I have seven self watering containers lined up in my back yard. When vines get 5-6 feet high a good breeze would tumble them over like dominoesas long as supports are attached to container.
I finall solved the problem by driving rebar 12" into the ground at each corner and slipping 1/2" pvc pipe over it, then using Tees to make cross pieces and verticle sections.

whizzer,

I did a weight calculation a while back, concerned about the stability of the EarthTainer. With the 31 gallon Rubbermaid container, I have a constant 5.5" water depth (using the AWS watering system) and this amounts to 100 pounds of water in the base. The dry potting mix (3 cu. ft.) adds 37 pounds. Moisture dispersed in the potting mix adds at least another 25 pounds.

So I have a dead weight of more than 160 pounds in each container. Trying to drag a full one to another location on the deck is a 2-man job! I believe it would take a Category 2 hurricane to tip these puppies over, and the wind would have blown the tomatoes away long before then!!

Raybo

impressive. but won't the rubbermaid and other tubs like them become brittle with a season of sunlight? I'm guess that only one, or two years at the most will give service.
~tom

Tom,

I did a lot of research on the materials in the Sterelite (Walmart) ones, and the Rubbermaid. The Rubbermaid ones are thicker and contain a uv retardant. I selected a neutral color (light tan) which should be more sun tolerant that darker colored containers.

I also plan on rotating the containers each year so my goal is to get at least a 7 year service life out of them, before having to replace the outer container only. At $10.00 replacement cost divided by 7 years, that is not too bad a "maintenance" expense, in my view.

Raybo

Wonderful! I didn't know that the rubbermaid (or any of them not specifically labeled for outside) contained a uv retardent. Nice, very nice plans you have.
~tom

Ray
Just a suggestion for your EarthTainer Guide pdf file. Put the entire materials list on the first page so a person can take the list on their shopping trip and get all the stuff in one trip.
I'm still trying to figure out how many of this and that and will undoubtedly miss something and have to go back.

I used the Menard's 54" heavy duty cages which look to be as strong or stronger than the ones you are using. Since my EarthTainers sit close to my yard I simply stuck the cages into the containers and drove a 2" x 2" x 8' wooden stake 12" into the ground right next to the tainers and the cages. I tied the cages off to the 8' stake very tight and that was it.

As one of the other posters stated, the weight of the EarthTainers is well over 100lbs, so I wasn't worried about the containers going anywhere. As for proof of how sturdy the whole set-up would be in a strong wind, I have the proof.

About 3 weeks ago a very strong storm that spawned a CAT 3 tornado touched down about 2 miles from my house. Winds were so strong in my neighborhood that the top third of a tree was blown off in one neighbors yard. And the other neighbor had a few very large branches blown off of his trees. While I also had some branches blown off, my EarthTainers never moved and the cages are still strapped to the stakes as tight as the day I built them. Wind gusts were said to be at least +60mph.

bigjoe,

Yep, the wind would blow off all the tomatoes before it would tip over the 100# 'Tainer.

I have updated the .pdf instructions and other info at this website:

http://earthtainer.org/Home_Page.html

Click on the "In The News" tab and the .pdf link is there.

Raybo

Here is a link that might be useful: EarthTainer Guide