A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Project 1: the moldy satellite dish

Problem:

Proposed solution:

Point satellite dish as far directly up as possible, turn into giant planter.
plant various vines around the base and let them climb up it and take over.

Expected result:

Should look like a mound of green instead of a gross old satellite dish.

Materials I have for the project:

1 passion vine, 1 very large pothos, 1 moldy satellite dish, some potting soil (not enough), peat moss and coarse builders sand.

Problems:

The soil around the satellite dish, as well as everywhere else in my yard, is very sandy. I don't know what vines can grow in very sandy soil, or what to do if there aren't any vines that grow well in sand.

I don't know what to line the satellite dish with to keep the dirt in, yet prevent it from becoming an elevated pond when it rains heavily.

I don't know what to put around the satellite dish to give the vines something to climb on. It seems like the requirement may vary depending on the vines, too. My passion vine needs small things to grab onto and hang on for support, but jasmine seems to prefer to wrap itself around trellis.

I would like to have more than one type of vine, as long as they won't kill eachother. I also want vines that are highly prolific (so it'll cover the satellite dish quickly), but not destructive (say, if it makes it over to the side of the house)

What do you guys think?

COOL!!!
Whatever you do will be so cool!
I can't wait to see the outcome!
I love it!

Hey Boxmonkey
Why don't you turn it straight up like you'd like to and put the stuff inside of it and plant some hanging one's down off the side to casade down.???

Get a ladder, get some landscape fabric put it in and fill with some smaller rocks, then your sand, potting or topsoil, compost, etc.........
Put a Amaranth, larger hosta's in, in the middle and some annuals around in a circle and then put the vines that would trail down over to the edge..
ie; vinca, potato vine, even the wave petunia's??

Just a thought!!!

Weezie

I just saw something in this week's paper. A guy around here didn't need his dish anymore so he took it down and built a gazebo that was square and used the dish, which looks just like yours as the roof of it. He said that it shades quite a bit and that it also lets sun in. He used the thingie in the middle as a place to hang a light.

You can probably get the mold off by spraying it down with bleach and then scrubbing it off.

Just an idea.