of greenies falling off. Did I say only? For next year I'll have to decide between fence posts and inflatable rings to provide more stability.

June 26, 2011	#62
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	llc, I am "blown away" that you had an EarthTainer III fall over due to wind. These suckers weigh over 150 pounds and have a very low center of gravity using the 31 gallon Rugged Tote container. What kind of Hurricane force winds blew it over??? Raybo

July 5, 2011	#63
lowlylowlycook Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: So. Illinois (6a) Posts: 147	So I pulled my first tomatoes from the LakeTainer today. Also pulled off a hornworm so I decided to make sure these survived. Now to summon the patience to wait for them to finish ripening.

July 6, 2011	#65
jamesjbird Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: naples,new york Posts: 1	I have a small fish pond where I feed Herons! LOL that should work well. The Yankee initiative still is alive. Thanx

August 11, 2011	#66
Katmary Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Orangevale/CA Posts: 31	ROFL! This is the funniest thing! There's a small lake in the center of my neighborhood, though I'm not on the lake part or I'd be very tempted! I bet if I sent some out there would be one heated HOH discussion! About a fourth of the neighbors DO garden and when I'm back on my other computer, I'm forwarding this to them! Good luck! Seems hornworms can get anywhere, can't they!

September 1, 2011	#67
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Holy cow, that is the funniest thing ever! I am totally amazed and humbled by your creative solution. What a riot... what about things like muskrats? Don't you have those in your lake? I know we do and they love to come to the shore and eat all the plants and flowers, so I'm wondering if they would eat the maters too, or maybe it's too scary because it moves and bobbles? I really need to make one of those myself but my float that no one uses anymore is a much bigger donut than that one and I couldn't imagine how big the container would need to be...but wow, how funny is that! I love it!

September 6, 2011	#68
mayeeta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: British Columbia, Canada Posts: 2	I joined tomatoville because of your post. Awesome experiment. You can create a floating garden like in the ancient time.

November 2, 2011	#69
BW_AustinTX Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Austin TX Posts: 28	I wonder if light reflection off the water would effect the underside of the leaves in a negative manner. Hope it works for you, really clever!

February 8, 2012	#70
mysidx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Baton Rouge,Louisiana Zone 8b Posts: 340	This is an awesome thread, I can't wait until you set sail again....

February 8, 2012	#71
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	+1 This one made me laugh and laugh. Thanks!

May 5, 2012	#72
lowlylowlycook Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: So. Illinois (6a) Posts: 147	Here we see the elusive LakeTainer in it's natural habitat. If you look carefully you can see the weaved exoskeleton characteristic of the mature LakeTainer. Even more rare is a baby LakeTainer. Indeed few have seen one. Sadly it is deformed by the loss of two of it's usual three wicks. Hopefully it can survive. The "baby" has cloth wicks instead of the soil wicks that I copied from the Earthtainer design. Apparently if the openings for the wicks are too tight they are quite likely to be sheared off. The original Laketainer has a new rope basket weaved around it so that it fits more snugly in it's tube. Since the tube's covering is getting pretty bad I figured I couldn't count on it to keep the bucket raised high enough.

May 5, 2012	#75
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	LLC - Love your Laketainers. If I spent more time up at out place on the lake I'd be doing it too. I'd just be worried about the idiots with the jetskis running them over. Ray - You could always check freecycle.com or fullcircles.com to see if anybody is giving away an old hot tub. That way you could have your "tubtainer" and enjoy your tub too. Zana