Kitchen Garden Forum

Here is my home made hydro carrot growing device. It is made from two propagator plastic lids, one to support the plastic tray which I have drilled 77, 20.00mm holes and the individual copper funnels, which are rolled to slightly overlap and fit neatly into each hole, and another to fit on top.

The inserts can be removed individually at will, and reach down to within 20.00mm of the bottom of the tray which holds water underneath. When the seedlings are ready to plant out, you can open the cone slightly to ease removal of the plug without disturbing the roots that have reached down into the water below.

Also pictured are my own home made copper dibbers, which are a mirror image of the plugs, the point reaches double the distance of the plug so when carrot seedlings are inserted the longer root can reach down straight and after each is watered in the root is carried down with the washing/watering in motion.

The copper tools really work well in dettering slugs a minute traces are left behind each time you pierce the soil, Schauberger knew a thing or two about soil it seems.

Home made dibbers to comement the insert plugs

That looks amazing, but it worries me that the tap root is right out of the bottom if its little pot. Surely when it is planted out, only the root actually in the pot will grow without distortion, the remainder of the root will twist and turn?

Chantal wrote:That looks amazing, but it worries me that the tap root is right out of the bottom if its little pot. Surely when it is planted out, only the root actually in the pot will grow without distortion, the remainder of the root will twist and turn?

The copper dibber has a length twice the length of the insert, so when the plug is removed the root can be wiggled about as you insert the plug which enters the void below the bottom of the plug.
If the root is slightly longer you simply push the dibber in further. When the plug is watered in, the permeating liquid drags the root and surrounding soil to the bottom of the void. It works really well and the advantage of having individual cones is, you don't have to disturb the other seedlings developing.

The root stock inside the conical insert is the main carrot as it grows, the tail root the lower eection of the carrot, using this system we are normally a month ahead, and don't need to thin out, which can attract carrot roof fly, we have had no root fly as yet in our plot for five years and the continual use of coppers tools is keeping the majority of slugs at bay.