Inside Urban Green

Lunch at Sixpoint » The SIP a Keg Planter Project

If you don't know Cathy Erway, she is author of The Art of Eating In, a food maven and blogs about it.

In her spare time Cathy is also a rooftop farmer having launched a micro farm atop the Six Point Craft Ales brewery in Red Hook Brooklyn last year.

What is particularly unique about this micro farm is that Cathy crafted her planters from recycled beer kegs.

Last years creative idea has become even better since Cathy discovered the benefits of sub-irrigated planters (SIPs).

Having an open mind, she was more than willing to convert part of the micro farm to test the SIP concept. You can now think of these planters as SIP beer kegs for a bit of a pun.

You can read Cathy’s own words about the sub-irrigated keg planter test.  She is overjoyed to see the superior growth of the plants in the SIP keg planters.

via lunchatsixpoint.com

It’s high time I shared the revelation that’s come to our rooftop garden. This project has been months in the works, and years if you count the work of my consultants on this project, who have dedicated their life’s work to exploring and sharing the virtues of SIPs (sub-irrigated planters). And now that the sun has been beating down hard on the rooftops of Red Hook, these uniquely outfitted keg-containers have proven themselves so much worthy of the effort that was put into them. The plants in SIPs are really outdoing all the others.

Last fall, I became aware of a gardening tip ardently encouraged by a horticulturist named Bob Hyland, of Inside Urban Green. His recommended system for healthy, productive plants in tight quarters such as the city was by sub-irrigation.

A Flickr Photo Set & Slide Show » Portable Micro Gardens (PMGs) Using the Sub-irrigated Planter (SIP) Method

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.

Larger Size Salad Bar SIP

Lowe's also had this larger mortar box that would also make a very functional SIP. A tote box would be cheaper, but I like the black plastic and the shape. 

If you don't like the plastic, make a simple wood box frame and it will become a raised bed SIP. Use any recycled lumber of your choice. It won't be in contact with moist soil.

Several of these would make a cool raised bed garden on concrete or blacktop.

So many SIPs to make, so little time.

36"x24"x8" - 23 gallon capacity - 3.2 cu. ft. capacity - $12.48

These are the dimensions of the smaller one (Fire Escape Salad Bar).

26"x20"x6" - 9 gallon capacity - 1.3 cu. ft. capacity - $5.24

Fire Escape Salad Bar

There are millions of people living in cities who don't live behind white picket fences and have space for a kitchen garden.

This is a real world alternative. It isn't legal to do it but this "salad bar" sub-irrigated planter would fit on most fire escapes. You can grow a bunch of salad greens or herbs in a no-drip SIP like this. Read on and see how to make it. See the sources below.

The location is up on the roof at Slippery Slope SIP Micro-Farm in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Frieda Lim put the SIP together in no time, while I photographed what she was doing. It was late in the day after a reception for some media people and there wasn't much light.

This SIP is as simple as salad to make. The planter is a mortar box. The air and water reservoir is made from three one half round sections of 4" diameter perforated HDPE corrugated drain pipe. Note that the one with the fill pipe needed a quick-fix piece of duct tape to cover an errant cut. There is an overflow drain hole in the side of the box located at the top of the middle pipe.

The fill pipe is one recycled PET water bottle with the bottom trimmed off. It fits into a hole cut in one of the drain pipes.  

Add the soil mix to the box. Tamp it down between the pipe sections to ensure good capillary wicking action. Add the veggie starter plants (or grow from seeds) and you'll soon be eating delicious fresh salads.

Mortar box - 26"x20"x6" - Lowe's $5 and change
Perforated, corrugated (HDPE) drain pipe - 10' length - Lowe's $5 and change
Fill pipe - recycled (PET) water bottle - free
Media - Fafard Container Mix (or equivalent), no top soil -30 dry qt bag - $7
Vegetable starter plants - Silver Height's Farm, Union Square Farmer's Market, NYC

Important Clarification: Corrugated Drain Pipe Is Perforated

A reader question brought to my attention that I have not been diligent in emphasizing that all of the corrugated drain pipe shown in all of the posts in this category is perforated. There is no need to drill holes.

The perforations are around the full 360 degree circumference of the pipe and allow both water and air to flow freely. 

Caution: I bought the pipe (10' lengths) at a Lowe's here in Brooklyn. Both the perforated and non-perforated pipes were mixed together. Be sure to look closely for the perforated pipe.

Apartment Therapy Re-Nest: A Post About Sub-irrigation

via www.re-nest.com

It was great to see this post on Re-nest, an Apartment Therapy blog and I really appreciate the recognition. I just want to make an editorial comment of clarification. This is a beautifully constructed wood planter but it is not the way that I would sub-irrigate it. It is not my design.

I would simply lay a section of perforated corrugated drain pipe (HDPE) the full length of the planter. It would butt end to end just the way you see below. The drain pipe will create the water and air reservoir.

Install a fill pipe made from recycled water bottles, an overflow drain tube and you're done. No PVC necessary. 

The soil surrounding the drain pipe will act as a soil wick and feed the water up by capillary action. You don't need wicks made of pond baskets, PVC pipe, recycled plastic food containers, etc. that are often shown on SIP designs around the web.

This photo is of a window box but it illustrates the sub-irrigation system design. It could be three feet long or ten feet long. You could sub-irrigate your entire yard with this type of system using multiple sections of poly drain pipe.

