The results would be in the range of 50% more fresh produce with a water saving in the range of 90%.
The key design components:
1. Water tight container. Line with plastic sheeting if necessary.
2. Water & oxygen reservoir(s) - corrugated perforated drain pipe, or inverted nursery flats or recycled plastic food container with holes punched in the tops and bottoms.
3. Overflow drain hole(s) when used outdoors.
Of course if you are a woodworker you can make your own but these kits are handy for time-short people who can afford them.
Here is a Flickr photo set showing very simple methods to make sub-irrigated raised beds and other types of sub-irrigated planters (SIPs).
Gardener's Supply has some on target products but this isn't one of them. The best way to line a raised bed is with impervious plastic sheeting, rather than one that allows water to drain.
This product assumes top watering when clearly the best way to irrigate a raised bed is by sub-irrigation.
Have a look at this Flickr photo set to see sub-irrigated raised beds and other types of SIPs.
This looks like a traditional raised bed planter but it is not!
This portable micro garden (PMG) is equipped with a simple to make sub-irrigation system. It is far more effective and productive than a top watered raised bed. That includes those that are drip irrigated.
Think of these PMG systems as intensive care units. They benefit from the best of two worlds. Nature provides the sunlight for photosynthesis and technology provides water and oxygen for the root system.
All three are critically important for growing healthy plants and the production of abundant fresh food.
Searching for a job? Want to start a business, live a healthier life or improve your child’s science education? Are you a peri-urban farmer looking to sell more in your local city? Are you a hunger fighting non-profit looking to feed more mouths? Are you a school principal looking to upgrade your science education? If your answer is yes to any of these, a new class of technology products may be the solution you are looking for.
Look for our white paper and urban greenscaping guide in the very near future. In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter and/or follow us in your RSS reader.
Welcome! It is good to find you visiting the home of InsideUrbanGreen.org, successor to InsidePlantsLive.org and Greenscaper.net started in 2004.
Bear with us. We are in the process of updating our content and mission to keep up with a fast changing world. There will be even more coverage of science-based greenscaping technology from around the world in the coming year.
A site redesign is in the works. This blog will continue and later this year become a part of a new website for the Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen). Stay tuned.
We will report on a wide variety of user-friendly plant growing methods based on science and technology. They are far more productive and environmentally beneficial than growing in often-contaminated city soils and arcane clay pots.
Local food production, personal and family food security are top priorities in the coming year. Everyone living in land-scarce cities should have access to knowledge about modern food growing methods that do not require access to tillable soil. There should be no need to self-identify as a gardener, farmer or have a mythical green thumb.
Whether or not one chooses to grow some food, everyone should have the knowledge of how to do it using modern methods. This in our view is the cornerstone of true food security. The knowledge of how to grow food should be as generic as knowing how to cook it.
We believe that food growing is personal and need not be communal. We also believe in the ancient Chinese proverb credited to Lao Tzu - "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
Your comments and constructive suggestions are always welcome.
Bob Hyland, Urban Greenscaper
Founder of the Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen) email: urbangreenscaper [AT] gmail [DOT] com
Welcome! » New Information And A New Format Is On The Way This Year
Welcome! It is good to find you visiting the home of InsideUrbanGreen.org, successor to InsidePlantsLive.org and Greenscaper.net started in 2004.
Bear with us. We are in the process of updating our content and mission to keep up with a fast changing world. There will be even more coverage of science-based greenscaping technology from around the world in the coming year.
A site redesign is in the works. This blog will continue and later this year become a part of a new website for the Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen). Stay tuned.
We will report on a wide variety of user-friendly plant growing methods based on science and technology. They are far more productive and environmentally beneficial than growing in often-contaminated city soils and arcane clay pots.
Local food production, personal and family food security are top priorities in the coming year. Everyone living in land-scarce cities should have access to knowledge about modern food growing methods that do not require access to tillable soil. There should be no need to self-identify as a gardener, farmer or have a mythical green thumb.
Whether or not one chooses to grow some food, everyone should have the knowledge of how to do it using modern methods. This in our view is the cornerstone of true food security. The knowledge of how to grow food should be as generic as knowing how to cook it.
We believe that food growing is personal and need not be communal. We also believe in the ancient Chinese proverb credited to Lao Tzu - "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
Your comments and constructive suggestions are always welcome.
Bob Hyland, Urban Greenscaper
Founder of the Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen)
email: urbangreenscaper [AT] gmail [DOT] com
Posted by Greenscaper on January 03, 2011 at 10:16 AM in Editorial Comment | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)