Garden Towers? Anyone?

So the GF and I are looking for ways to simplify our lives, leave the trappings behind, get off grid more someday and become a little more self sufficient. Have to love a woman who loves fresh fish, knows all about the various health issues and wants me to go fishing/hunting more :)

Neither of us really are green thumbs though, and while we are contemplating the big step (for us)of moving from planters for things like lettuce, peppers, Tomato etc to an actual garden. We are hearing about and looking at these. Hard to argue that with our zones, growing seasons, being able to say have year round lettuce or peppers on a cycle so we always have is appealing.

Anyone know much about them?

http://www.towergarden.com/

My Two Cents
The first indication to me is a scam. Why, you have to buy the mineral mix and tower. A simple platform made on your own with off the shelf fertilizer seems to be a more viable option; the plastic type body can be made with wood. More importantly what are the chemicals they are using? You would probably get more growth with food compost if you had some. What is cost to produce a basil plant, lettuce and such compared to the full cost of growing cycle. Fertilizer bag garden, seems cheaper and easier to produce for soil challenged areas http://www.gardencents.com/category/fertilizer-ph Lots of good growing tips on this site. Also, with growing different vegies in same soil source, will have a high impact soil nutrient depletion…which requires more fertilizer…sell me more. It seems over complicated and not cost effective..but I have not done the math…

BTW...GF...hmm seems like a new ripple in your life...lol

lol last!

shes great. Like me very aware of shall we call them the 'trappings" of modern day life. If we could have our cake and icing, we'd move to a small log cabin completely off grid...She would prefer a tree or beach house in Costa Rica, where-as I would prefer Central/Northern Ontario. She understand compromise though....wants to do a yurt somewhere....beds and woodstoves and BBQs over airmattress ;)

I had/have similar thoughts. Seems like a bit of a hard sell to upsell their minerals etc, but would assume other soils/minerals could be used. Trickle Towers for veggie ponds (think Koi ponds etc) have been around forever and aren't hard to DIY...

Neither of us know much about gardening, and certainly aren't greenthumbs. If the process works and these can be utilized indoors and outdoors, so there is a consant rotation as veggies are harvested...Seems appealing.

If you do an internet search, you can het plans for making vertical gardens from wooden pallets (which you can get for free!) As far as soil for the plants, I would suggest you use compost. This can be worked into soil to provide a great medium for growing any plants. I also wait until things like bags of composted manure go on sale and use this to enrich the gardens.
One of the best fertilizers is Miracle grow that you mix with water. Relatively inexpensive.
Good luck with your plans for living off the grid. There are lots of books/internet information and one of the most informative is
Back to Basics, a book from Reader's Digest. It covers all kinds of topics for people living off the land.

We've talked a little about composting.
Whether or not we end up in Rural Ont somewhere and off grid remains to be seen. There are things called reality......:) but for now we doing what we can and gardening is something we both want to learn. Have to learn to walk before you run. Started with potters, this year we want to do more. Be it "tech" like this, a true garden or just more potting.

If we need any more reasons beyond GMOs, or this, that, the other or simply a desire to be more self sufficient.
http://business.financialpost.com/ne...our-low-dollar

The problem I see with these type of units is the distance from water to your plants, they will dry out.

If you are looking to grow lettuce inside it will be hard, they tend to shoot a the slightest changes and it is a pain.

There is something to be said about the traditional garden, and you can do this in a very small space if you utilize the land with dense planting in mind. I actually grew 10ft of vertical cucumbers, dill, 36 hot pepper plants and 12 roma tomato plants in a suburban rental until in an Ottawa suburb before we were able to buy our place, that year we canned over 800 jars of preserves and did so with our garden and the urban wild fruit (think free orchards :) ).

A lot of these things tend to be gimmicks.

Want to get your brain moving check out on Youtube
Rocket Stove cooker
Rocket Stove Mass heater
Off grid Hot Water
Woodstove water heater
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/
http://www.northernbushcraft.com/
Of particular interest to me this year is identifying Ontario mushrooms which is my hunter learning quest this year. I will be targeting Morels, Chicken of Woods, Puffballs and Chanterelles. Mushroom picking starts early right after snow melts, and can be done in greenspaces in your area. I have identified two pine forests within 5 minutes of my house in the Greenbelt area, plus numerous areas on Crown Land that I hunt.

