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PROJECT: Mexican Ping Dripping Wall
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seedjar
Let's positive thinking!
I feel like this isn't the one I had in mind, but take a look at this blog: http://www.livingwallart.com/
You should be able to find some ideas here; they write about all sorts of different techniques.
As for P. gigantea, they don't seem to have a dormancy like the Mexican Pings. But they do slow down in growth when it gets cool, and when that happens I tend to cut back on the watering a bit just as a precaution.
~Joe
You should be able to find some ideas here; they write about all sorts of different techniques.
As for P. gigantea, they don't seem to have a dormancy like the Mexican Pings. But they do slow down in growth when it gets cool, and when that happens I tend to cut back on the watering a bit just as a precaution.
~Joe
Thank you Joe.
Guys: I bought a 1' by 4' slab of 1.5" thick rockwool today. This is not nearly enough for a full sized wall, but I'm thinking it'd be good to expirement on a mini wall.
Facts about rockwool that will apply to me:
From: http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/rockwool.asp
This lack of water absorbtion will be both good and bad. Maybe it will be superior to felts which must retain a great ammount of water...but I must water it automatically several times a day I assume.
Since this media has NO nutrients, I will have to add SOMETHING to the water...dilute fertilizer? Run the water through decomposing granite or limestone? Regular ping media? And I'll have to feed the plants by hand if they're not catching much I assume.
Any thoughts?
---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 PM ----------
How about this as a solution?:
My brother thought of this: make tapered media pockets in the rockwool, with small openings in front for the pings and larger ones in back. This might just be the answer, but what to fill it with! That is the question.
Let me know what you guys think!
Guys: I bought a 1' by 4' slab of 1.5" thick rockwool today. This is not nearly enough for a full sized wall, but I'm thinking it'd be good to expirement on a mini wall.
Facts about rockwool that will apply to me:
- Rockwool is a horticultural growing media made from the natural ingredients Basalt rock and Chalk. These are then melted at 1600° C into a lava which is blown into a large spinning chamber, which pulls the lava into fibers like "cotton candy." If you have ever visited a volcano you have probably seen these fibers flying around in the air surrounding the volcano. Once the fibers are spun they are then compressed into a mat which is then cut into slabs and cubes.
- Horticultural Rockwool growing media is primarily available in two general formats. First, as rigid slabs, blocks, and cubes known as "bonded" products because the fibers are held together with a "gluing" or binding agent which renders them stiff and brittle.
- The most important characteristic of all formed rockwool lies in the fact it allows growers to quickly respond to fluctuations in the plant's rooting environment. The rockwool being an inert media means that rockwool fibers do not modify or restrict the availability of nutrient to the plants. Due to this zero Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), the material can be leached of all fertilizer "salts."
- After excessive soaking, the slab will drain sufficiently, in a short period of time, so that 40-50% of the pore space is occupied by air. Since it has an almost zero absorbtion capacity for water.
- Slabs are the premium product for vegetable cropping. They are available wrapped in UV resistant polyethylene sleeves for ease of use. The special structure provides a uniform environment allowing plant roots to rapidly explore all the available growing volume for a quick start. Water and nutrient distribution is also more uniform and provides a larger effective rooting volume than previously possible. Slabs come in 36" lengths and 3" heights and have two different sizes of widths. The 6" slab is suitable for crops that do not tend to require a very large root capacity. The 8" slab is mainly for extremely vigorous crops such as cucumbers that require a strong and stable base and a large root capacity. The Slabs are easy to use just cut holes in the top of the slab set your cubes on top and cut a few slits in the bottom of the slab's plastic for drainage.
From: http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/rockwool.asp
This lack of water absorbtion will be both good and bad. Maybe it will be superior to felts which must retain a great ammount of water...but I must water it automatically several times a day I assume.
Since this media has NO nutrients, I will have to add SOMETHING to the water...dilute fertilizer? Run the water through decomposing granite or limestone? Regular ping media? And I'll have to feed the plants by hand if they're not catching much I assume.
Any thoughts?
---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 PM ----------
How about this as a solution?:
My brother thought of this: make tapered media pockets in the rockwool, with small openings in front for the pings and larger ones in back. This might just be the answer, but what to fill it with! That is the question.
Let me know what you guys think!
It seem like nobody else really does either. I guess I'm basically on my own--well, I hope to get Jeff's "secret" p. gigantea soil recipe to use in my project.
I think, you finally got it!
BTW: For me, the name of the so called "dripping wall" by Jurg Steiger is very much misleading. Those things he used for a short time are indeed more small greenhouses with some unusual dimensions. Don't always look on the photos of those greenhouses with opened doors, look on this photo:
http://www.pinguicula.org/images/culture/drippingwalls1(HR).jpg
Those things were closed compartments, equipped with heating, cooling and watering equipment. I'd better call them "temperature-controlled mini-greenhouse" instead of "dripping wall". Or perhaps "closed compartment with a dripping wall construction in it, that can be opened when the weather conditions are adequate or that can be heated or cooled otherwise". Some of the compartments were open longer than others, but all of them were closed and temperature-controlled during significant time of the year.
Jesse, you're right in both regards! Mr. Steiger's contraptions seem to be very advanced for growing difficult pings. Yes, mine will be nothing like that.
