Mesh sided alternatives to Anderson Flats? Like larger pond baskets?

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Cypress

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Hey all,
So I'm going to be putting some trees in training boxes. I'm going to use pond baskets for a number of my smaller trees. But I have larger trees and some larger trees I'll be collecting that i would like to put into something like an Anderson flat. But at the same time I would like to have the benefit of "air pruning" with all 4 sides being "mesh". Just like pond baskets, though the largest size bond baskets seems to be 10"x10". Does anyone know of anything like this in dimensions closer to Anderson flats? Like 17x17x4? Or are there larger sized pond baskets out there that I just havnt discovered? I suppose I could always reengineer an anderson flat. Drill a bunch of tiny holes in the sides or something like that. Thanks

-Mike
 
Haha, that's a pretty great article. I was thinking your design was pretty ingenious, alot more straightforward than having to build a wooden frame first. But then again buying something for three bucks is a bit easier! Though doesn't satisfy the male urge to build things regardless of whether it's necessary haha.
 
Cypress said:
Haha, that's a pretty great article. I was thinking your design was pretty ingenious, alot more straightforward than having to build a wooden frame first. But then again buying something for three bucks is a bit easier! Though doesn't satisfy the male urge to build things regardless of whether it's necessary haha.
Click to expand...

If you bought 36 inch wide hardware cloth you could get a basket about 18x18x4 inches.

Or you could order these.



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A7B3644/ref=pe_214850_102111500_em_1p_1_ti
 
Great info in the links here. Thanks for posting. This is the kind of stuff I eat up and keep me busy fiddling with until Spring!

And for those who may not already, follow all the great blogs you can. I've learned a ton from them.
 
I use pond baskets for my Japanese maples. The trees in the baskets are actually doing better than the ones in the wooden barrels. I'm taking all the ones in the barrels out this spring and will just grow veggies in the barrels instead.

http://www.thewatergardener.com/pro...ng-basket?utm_source=googlepla&utm_medium=cpc

Here's a picture from 2 years ago. I have since double-basketed all of them with a layer of landscape mesh between the baskets to help conserve water and keep out weeds that were going on the sides. You don't need to do that if you can water everyday. Besides watering issues, the only problem is the size. A few of these Japanese maples are now too big so I'm moving them into 19" x 15" x 5" plastic trays ($8 at the Container Store).

 
aphid said:
I have since double-basketed all of them ...
Click to expand...

I really cannot understand why this is necessary or if it even have any advantage. All I can see is negative...then again, I may be just missing it.
 
Lol that article gave me a good laugh Smoke.

Using the wire mesh was a great idea though but Id have to agree with your wife's solution more.
 
Poink88 said:
I really cannot understand why this is necessary or if it even have any advantage. All I can see is negative...then again, I may be just missing it.
Click to expand...

You might find it useful to research information on air pruning.
 
^^ Methinks Dario was referring to 'double basketed', Vance, hence the quote.

Can't air pruning be achieved with just one pond basket .... ? Why two? I don't think I've read a logical reason why to use 2 ...
 
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Well, I hate to say it but am also confused by this.
 
I have double baskets so I can have plastic weed preventing mesh between the 2 baskets. Like I mentioned, these baskets are great for aeration so my soil dries out too much. I can't water everyday so they dry out too fast. The mesh helps hold moisture longer. If you water your plants everyday, then you don't have to worry about the baskets drying out.
 
The point of air pruning is for the roots around the edges to dry out so more roots grow. But if the whole pot keeps drying out, you may just lose the whole tree. I hope this is clear now. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Cypress said:
Hey all,
So I'm going to be putting some trees in training boxes. I'm going to use pond baskets for a number of my smaller trees. But I have larger trees and some larger trees I'll be collecting that i would like to put into something like an Anderson flat. But at the same time I would like to have the benefit of "air pruning" with all 4 sides being "mesh". Just like pond baskets, though the largest size bond baskets seems to be 10"x10". Does anyone know of anything like this in dimensions closer to Anderson flats? Like 17x17x4? Or are there larger sized pond baskets out there that I just havnt discovered? I suppose I could always reengineer an anderson flat. Drill a bunch of tiny holes in the sides or something like that. Thanks

-Mike
Click to expand...

This sounds like what you're looking for, but unfortunately they just recently went out of stock. I'm going to keep looking for these from other suppliers.
 
No luck finding black ones. But I found that getting it on eBay will be more expensive because you have to pay shipping for each one. Try this site.

For the 21" x 17": http://www.eliterestaurantequipment.com/thunder-group-plastic-square-colander-21-3-4-plfb001.html

For the 18" x 13": http://www.eliterestaurantequipment.com/thunder-group-plastic-square-colander-18-plfb003.html

I tried putting 15 in the shopping cart. Shipping is only $15 for Massachusetts!
 
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aphid said:
I have double baskets so I can have plastic weed preventing mesh between the 2 baskets. Like I mentioned, these baskets are great for aeration so my soil dries out too much. I can't water everyday so they dry out too fast. The mesh helps hold moisture longer. If you water your plants everyday, then you don't have to worry about the baskets drying out.
Click to expand...

Can't you just add a little organic matter to the mix instead, eg rough peat??
 
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