Inside Urban Green

That's Funny, You Don't Look Like a Coffee Plant

"You sure don't look like one of our kind big fella! And, would you please move out of the way? You're blocking the light for our closeup!"

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The real back story. This is one of the coffee plants in this post. As the plants grew it turns out that the "big fella" is a pepper plant. The immature leaves look very similar to a coffee plant. Someone in the greenhouse pulled the wrong plant for the coffee pot.

Notice that it is flowering. It better be self-pollinating because I don't see  any pollinators flying around in my apartment.

Notice the white roots, including those growing in the sub-irrigated planter (SIP) reservoir. What you see here is very simple hydroponics. That is what passive sub-irrigation is in reality.

It sure isn't "self-watering" the stupid term used most widely in the U.S. It is one of the significant indicators of our dumbed down horticultural education. Even extension program educators with PhD's use it. All they seem to know is old fashioned "drench and drain" watering that is slowly disappearing in most commercial greenhouses.

Unfortunately consumers aren't on the memo distribution list with the news about 21st century irrigation methods.

When using SIPs indoors it is essential to understand that you should not add water to a planter that still has some water in it from the last refill.

To avoid over-watering and root rot, wait until the reservoir is empty and the top 1/2" or so of the soil mix has dried down.

The term "self-watering" that encourages constant filling is the cause of most of the negativity about s-w planters that "over water" and are only to be used with "water loving" planters.

What crap...but much of the gardening industry is happy because they do not want you understanding and successfully growing plants in SIPs. SIPs mean sustainability, a dirty word to many commercial growers and garden centers.

When using SIPs (with overflow drains) to grow edible plants outdoors you can get away with "constant fill" only because of the much higher light under the sun. It is likely to be 100x the light inside your home. Photosynthesis is in full throttle and the plants are using all the water they can get.

This shows the two part polyester fabric wick I use in these SIPs made from recycled orange juice bottles. There is a round piece of material inside the planter that covers a hole at the bottom where the threaded part of the neck was cut off.

The 2nd piece of wicking is simply laid in the bottom of the reservoir in contact with the inner wick. As you can see, roots soon grow through the fabric and "stitch" the two wicks together.

The reason for the wick strip at the bottom of the reservoir is because the bottom of the o.j. bottle is not flat. The 2nd wick ensures that all of the water rises by capillary action and completely empties the reservoir.

The Makings of a SIP Coffee Plantation

It was good to encounter some creativity in the houseplant business recently. These are coffee trees (probably Coffea arabica) growing in 4" pots inside simulated burlap coffee bean sacks. They are lined with sheet plastic so you can bottom water them with a measured amount of water poured into the sacks. But, there's a far better way to grow them. Read on.

The orange juice bottle is the makings of a recycled plastic bottle sub-irrigated planter (SIP). I like the fact that they are square with clean lines. There are no wavy-curvy parts in the mold like there are in many soda bottles.

The downside is that these are not kid-friendly bottles to cut. Rather than scissors, I used a wood-burning pen with a knife blade tip. Even doing it this way I had to go slow to cut through the tough plastic. The finished result was worth it. To me they look like "science lab" planters, which is what they are.

The original plants were overloaded with cuttings so I carefully took them apart and planted 3 stems per bottle SIP. I bought 10 plants. Eight of them became 27 plants in the bottle SIPs. I still have the other 2 plants in the photo and will split them also to make 5 more SIP planters. So the 10 4" plants will make a total of 32 SIP planter trees.

I paid $5 ea. ($50) for them. Using the purchase price they are now "worth" $160, not counting the added value of the SIPs. Some day some kids are going to own some 6' coffee trees like the ones I donated to Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

The coffee tree plantation is growing under new style LED shop lights from Costco. The plants are very healthy and developing new root systems that are very easy to see through the clear walls of the SIPs. It has been a fun science project for this old kid.

The precursors to this project were the two 4" pot size coffee plants that I grew into 6' trees in my Brooklyn apartment lab. I grew them in an east facing window with the aid of a common T12 fluorescent shop light. They got too large and I donated them to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for use in their children's garden. They were the first coffee trees in the garden.

These cool LED shop light fixtures are from Costco for $35 each. The fixture over the coffee trees is at an angle because I bought the plants and potted them up in two batches. So, the plants are in order of age; oldest and tallest to the right.

Using LED fixtures you need not worry about heat scorching the plant leaves. You can lower the fixtures close to the foliage and optimize the available light. These are the palms in the back row.

Notice that I cut off the neck of the bottle (the part with the threading for the cap). That leaves a hole about 1 3/4" in diameter. The white cloth wick covering the hole is Pellon polyester batting. I also lay a strip of the material in the bottom section. It interfaces with the pad in the bottle. New white "hydroponic" roots grow into and fasten the wick strip in the bottom to the pad in the top.

I no longer leave the neck on a bottle SIP of any type or size or use the original cap with holes drilled in it. You know the common expression "bottle neck". There's a good reason for it. Over time, a healthy plant will clog up the neck of the bottle and cap with white "hydro" roots. Not good.

The plants are loving it and doing a great job of creating a healthy new root system in preparation for a surge of new stem and leaf growth above.

Click on the photo below for a macro view of the new white "hydro" roots. My new mantra is "STEM before stems." In my opinion our consumer gardening and horticulture education is largely STEMless. That's the basic subject of the book I'm writing.

