Omega Garden's Volksgarden Rotary Garden

[Short Round]

WOW. We re all psychically linked. In the time it took for me to respond and go through my magazine library - you quoted the exact same article! hahahaha

I almost quoted it verbatim as well! Hilarious. And I agree about the vg being 3 ft deep vs 4. Huge advantage. I have room in my tent to move around and look at things. If it were 4 feet, no way.

If you cram 360 plants into that machine I am guessing the yield will suffer. I would try half that many.

It amazes me that i am able to grow such awesome plants in only a 3 inch cube. It almost looks impossible, but it actually works. And the roots aren't busting out.

 

[maxximus]

I have done the research. Go w the v garden. Here's why - the construction is super solid, the wheel is one big pice of tough ass industrial plastic. it won't wont warp the way metal will, over time. Check out the Cannabis Culture #66 May/June 2007 - they have an article on a grower who used a Bonsai wheel and while he said he loved rotational growing he said he wished he had gone w the omega because of how well built it is vs the cheaper system, which warped into an oval shape over time.

Also the Vgarden has a small foot print.

No matter what I think we can all agree on one thing - the ecosystem sucks!! hahahaha No really. It doesn't work. I've seen it in "action". (if you consider an entire crop dying from deficient pumps "action") hahahahaha

Hey SR,

I posted a link to that article. What a kick in the head.

The ecosystem is so wrongly named. It uses more rockwool than any other system so 'eco' should not be in its name :icon_roll. Seeing one of them on the show Weeds was a disappointment, and they made it out to look like it was a producer, which really knocked them off the reality train IMO.

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[maxximus]

WOW. We re all psychically linked. In the time it took for me to respond and go through my magazine library - you quoted the exact same article! hahahaha

I almost quoted it verbatim as well! Hilarious. And I agree about the vg being 3 ft deep vs 4. Huge advantage. I have room in my tent to move around and look at things. If it were 4 feet, no way.

If you cram 360 plants into that machine I am guessing the yield will suffer. I would try half that many.

It amazes me that i am able to grow such awesome plants in only a 3 inch cube. It almost looks impossible, but it actually works. And the roots aren't busting out.

Hey SR,

Maybe we are long lost twins

Check out what I mean about smaller RW

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[inferno420]

Darn that sucks well does anyone know of one that has just a lil bigger grow area, and has a wheel taht wont warp?

 

[maxximus]

Darn that sucks well does anyone know of one that has just a lil bigger grow area, and has a wheel taht wont warp?

There are several larger units out there though the large Omega unit is no more. I can't recommend any of them for various reasons, ranging from too large, to poor design, to WTF were they thinking? lolol. There are many reasons why I have a VG and until you experience how sweet it is for yourself......

You might want to check for used ones on craigs list.

The Volksgarden is from the ppl that made the first ones ever available and is the 6th version, where as the others have never upgraded their designs so I think that on it's own says something.

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[WheeloFortune]

inferno,

not to defy popular opinion, but the one article out there (on the bonsai)that they are both talking about is the only one that talks about warping. i would chalk that up to an individual defect of one guys wheel, not necessarily a design flaw. that guy said he ran it 24-7 for two years and we dont know how he treated it. not that im sticking up for or anything but i saw a website where a high school bought one to learn about it and they didnt seem to have any problems.

they are cheaper which is nicer on the pocket, but you usually get what you pay for (in general - in life)

the rotogro and the big omega are top shelf, and their prices reflect that.

unless your trying to start an empire, a volks is a great way to get into rotational gardening. . . if you like it, buy a big one. . . or buy 3 more. lol.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Darn that sucks well does anyone know of one that has just a lil bigger grow area, and has a wheel taht wont warp?

The Carousel? It's a "little" bigger.

 

[maxximus]

inferno,

not to defy popular opinion, but the one article out there (on the bonsai)that they are both talking about is the only one that talks about warping. i would chalk that up to an individual defect of one guys wheel, not necessarily a design flaw. that guy said he ran it 24-7 for two years and we dont know how he treated it. not that im sticking up for or anything but i saw a website where a high school bought one to learn about it and they didnt seem to have any problems.

they are cheaper which is nicer on the pocket, but you usually get what you pay for (in general - in life)

the rotogro and the big omega are top shelf, and their prices reflect that.

unless your trying to start an empire, a volks is a great way to get into rotational gardening. . . if you like it, buy a big one. . . or buy 3 more. lol.

