Vic,
Here's some information on SIPs. The fertilization procedures referred to are those promoted by "EarthBox" and videos are available at their website... http://earthbox.com/videos

Here are a few links to previous topics on Sub Irrigated Planters (SIPs) and their successful use with fig culture.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=5732589  (55 gallon SIP)

http://figs4fun.com/bills_figs.html (Bill's SIP)

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=5112306  (5 gallon SIP)

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6256837 (5 gallon SIP)

http://www.postoilsolutions.org/documents/Earthbox.pdf (Earth Box Clone and 2 bucket SIP Plans)

http://alaskagrowbuckets.com/ (simple 5 gallon SIP)

http://www.globalbuckets.org/ (2 - 5 gallon bucket SIP)

http://www.insideurbangreen.org/earthtainer/ (Earth box Clone SIP)

Hi Peter. I got my commercial grade tubs at Smart and Final for $9 each. You can substitute other materials you can find. Fig fanatic, I live in the desert zone 9a it gets to maybe 120 degrees here. The problem is not the sips but excessive exposure to the sun. Most growers get 2 seasons here before summer and after. Home depot, Lowes and Star nursery all have some way of filtering the sun for exposure so not to lose their products in the summer here. I build a trellis from pvc filled with water for weight and sealed. Paint them and put up nylon net for climbing veggies if you need to. What works is using light burlap sack material over the top to filter the sun. I get ridiculous growth and success in the hottest part of the year non stop with my veggies using this system. Look at my personal facebook page in my nursery folder with pics of the trellis and veggies doing great all summer https://www.facebook.com/burnout777. I got a pic of a japanese eggplant with maybe 18 eggplants growing on it in July/August at a time in a 5 gallon sip. My new fig trees also grow better and faster using filtered sun the first season slower growers maybe 2 seasons using this method. I also modified my new design above to utilize a 5 gallon water tank now. The older sips this size were using up to 4 gallons a day of water and were that big yet so I made changes utilizing a higher base or platform the inside pot sits on. Ideally pots that are wider are better than taller (like plastic garabge cans) so they don't tip over as easy. As far as a watering system I like the alaska grow buckets method instead of using individual 5 gallon sips but I don't have level ground everywhere in my yard. With 40 large sips I will use a lot more than 35 gallons of water a day :-) I should be able to use the same type of watering system hooked up to a hose on my larger sips utilizing a timer and use over fill holes on the sips.

Vic,
You're welcome. glad I could help.


Hello Giacomo,
Thanks for sharing your SIP builds.
I found the 70 qt rope handled tubs at Walmart for $5.97. They are #5 Plastic.

The heavy duty 70 qt  muck buckets are available at Tractor supply for $16.00. and their light duty buckets are $18.00 for 2. The muck buckets are made from #2 HDPE rated and warranteed for 5 years of outdoor use.

Most of the less expensive rope handled buckets are not UV protected and should be lightly sanded then painted with outdoor latex paint if exposed to the sun. 

I am building my SIPs from 30 gallon #2 HDPE barrels...

Pete, did you find your 30 gallon barrels on craigslist?  Or do you have another suggestion on where to look for them?  Thanks.

Hey ascpete! The rope handle containers at walmart are not the same grade I get at smart and final. You are right about protecting them. Our summer is brutal so I use burlap sack or shade cloth to cover the containers from breaking down prematurely in the sun. I will look at those other containers you are using. Thanks. To my friend Elin in Israel hello! Figs grown in sips in desert environments like mine get much less fruit drop! 

Giacomo Calabrese

Rewton,
I did find a few listed yesterday locally on Craigslist, but I lucked into my buckets, I saw them lined up one day during my lunchtime stroll. I do have a local manufacturer that sells barrels for $5 to $10, they are located in Orange County NY. They are not "food grade" but were used for cleaning solutions etc., and they are usually rinsed out ( I have only purchased metal barrels from them).

Giacomo,
The quality of the multi colored rope handle buckets are usually low quality plastic with no plastic number designation. The "Muck Buckets" on the other hand are usually much higher quality and are usually HDPE.

Eli,
A topic that was started last year about pot temperatures and color by member "greenfig", light colored pots keep the roots cooler and increase growth.... http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6480114 .

global warming is heating my figgies roots. they grow slow in the mid summer because of that.
i thought  about grouping 5-6 pots and covering them with some fabric.

so maybe SIP works better in cooling the roots too?

will have to find a solution soon

Aspete are you cutting those 30 gallon #2 HDPE barrels to make SIPS? I have seen them made by cutting down the 55 gallon ones. I uploaded a video of it being made by another member 

Elin,

I measured the container temperatures last summer and found that several things helped to cool the pots ( my repot is here on the forum, you can search for it).
For the terra-cotta pots, the water evaporation through the sides makes the biggest difference, if you water frequently, you are fine. On the other hand, the dry soil in those pots may cook the roots since they cool down very slowly at night.
The plastic pots can be cooled down by covering/shading them with something + watering, even a brown paper bag makes a huge difference. 

