"Gary Woods" wrote in message
...
"Howard" (remove XYZ) wrote:

What do you mean by closed pots ?

I was thinking that maybe Ingrid had found some great new non spill,
koi safe pot. Sigh.

For years, I have used 3-gallon food-grade pails; they're big enough for
hardly lilies to do fine if fed occasionally. Available cheap or free
from
your local bakery/donut shop, since they get fillings in them.

I am using cut off 5 gallon pails for about half the lilies. They are a bit
hard on the hands since the top part with the handle is cut off. I get
free 5 gallon soy sauce buckets from a local restraunt.


FWIW, I use a "Lilyliftr" to move them around: 10-foot hunk of wood
closet
rod with a screw hook in the end. The deluxe model has a stainless hose
clamp (the type that tightens with a screw) around the hook end of the rod
to prevent splitting. It hangs horizontally in the shed on a couple of
bike hooks alongside the string trimmer when not in use. Has lasted for
years.
Right now all this is under at least a foot of ice {:-(

I think when spring rolls around I a going to build a simple crane to lift
the
pots out of the water. It is not too bad moving them around but getting
them
in and out of the water is a back killer. Maybe go down to harbor freight
and
buy an electric winch to make it easier.

I am also going to replace the gravel in all non lillie plants with pea
gravel.
Would do the lillies too if I had some way to fertilize them without the
stuff leaching back into the water. Gravel is perhaps a bit too flow tru
to use with fertilizer.

Howard



Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G