Urban Container Garden

"Sub-irrigated (sub-aerated) planters (SIPs) like this one are the PCs and laptops of personal urban food production. There is no need to plug them into tillable earth. They are portable. All that is needed is a small space with sufficient sunlight, be it on a rooftop, balcony, driveway, paved patio or even a fire escape. They will produce more food per square foot than in-ground gardening while conserving water and valuable time. This is safe food production with no exposure to contaminated city soil." Courtesy of Inside Urban Gardening

This is the statement that sold me on trying to build a SIP.  I'm going to include their directions as they are more informative than me.  The website is www.insideurbangreen.com

Drill a 1" hole in the side of your water tight plastic container

Recycled plastics (food containers, nursery flats) create the soil platform, soil wicks and water reservoir. Four milk containers are used here (about 2  gallon reservoir capacity). Cut large slots on the bottom side of the containers  to allow water entry and poke holes in the top side for aeration and drainage of any excess water. An overflow drain hole (top center) prevents over watering. Recycled water bottles create a fill tube.

 

 

You will need a drainage tube.  I used vinyl tubing found at 3/4" tubing found at Lowe's.  Connect the tube through a single container and out the 1" hole you drilled in your container.

In a single container, opposite your 1" drainage hole, insert a 2 litter bottle into one of your milk containers.  This is where you will water your plants.Do this and it will prevent soil from clogging the overflow drain hole. No connection is needed between the five bottles. The large slots cut in the bottom of the bottles (not shown) allow water to flow freely between them.

Container mix (NO top soil) packed down between the recycled plastics creates the soil wicking system. The water from the reservoirs will rise by capillary action creating a uniform distribution of water throughout the SIP. Simply pour water down the fill tube until you see some water exit the overflow drain hole (top center).

This is how your container should look before adding your plants.  You will water your plants by filling the water bottle until you see water run out of your drainage hole.

Add your plants. This picture includes celery and broccoli.

Celery and broccoli at 10 weeks growth.  You can see that I'm starting to get heads small heads of broccoli.  The celery will be ready to harvest in 6 weeks.

Life Goal #1 - Raise a Garden

My Container Garden

Tomato Plants- Planted on June 17th

Watermelon Plant - Planted on May 29th      

We moved into our home in May 2005 and for the last five years I have been trying to raise a garden in vein.  I've planted the garden in the ground. I've planted the garden in "pretty pottery". I've purchased every Topsy Turvey product on the market.  You know what I've gotten... TWO tomatoes and a whole bunch of dead plants.

Who doesn't want an abundance of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and peppers?  As part of taking my life back and being a "good" mom, I decided that my first Goal  -- Raise A Garden.  Since my job is as a researcher, I spent many evenings and lunch breaks scouring the internet looking for how to raise a container garden and where I went wrong with my previous five gardens.

What seeds to use?  What soil to use?  How to water the plants? How to use as little precious time as possible?  How to involve my young child? How to make the most of limited space? How not to spend major $$$. 

Then I found the website, Inside Urban Green at www.insideurbangreen.com. What a fabulous site.  Their goal is to supply "modern methods for growing food, foliage or flowers for millions of us who are not green thumbs."  I learned that for less than $5, I could create SIPs - sub-irrigated planters.

I started my plants in April, starting with cabbage, lettuce, radishes, broccoli and celery. In May, I harvested lettuce and spinach.  There is something to be said about vegetables harvested fresh out of the garden, YUM!  In May, I added to my crops to included plum and cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, peas, watermelon (at my son's request), cucumbers, jalapenos and squash.

The SIPs are producing 80% more vegetables than I would have gotten if I planted the plants in the ground.  My next post will give detailed instructions on how I created a SIP's container.