In the case of SIPs, I am not sure what would play the major cooling role but I do not think the water alone would cool down enough in the extreme heat.
It also depends on the SIP design, wether or not you keep the top open or cover with bark or plastic.
It would be interesting to test.
 

Giacomo,
Yes, I'm converting the 30 gallon barrels into SIPs.
  

Thanks for posting the Video of the 55 gallon SIP build. I had linked that video to a post in the 55 gallon SIP topic on this forum, but it was removed from Youtube and the link was broken. This video was used as its replacement in that  post...

Note: For Automated watering the remote reservoir of a multiflow system is much easier to fabricate than individual multiple self contained SIPs and the containers could be smaller (smaller reservoirs) and grouped together to share a common level control bucket. Similar to a multi container Autopot system. The Alaska Grow Bucket watering system is a good example. http://alaskagrowbuckets.com/about/
   

Pete, sorry if you have posted this already but could you post a step-by-step description of how you converted the 30 gallon barrels to SIPs?  I found some for $10 each and the 55 gallon barrels are twice the cost in my area.  The guy didn't know what type of plastic they are made out of but they previously held car wash detergent.  Thanks!

Rewton,
I had not posted by build sequence for barrel SIPs but its similar to the Bills Figs SIPs and Drivewayfarmer's in post #11. The reservoir is formed with 4 inch HDPE drain pipe and Spun Landscape fabric is used instead of Burlap. This attached video is close, but I do not add sand.
The standard white barrels are usually #2 HDPE, They are usually clearly stamped on the bottom of the barrels, I have a few 30 and 50 gallon barrels that were soap containers also.

Hi everyone. I wanted to share a new SIP design I was working on that uses materials everyone can get easily and cheap at home depot.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.563622310408182.1073741851.296107943826288&type=1

                                                            

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.563622310408182.1073741851.296107943826288&type=1

Nice pics and description, Giacomo.  I got some of those same 27 gallon tubs to use for SIPs also.  They're pretty heavy, compared to a lot of the storage bins you can find.  Not sure they're heavy enough, but maybe.  I use a slightly different technique from yours (just one tub per SIP, using a cutout of the lid for the soil screen "bottom", but otherwise very similar).  I do wish that company would have posted / stamped the plastic code on them however.  I pay attention to which plastics are food safe, and one that is unlabeled doesn't leave room to make sure of what sorts of plastics are used (I'm referring to those numbers inside the "arrow triangle" which indicate the composition, and are intended as notices to recyclers).  That aside, very nice work and a comprehensive post... thanks.

Mike 

Nice idea. Two questions - how heavy are those filled with moist potting media and a tree? I have to keep mine to a size I can get up and down the basement stairs.
And what is the purpose of the second watering pipe? Are you going around with two hoses at once to water them?

Ed, 
I can't speak for Giacomo, but I can tell you that mine (which are made from the same tub size, but probably with less soil because I use a single tub rather than a double) are much too heavy to be carrying up and down a stairway.

Mike

p.s. I'd recommend using plastic well pipe rather than PVC for the watering tubes.

Hi Eboone or Ed lol. I'm from Philadelphia. The purpose of the 2nd watering tube is shown on one of the pics and my facebook page in more detail. It is to be able have a place to insert PVC poles to make a shade structure. Quick set up and take down for protection from extreme sunlight here in zone 9A as well as protect your crop from birds. What you can do is insert 1" PVC pipe into the larger 1.25" pipe that is secured by the weight of the SIP. Drill a hole in the end of the PVC pipe and run a cord through it connecting the containers or some other structure to drape shade netting over it. This pot is heavy too move up and down stairs as it holds about 5 1/2 cu ft of potting mix. The larger the space the bigger the roots and your trunks will get. Thicker trunks = better frost protection. I also don't see the point having to root prune more trees when I can do less work using in larger containers designs. If I had to guess the water tank size would hold about 7 1/2 gallons. You could increase the tank size somewhat by making the drain hole higher up and increasing the height of the bucket support platforms. I am very pleased with this design. Mike thank you also for your comments and questions. Email me anytime.

Thanks for the explanation.

Where I live the sun would have to go nova before I would need sun protection for fig trees :)