Inside Urban Green

Cucumber Trellis » Need One? Store Bought or DIY?

 

 

Do you need a trellis for your cucumber vines? Should it be store bought or can you make one yourself?

Incidentally, it's best to sub-irrigate your raised beds whether you use a trellis or not. You will produce more and better cukes along with whatever else you are growing while saving water and time.

Share your experience and opinion with a comment below.

via www.gardeners.com

Trellis Keeps Cucumbers Straight and Blemish-Free

Portable Micro Gardens (SIPs) From Recyclables

Here is a portable micro garden (aka sub-irrigated planter - SIP) made from recycled plastics installed in a mortar box.

The same method works in any watertight container including a traditional raised bed lined with sheet plastic. It is a universal method. 

This is one sure way to avoid the hazard of often-contaminated city soil. The bonus is increased productivity in the range of 50% more vegetables per square foot vs. in-ground growing while saving up to 90% of the water.

The recycled plastic containers create water and oxygen reservoirs. The front row is an inverted nursery flat, the second is a row of strawberry containers and the third (blue containers) held mushrooms. Note that there are aeration holes drilled (or use a hot poker) in the tops of the reservoirs.

The fill tube (upper left) is a water bottle with the bottom cut off. Note that there is no need for connection pipes between the reservoirs. The bottom of the planter acts as the connection "pipe". Water will flow and fill each reservoir.

The soil in the spaces between the recycled containers forms a wicking system. The photo shows the planter only partially filled for demonstration purposes. It is now ready for filling to the top with soil mix and planting of either seeds or starter plants.

Australia » Wicking Beds Also Known as Sub-irrigated Raised Beds

These planters in Australia not only look good they are highly productive and most importantly they conserve precious water. In cities, they provide vital protection against toxic metal soil contamination.

We call them sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). The Aussies call them wicking beds. Fair enough. Note that they do not call them self-watering beds.

Following is an instructable that shows you how to make these beds as sub-irrigated planters (read the comments too). It is really quite simple. Line the planter with sheet plastic and install a water/oxygen reservoir (in this case perforated ag pipe). I favor recycled nursery flats or other recycled food containers that are relatively flat or low profile.

Why are there not wicking beds/sub-irrigated raised beds all over New York City, all over America? To paraphrase James Carville, it's our education stupid.

via www.instructables.com

"The wicking worm bed is a highly productive growing system which not only produces more food from limited water, but also recycles waste organic material to provide plant nutrient and capture carbon. The essence is to form an underground reservoir of water or pond contained by a waterproof container or liner below the surface of the soil. Plants are productive because they have a continuous supply of water and nutrients." Colin Austin

Sub-irrigated Raised Beds » Ready Made Kits to Convert

This is an interesting collection of raised bed gardening kits. Any and all of them could be sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) with some simple modifications.

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).

Sub-irrigated Raised Bed Liners

 

 

 

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. 

via www.gardeners.com

Use a Raised Bed Anywhere with Grow Bed Liners

A New Garden Blooms in Manhattan

The is the new Los Amigos Community Garden in Manhattan. It is a beautiful garden but it is a safe bet that it has little or no irrigation "intelligence". By that, I mean that it is most likely watered by hose or drip irrigation rather than a sub-irrigation system.

That means that it will unnecessarily waste water and lose productivity simply because of a lack of information about sub-irrigated planter systems (SIPS). SIPs could save 80-90% or the water, grow healthier decorative plants and double the productivity of edible plants.

At this time, it is a decorative garden but next year it will become an edible community garden. There is ample time to retrofit and upgrade this garden with sub-irrigation systems using either perforated corrugated drain pipe or recycled nursery flats. I personally favor the nursery flats for the recycling message it sends. Both could be used for a side-by-side comparison.

In any case, it is certain that the garden would be of significantly greater value to the local community if it had a modern SIPs system in the planter beds.

via www.nyrp.org

A New Garden Blooms in Manhattan

Australian Wicking Bed Video

Wicking beds and boxes are the commonly used terms for sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) in Australia. While this video is more message than how-to, it is worth watching.

Wicking beds are a form of raised beds. The benefits mentioned in the video are common to all SIP systems including raised beds, planters, boxes and buckets.

A significant added feature of wicking beds is worm farming. There is no reason why this can't be incorporated into raised bed SIPs.

I will post more about my research on the subject of wicking beds. The Australians and we can learn much from each other.

The potential for both edible and decorative urban greenscaping with raised bed SIPs is huge. Why isn’t there institutional applied research about raised bed SIPs here in the U.S.?

via www.youtube.com

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

Rooftop Enabled Garden

No, it isn't really an enabled garden but it could be. It's the roof garden atop the Delta Beauséjour Hotel in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Note the raised beds on legs. They are not sub-irrigated but they could be if the hotel knew about the corrugated drain pipe SIP method. The planters would then produce in the range of 50% more vegetables while using only 10-20% of the water being used.

What is particularly significant here is that the planters are elevated on legs. This is what all senior living facilities should have in their gardens. I see traditional raised beds for seniors at grade level regularly in my daily research.

Bending and stooping becomes increasingly difficult as the human body ages. The simple solution is to elevate the planters, SIPs of course. It will make gardening much more pleasurable for our burgeoning boomer population.

via timestranscript.canadaeast.com

A new garden and beehive on the roof of the Delta Beauséjour Hotel is providing fresh herbs and honey for the chefs to help them add freshness and taste to food served in the restaurant.