this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024
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Gardening

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We planted a variety of plants, at different stages of growth. After a bit of experimentation, cosmos grow extremely well. These were cuttings we put in just a couple weeks ago, and they're already bigger than most of the other plants that have been in there for over a month.

The very young plants did not survive, but the larger ones did. If they're too small, they just get swallowed down into the cups by the bobbing of the water.

Seems like the plants need to be large enough to reach all the way to the bottom of the pots, and still stick out enough.

Going to be interesting to see what it looks like at the end of the season.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh that's awesome to see I'm glad you didn't give up!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'm going to make one for my swamp! How thick is the mat? I have some old yoga mats, but I don't know if they're rigid enough. And how did you punch the holes? I was going to try cookie cutters.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I used 1/2" thick puzzle mat, which was plenty to keep things floating. I used a 3" hole saw, but only cause I had it already (ran it backwards so the teeth wouldn't grab and tear the mat.)

A yoga mat would probably do ok, but I had to add a little bit of weight to the corners to stop the mat from flipping up in the wind (see previous post) so the yoga mat might not be able to support that extra weight.

If you didn't need the cookie cutters anymore, you could probably put a board on top of one and smack it with a hammer to cut circles in the yoga mat, but it also may not work. You'd have to experiment a bit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I've got hole saw bits, forgot! You can get 1/2" mats cheap enough, but wanted to try what I already have which is thinner.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Really cool project. One day I'll have a pond to do something similar

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Interesting, I hadn't seen your earlier posts but went back and checked out your profile. Neat idea

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

That's quite the recovery from your other post I remember seeing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

My experience with cosmos is you're going to have a lot of cosmos, in unexpected places, a lot of the time.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Don't bees love them?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Awesome experiment. Keep the updates coming.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

How are the hemp plants doing? /s

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Are you filling them with dirt first?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

We're using LECA as a substrate to keep the plants in there, but I think gravel would probably work as well, or possibly better. (the extra weight would likely help stabilize things)

Random LECA link: https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-leca-and-why-do-houseplant-gurus-love-it-5092763

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

I guess I should have said substrate. lol

What I was getting at was trying to figure out if you were just sort of setting them in the netting with the stem up and letting roots grow through the whole thing.

Like when you grow something in a jar vs full on hydro.

I was wondering what kind of fish would live in that little super protected area, or if could act as a miniature breeding chamber where the little fish fry are safe.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

Which area/climate is this? Being outdoor I doubt it can withstand low temperature/frost.