troughs revisited

[Joakim B]

Dear all
I have seen the articles of making a trough out of fish boxes and concluded that is a cheap way of getting lightweitght throughs.
But there seems to be a "problem" since the troughs seem to be quite low/shallow. Looks like maximum 15 cm of planting deepth and often less than 10cm. To me that seems to give some limitations in the plants to be used.
I have seen another source of styrofoam boxes that are deeper and with thicker wall and bottom as well as often with lid. It is the boxes used by companies to send things that need to be cold. They are often seen in laboratory and other similar environments. This might not be as available as fish boxes but might be a better alternative if one can ge hold of them?

I have used them to store plants that need a period of dormacy and that I was afraid of getting awake by early wormth in the winter so that they start growing and get damaged by the cold that so often come after an early period of warmth in the winter. It was possible to cool by adding a frozen milk package (water filled). I also used this to get temperatures above freezing by using warm milk package (water filled) so that there would be no freezing in the box. It worked in both cases!

Are others using the thermal capacity of the troughs or is this just a thing that is there without being used?

An alternative use is to have plants that do not like warm summer in these troughs and "water" with ice.
Any use of the thermal properties and other use of the trough would be appreciated. It can be if people have seen that something grows better in a trough outside than in the garden.

Kind regards
Joakim

[mark smyth]

if you go to a shop that sells tropical fish you can get boxes in many sizes

[David Shaw]

Erm, Mark, I thought tropical fish were supposed to be alive and came in poly bags filled with water .

Electrical goods shops can also be a source of alternative boxes. Make sure that they have a decent thickness of wall. I once found sme quite nice boxes at a sweetie factory but the walls would have been too thin to take the pressure of planting.

[Joakim B]

Well since I work in a lab I have OK accsess to the boxes, but there might be others that are not that fortunate.
I am wondering if people is using the thermal poperties of the boxes.

Merry Christmas every one
Joakim

[Anthony Darby]

I've just filled this trough with two old pieces of tufa (ex-marine tank, been lying behind my shed for at least 10 years) and a limey mix. Just a couple of Orchis mascula in so far, but I fancy growing some 'tuff' cushion plants. Any suggestions?

[Carlo]

ONLY a couple of Orchis mascula? Surely you're trying to make us all insanely jealous. How about a nice cushion of Anchusa caespitosa right smack in the middle of things between your lumps.... I was thrilled to get a nice plant of this long-lusted-after species in a recent order and am scheming about how I will containerize it...since it won't stand the winter wet here and we're probably a bit out of range for its hardiness. In a trough, I'll be able to move it under cover for the winter.

Carlo

[Anthony Darby]

The trough will stay where its put, so I suspect anything that can't tolerate a Scottish winter, where it is usually mild and wet, or a Scottish summer, where is usually mild and wet, won't survive. The anchusa is nice, but if it is too wet in New York in the winter for this plant, then it won't survive here. Eucalyptus gunni won't survive on Long Island due to the low humidity coupled with low temperatures. We don't have that problem. Moss will grow all over an East facing roof - e.g. my house roof - to such an extent that many people (not us, yet) have copper bands attached just below the ridge to prevent it from growing. The copper gradually releases salts which poison the tiles.

[Maggi Young]

Anthony, we had a really nice plant of Anchusa caespitosa which grew happily, flowering madly, in one of our big slab beds, for about five or so years before it gave up the ghost. It got to be pretty big, about eight inches across. It was one of the beds we used to put a cover over, about two feet above the plants, to keep the worst of the wet off. I seem to remember that the Anchusa rotted one very wet autmn, before the cover went on! It was worth growing, even for a few years, since it is such a lovely blue.

[Maggi Young]

How about Morisia monanthos? We had a stonking one of those near the Anchusa. The combination of bright blue and strong yellow was fab! Good foliage contrast, too.

[Anthony Darby]

I saw that Morisia monanthos at the show, so that's a possibilty? So is the cover idea? Now to make a list and source some small plants or seeds. Thanks.

[Carlo]

I think many people that grow Anchusa caespitosa take cuttings regularly to insure the long-term survival of the plant. That's my plan anyway. I've got a trough decision to make--and think that the plant is worth the slight hassle of dragging the trough inside for cold-storage for the winter (with the cacti and figs).

Carlo

[SueG]

The local group is putting on a display of fish box troughs at the AGS/SRGC Show tomorrow in Hexham and I agreed to have a go - I ended up being given one of the big fish boxes about 3 feet long and discovered the flaw with boxes this size - planted up they are too heavy and big for me to lift safely on my own. the other one I've done is a box about 15" deep which held parsley - might be worth looking for these deeper ones at the supermarkets?
I 'm going to look out for another one or two as I'd like to try these as mini ponds and bogs - has anyone done this? I think the polysterene should help keep the water temperature more even despite the small volume so being a better environment for the plants.
Sue
PS will add some pics if the weather lifts and the mist/sea fret goes!

[Maggi Young]

Good for you for having a go, Sue! Yes, the three foot boxes, a size we think of a "salmon boxes" are too big for a one person lift. Even if one had extremely long arms, the weight of a planted box that size is such that it would tend to crack . That size of box is quite easily moveable, though, if one has a chum handy to help! The very deep ones, though quite big, are manageable by one person.
These troughs are very long-lasting, if treated with a modicum of care -- don't pull them by an edge and discourage your window-cleaner from standing on them! When they get a bit battered, by bashing them with your bike in passing, or because the constant perching on the edge by many little blackbird feet has worn off the paint, it is so simple to touch up the paintwork and having them looking good again. You can certainly use a deep one for a mini pond  and any size is good for a wee bog.
Have fun withthe possiblities.
 
Hope all goes well at the show, we'll be thinking of you all!

[BCalpinist]

Hello good people,
All this fishbox talk makes me hungry, not for fish, but to try new things.  What is the craziest, oddest or most unusual container which anyone's seen utilized for "alpines" for any length of time?  .. old boots maybe not!  What indeed are the latest trends here?  What are the Czechs doing? Anyone?

[Mick McLoughlin]

A few containers planted up by Mandy in the autumn. The unusual ones are the hollowed out logs and the aluminium trough in the background, these were rescued from a skip at former place of work. They used to be used for storing A4 sized work cards.