I have decided to make a miniwall before making one large enough to fill the area I have discussed. I will use rockwool and will make media pockets in it as per the plan. For the media I will use something between these two recipes:
So...maybe:
Cat litter-4-5 parts
Silica Sand-1 part
Vemiculite- 1 part
Perlite- 2 parts
Decomposing Granite- 1 part
Lava rock- 2-3 rocks per pocket.
Suggestions?
---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 PM ----------
The only problem with that mix I'm considerin is it might hold too much water. I originally wanted the wall to be watered automatically. Maybe I should lower the concentration of cat litter
I have decided to make a miniwall before making one large enough to fill the area I have discussed. I will use rockwool and will make media pockets in it as per the plan. For the media I will use something between these two recipes:
So...maybe:
Cat litter-4-5 parts
Silica Sand-1 part
Vemiculite- 1 part
Perlite- 2 parts
Decomposing Granite- 1 part
Lava rock- 2-3 rocks per pocket.
Suggestions?
---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:39 PM ----------
The only problem with that mix I'm considerin is it might hold too much water. I originally wanted the wall to be watered automatically. Maybe I should lower the concentration of cat litter
. Anybody with a spare pump that can pump water 4.5 feet above itself?Well, here it is in action. Just today a friend and I constructed the main portion of the wall. Enjoy! Feel free to replicate!:
The holes for the media:
From the front:
Easy to cut holes in it! But it's itchy like fiberglass...not as bad, however.
The plywood (I know...but plexiglass costs too much! I already spent close to $100 on this. At least we stained it.)
And covered it with plastic
(friend in pic)
Starting to look sortof proper:
Yes, the ping media!:
So far, looking good! The aluminum, although pricey, certainly helps
This is my 3ft by 1ft miniwall. Holds up to 6 clones of p. gigantea. I just need to aquire more clones now...and a pump. If anybody has one, please consider me
Suggestions welcome. Not finished, however. We still need to add the water reservior.
The holes for the media:
From the front:
Easy to cut holes in it! But it's itchy like fiberglass...not as bad, however.
The plywood (I know...but plexiglass costs too much! I already spent close to $100 on this. At least we stained it.)
And covered it with plastic
(friend in pic)
Starting to look sortof proper:
Yes, the ping media!:
So far, looking good! The aluminum, although pricey, certainly helps
This is my 3ft by 1ft miniwall. Holds up to 6 clones of p. gigantea. I just need to aquire more clones now...and a pump. If anybody has one, please consider me
Suggestions welcome. Not finished, however. We still need to add the water reservior.
I guess I could make one, but many, "species walls" in a large unit. I'll just have to see what happens!
suite
excellent this work.
OK for the substrate also
you can use aquarium pump , but see on its user manual , the maxi level to have a good working.
I have use this method from my mini wall with sucess.
your mini wall = 90cm x 30cm no , but you can use the 2 positions in height 90 or 30cm
jeff
excellent this work.
OK for the substrate also
you can use aquarium pump , but see on its user manual , the maxi level to have a good working.
I have use this method from my mini wall with sucess.
your mini wall = 90cm x 30cm no , but you can use the 2 positions in height 90 or 30cm
jeff
Last edited:
Thank you kindly, Jeff.
I have good news! The water reservior is constructed, the pump has been purchased, and It's about ready to hang from the roof!--The last major hurdle to get over I hope
---------- Post added at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------
And if I ever make another one....I have some great ideas for it...due to building this one.
The pinguicula wall is complete as planned. When I tested it, I noticed that the water reservior is too small (1 gallon currently) and needs to be at least 2 gallons due to the lag of recirculation. I also noticed that I need to improve the water collection system as not all of it makes it back to the reservior...even though the majority does.
Will it grow pings? I think so. That said, a soiless growing environment seems to be ideal...as long as nutrients are added to the water I guess...at least I could have used media that drains better. I can always replace the media, however. Cat litter holds alot of water.
Pics tomorrow!
Will it grow pings? I think so. That said, a soiless growing environment seems to be ideal...as long as nutrients are added to the water I guess...at least I could have used media that drains better. I can always replace the media, however. Cat litter holds alot of water.
Pics tomorrow!
Ok, OK. Here are some pics 
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1-2 times a month, jeff? Should I water them once a week, then? The only problem I have now is the timer I purchased waters a minimum of once a day for one minute. Too much, huh. How often do you think I should water? Should I change the media to aquatic plant soil?
Jeff: The problem with me is San Diego is hot, dry, and not too cold in the winter. What pings would grow well? P. gigantea seems promising.
I put some other non-gigantea pings up there...you can see I need a few more clones. Hopefully the seed I received will provide those...and more!
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1-2 times a month, jeff? Should I water them once a week, then? The only problem I have now is the timer I purchased waters a minimum of once a day for one minute. Too much, huh. How often do you think I should water? Should I change the media to aquatic plant soil?
Jeff: The problem with me is San Diego is hot, dry, and not too cold in the winter. What pings would grow well? P. gigantea seems promising.
I put some other non-gigantea pings up there...you can see I need a few more clones. Hopefully the seed I received will provide those...and more!