Hey WOF,

Have you got a link about the high school? I saw on Omegas site about a high school, but nothing on the Bonsia.

I agree that one problem does not make a whole line problem, but it's hard to think of what kind of abuse someone would put one of these systems through to have that issue.

The Omega unit is no longer available, and the Rotogro is not what I would call top drawer. Many problems with them from fires to breakdowns.

Again though, I would like to see these other units here so a reality check can be had.

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[maxximus]

The Carousel? It's a "little" bigger.

lolol

 

[WheeloFortune]

the school link, its on teachertube, like youtube for teachers.

they bought it in memory of a shop teacher that passed i think. i think the video may be down, but i have seen it before. they say the wheel is 6' diameter, but i didnt know bonzai came bigger than the normal 4'.

TeacherTube - The Bonzai Wheel Hydroponic System.
or
Mr. Lepine's TeacherTube Videos

i must admit, the wheel looks 6' in the picture/video. which would be awesome.

 

[WheeloFortune]

actually it only looks 4' in this pic,

look at this one first:
Ray Aquaponics

school website blog
Mr. Lepine's Technology Blog: Hydroponic Garden Systems

 

[WheeloFortune]

i have never seen any of the systems up close except omega and rotogrow. i bought the volks without ever seeing it first,

i'm def happy with the route i chose.

 

[maxximus]

the school link, its on teachertube, like youtube for teachers.

they bought it in memory of a shop teacher that passed i think. i think the video may be down, but i have seen it before. they say the wheel is 6' diameter, but i didnt know bonzai came bigger than the normal 4'.

TeacherTube - The Bonzai Wheel Hydroponic System.
or
Mr. Lepine's TeacherTube Videos (RSS Feed)

i must admit, the wheel looks 6' in the picture/video. which would be awesome.

Thats cool, I love seeing the kids getting exposure to this kind of thing.

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[inferno420]

well if i could get a year out of it and maybe get it repaired after a year that probly would work i dont mind the b-pod says it holds 460 , so im trying to find something thats a lil farther from the lights then the omega. looking to be able to use 2 600 watts and have the most plants. my ideas are moving up to fem seeds of something like the AF ak 47 i think thats the one that growth is 18-22 inch which would be nice to find something that would full grow something like that

 

[maxximus]

well if i could get a year out of it and maybe get it repaired after a year that probly would work i dont mind the b-pod says it holds 460 , so im trying to find something thats a lil farther from the lights then the omega. looking to be able to use 2 600 watts and have the most plants. my ideas are moving up to fem seeds of something like the AF ak 47 i think thats the one that growth is 18-22 inch which would be nice to find something that would full grow something like that

All I can say is 'you can lead a horse to water......'

I hope you keep us in the loop, so to speak

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[WheeloFortune]

i do my homework. . . . if you don't want to do yours, just copy mine before the teacher sees it. lol. or don't, i don't care.

lol.

 

[WheeloFortune]

i'm gonna get an A regardless.

 

[TorturedSoul]

The Carousel? It's a "little" bigger.

lolol

Caught that, huh? I think they advertise the Omega Carousel as being equal to 1500 square feet in just 150 square feet of floor space. It looks HUGE lol.

i'm gonna get an A regardless.

Having seen your results, I'd say you've already aced it and are working on extra credit!

well if i could get a year out of it and maybe get it repaired after a year that probly would work i dont mind the b-pod says it holds 460

I keep meaning to ask, if you unrolled one of these things (either the VG or whatever), approximately how many square feet would it work out to? Because in an old-school SoG yield seemed to increase up to about 9 plants per square foot but a denser planting than that gave less. I get the fact that in actual square footage of floor space the yield is much better, just wondering about "if the cylinder were unrolled," so to speak.

 

[maxximus]

The Volksgarden is about 20 sq ft surface area and the two light systems with the same diameter are double that. Of course if you grow them right up close to the light that effectively its going to be less.

Cheers,
Maxx

 

[Propa Gator]

Light penetration starts at the top of the canopy. More power helps here. With increased diameter left by shorter plants, radial spread lessens intensity. More power helps here, as well. With the second option, a larger area of canopy is lit directly, before penetration must suffice. Your pix, Max, of your 2nd turn final before reaping affect me profoundly. I want to rewrite my rules of engagement with life, and get one. 2k$ mucho dinero, but what are we talking about, rockstar reception at the Co-op? Priceless!