This is what it looks like in a wooden raised planter.

More posts in the category of Corrugated Drain Pipe SIPs

Sub-irrigation: Good For Farmers But Not For Home Gardeners?

“We build the days around agronomy tours that
look at herbicide plots and tillage comparisons.

This year we have a sub-irrigation tile irrigation study that should be very informative,” he adds.

The article refers to a sub-irrigation system that probably uses principles very similar to these using perforated corrugated drain pipe. There are a couple of interesting points about this event.

If sub-irrigation is a good system for commercial growers, why isn't it a good system for home gardeners? Notice also that they don’t refer to sub-irrigation by the inaccurate and highly misleading term "self-watering".

I'm finding many articles in the current news about urban farming. It is a minor media rage. Just about all of what I read is about dirt farming in the city.

Due to the dumbing down of our education system regarding the use of modern technology, journalists, politicians and foodie activists know only about digging in the dirt. That was appropriate to the time we were a rural economy in prior centuries. We no longer are and it’s time to recognize that. Victory Gardens and community dirt gardens are WWII and yesterday.

Of course there's a place for in-ground growing in the city but to rely on it exclusively in the built environment is sheer folly. There is a major role for sub-irrigation planter systems (SIPs), micro-gardening, simplified hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics. Our education system, however, only teaches consumers about tilling dirt, a throwback to a bygone time when we were a rural society.

A Simple Sub-irrigated Planter From Australia

via augatti/Judy on Flickr

This photo caught my eye while scanning through a Flickr search on the tag “self-watering”. I had seen this photo previously. It was probably more than a year ago that I bookmarked it. At the time, I didn’t really get the significance of it. I definitely got it this time. It is functionally the same as these sub-irrigated raised beds.

What a brilliant and oh-so-simple idea from “Flickr Judy” in Australia. In addition to tote and storage type boxes, you can use it for any watertight container, including round planters like the very popular utility bucket SIPs.

Judy used 50 mm (2”) diameter perforated “agpipe” to make the reservoir. An initial search indicates that 3” is the smallest perforated corrugated pipe available in the U.S. I’m guessing that it isn’t as flexible as the 2” pipe she used. I’ll continue to search and inquire. Post a comment if you know something about the availability of 2” diameter perforated corrugated HDPE pipe.

Incidentally, in my opinion there is no need for the gravel or dish wipes shown in her other photos on Flickr. All that’s needed is the pipe, a fill tube made from recycled water bottles and overflow drain holes.  

Sub-irrigated Beta Test Raised Beds (SIPs) Are Working Beautifully

Sub-irrigated using perforated corrugated drain pipe - Progress photos June 29, 2010

 

As is true with most prototypes we need to make some minor adjustments in these raised bed/planter box sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). The adjustments are related to the reservoir size and configuration of overflow drain holes.

With that said, you can see that this perforated corrugated drain pipe method works very well. The plants are above average in growth rate and health.

There will be more photos and other SIP configurations of this type posted in the near future. The potential for dramatically increasing raised bed productivity using this method of irrigation is enormous. Check the photos in this Flickr photo set for growth comparison. 

We are planning to conduct a workshop here in Brooklyn at the end of July. Stay tuned.

Easy To Make Sub-irrigated Raised Beds And Planter Boxes

Here are more photos showing the raised bed SIP prototypes in this previous post. They are from this Flickr photo set.

The key element is the use of 4" diameter perforated corrugated drain pipe to form the water reservoir and air chamber. These beta test planters have already proven that the system functions like other sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). The forecast is that they will be highly productive and far exceed that of top-watered beds.

There is no need for any type of separator platform or soil wicking chambers (pond baskets, plastic food containers, etc.) as is typical with SIPs like the EarthBox and other do-it-yourself versions made from plastic tote boxes. 

Note: It is important that the bottom of the raised bed be level. If not, there will be an uneven distribution of water through the planter.

Salient facts:

• Date of Planting – May 25, 2010
• Location – Liberty Sunset Garden Center, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
• Plants – an assortment of edible plants
• Dimensions 48" x 48". Left planter – 11” high, Right planter 15” high. 
• Reservoirs/Air Chambers
• • Created from six sections of 4" diameter corrugated drain pipe. Wedging them from sidewall to sidewall eliminates the need to cap the ends of the pipes. Note: Unlike the photo, the pipes should be evenly spaced across the bottom of the planter. The spaces between the pipes form the soil wicks. It is the same as the method shown here and here using recycled plastics (i.e. milk bottles, nursery flats).
  • The perforations in this type of drain pipe allow the water to flow from pipe to pipe without need for connecting pipes. They also allow air to oxygenate the soil.
• Sheet Plastic Liner – Due to a miscommunication, the sheet plastic liner in the beta test planters is only high enough to create the water tight reservoir (about 6”). Going forward, planters will be lined all the way to the top edge of the planter.
• Fill pipes – Recycled plastic water bottles eliminate the need for commercial piping (PVC, vinyl tubing, brass pipe, bamboo, etc).
• Overflow Drains - 1 1/4" vinyl tubing. Future planters will have a series of plugable 3/4" tubes aligned vertically to allow adjustment of the reservoir capacity. 
• Sheet Plastic Mulch - This is an option. It prevents the growth of weeds and helps to conserve water by minimizing evaporation.