Off the grid ideal for me
100+ Acres of woodlot, with couple to “farm” (grow vegies)
<1200 sq foot house (Ranch)
Wood/Water heat
8-10K solar power not grid connected (ground mount adjustable to solar gain)

• 3000W pure inverter
• MPPT controller
• All room disconnect able by switch

Propane stove, Propane dryer (when needed), propane hot water. Back up propane furnace.
All LED lighting
10K diesel generator in out building which double as “barn/storage”. Used only during high draw needs (family/parties) and monthly battery equalization for battery pack.
South situated home, with a stream if possible, swamp land or duck pond.
Land located in township that is not incorporated or little tax base.

JBen, I can attest to Fox's setup, he and misses are putting all of us to shame. The bunus for them is they are young and have the right idea now. I just wish I followed my instinct twenty years ago...

like the fact you added this line.

Quote:

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which is my hunter learning quest this year.

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I have quite a few that are percolating. We both look forward to the day we can move out of the burbs and reduce our reliance on various things, as well simplify our lives. So trying to learn to garden or do a small plot (we are contemplating talking to some friends, thinking along the lines of co-op...we grow this, you grow that and we exchange). She is actually pushing me to fish more. Wants me to go ice fishing for perch....I on the other hand would really like to learn and do more hunting. I want to process meat and in particular small game. Rabbit and Squirrel.

would "kill" to be able to move to a small bungalow this year and start.

yep, funny that someone so "young"...puts a lot of old timers to shame ;)
Copied his post and pasted.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JBen

yep, funny that someone so "young"...puts a lot of old timers to shame ;)
Copied his post and pasted.

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31 here, we were lucky enough to buy our first house and decided that getting a place with a garage in the city vs country being $100K extra, $100K buys a lot of gas.

We currently have a very nice setup on 1.84 acres, we are trying to build a system that keeps our food in our control, I even bought a scythe so that I can cut the long grass and dry it for hay for my rabbits until we pasture the back with a few lambs or goats, yes I said 1.84 acres :).

If you are "stuck" in the city there are tons of options, where abouts in Whitby are you stuck?

If you head north a bit there are lots of old orchards that have fallen into disrepair, I bet a lot are owned by the municipality but many are owned by city people who just like the colour in the spring. Ask them if they would not mind you picking some apples. You can make your own apple sauce, cider, apple butter and many other things off apples from trees that have gone wild, and don't forget the crab apples that the city puts all over the place.

Train tracks can be a good spot to find wild grapes, just make sure you actually pick wild grapes, there are some inedible things that grow along side of them, they are sour as heck but make a nice jelly.

Elderberries are another free one that is readily available along old woods, just make sure they are cooked.

Choke Cherries are all over the place as well, mmmm, choke cherry jelly.

Cucumbers grow vertically if trained to do so on commercial fence, the nice thing is that they stay cleaner and are easier to pick. Try pickling cucumbers, you can eat them in salad like any other cucumber but do not get too big that they pull down your fence.

Another thing to try is white asian radishes, they do not bolt and go woody like the red, you can preserve them too. Kale is another hardy one, you can plant it and pick it into the winter, just brush off the show and pick, start from the bottom leaves and go up. Brussel sprouts are another, they grow vertically so they do not take up much space in the flowerbed.

If you want to be off grid keep your eyes open for a pressure canner, this allows you to can meat and reduce your freezer requirement. We found an All American 921 canner, this will can 1L jars no problem, we have used it for pulled pork and chili, mmm, chili. They are $700 new but if you plan it right you can find them for cheap, but you have to be ready to jump, they use a metal to metal seal and not an O-ring, so you don't have to worry about parts not being available.

I hope you go for it, my mom sat me down and had a talk with me, she said we better start this before kids or the city will just be too easy, live in the country and love it then pass that along to your kids.

I'm in North Whitby, right on the northern edge.
Kids are my largest hurdle :)
House/land prices in the region being the next :) They are insane.
Life and the trappings..........

We will be going for it, as with anything its a process. Start small, learn as you go. In time be it 3 years or 6 I don't expect we will still be in the burbs.