Click on the photo for a macro view of the new white "hydro" roots. All children should have the opportunity to see this happening at an early age. Dumb clay pots and dirt hide it from their curious eyes and brains.

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Closing the organic loop one cup at a time

Sub-irrigated Cactus Concealed in a Clay Pot

This cactus lives in a clay pot but it grows in a sub-irrigated planter (SIP aka erroneously as "self-watering") insert (note plastic rim). It was a 2" pot size plant a little over five years ago. It has spent most of its time on a windowsill here in my Brooklyn apartment and more recently on a light garden shelf. The can is a scale figure.

This cactus has been thriving in my Brooklyn apartment expect for one thing. The plant is healthy but note the brownish ring about half way up. It was caused by a gross operator error (by me). Contrary to what most people might think, it was not over-watering. Can you guess what caused it?

I forgot to water it for 3 months! It was growing on a windowsill hidden by one of my light gardens. It sort of went into winter hibernation, using little or no water from week to week. When I discovered my goofup the top of the plant had turned brown. As it grew, the brown top became a brown ring. Lesson learned! Even cactus plants need water when they need it. 

See prior photos of this cactus in this Flickr photo set.

Today Recycled Soda Bottle SIPs, Yesterday Recycled Milk Carton SIPs

You might think of these planters as the forerunner of today's recycled soda bottle sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). Note the overflow drain hole. How well I remember these waxed paper milk containers. We sipped milk at school in smaller sizes.

We recycled a lot of things back in those days, particulalry post depression and WWII. And then came the 1950's. Boom! The birth of fast food, cars and consumerism.

From Popular Mechanics February, 1947

Someone Made Some Money on Recycled Soda Bottle SIPs Way Back in 1979

Popular Mechanics - May 1979

My ad:

FREE! HELP THE ENVIRONMENT! - Make Sub-irrigated Planters (SIPs) from recycled soda bottles. No patent pending. Sell them, raise funds for your organization. Whatever! Click here for free photo instructions.

Yes, There is a Cure for Food Container Recycling Addiction

Speaking of recycling, there is an interesting New York Times article about it that highlights yogurt containers.

As a daily yogurt eater, I now have an apartment full of 32oz yogurt containers...and sour cream containers, and mushroom containers and 2 and 3 liter soda bottles and...

Yes, my name is Bob and I'm a food container recycling addict. I now have enough plastics to make enough sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) for my entire neighborhood. It is good to know that "the cure" is SIPs of the right kind instead of the other kind. So, take the cure and give a kid a soda bottle SIP.

While you're at it, make some tote box SIPs and raised bed SIPs using recycled nursery flats or mushroom containers or half-gallon milk containers to make the water & oxygen reservoirs. You will help the environment and your veggies will love it. So will you when it comes to harvest time. SIP a tomato?

via www.nytimes.com

Brushing your teeth with a yogurt container? Wiping your mouth with a coffee cup?

You might be doing both, as a result of a new trend in recycling, courtesy of the manufacturers who make the original products. A growing number of large food and beverage companies in the United States are assuming the costs of recycling their packaging after consumers are finished with it, a responsibility long imposed on packaged goods companies in Europe and more recently in parts of Asia, Latin America and Canada. Read more...

 

Little Green Girl Grooves on SIPs

How neat to see Little Green Girl a member of the Green Roof Growers blogging team teaching her friends about making recycled soda bottle SIPs (sub-irrigated planters).

She has learned some good stuff from her mom Debbie and Heidi Hough, one of the founders of the blog. Yeah team! 

Debbie made this very helpful diagram showing how to make soda bottle SIPs (click on it for a larger view).

It's a minor point but I hook the wicking strips (one u-shape going up and one u-shape going down, like chain links). The wick is probably a little more secure that way. There are a number of variants in making these planters. One of these days, we'll have a PDF showing all of them.
 
There should be one or more of these planters in every home and classroom in America. Soda bottle SIPS teach good plant science and making them is a great example of recycling, or up-cycling or repurposing as some prefer. Install them inside cachepots (including traditional clay pots) for a more decorative look if you like.

Your houseplants will love the consistent water and oxygen supply provided by SIPs. Add adequate light and they will be in plant heaven instead of the other place where so many houseplants meet their end.

Read the blog post at greenroofgrowers.blogspot.com

More Recycled Bottle Gardening Ideas For Apartment Dwellers and all Nomadic Urbanites

Following are interesting videos by PocketPcMan in Sydney, Australia. It seems as if we share some recycling plastic bottles DNA. I've been making soda bottle SIPs and other sub-irrigated planters from recycled food plastics for a long time. It is an excellent way to learn about sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) and helps the environment.

The first video demonstrates what PPM calls a “propeller” bottle garden. It is a clever idea, worth testing. The second and third videos show how to make a window farm or garden from recycled bottles. 

Note that he spray paints the bottom section of the bottle planters to prevent algae growth. The downside of this is that you cannot see the status of the soil moisture and health of the root system.

If I were to make one of these gardens I would test keeping them clear. You can add a few ounces of drug store grade (3%) hydrogen peroxide to the water when necessary to eliminate algae. It is not toxic.

I use hydrogen peroxide in the soda bottle SIPs in my light gardens and need to use it only occasionally. Since algae growth is directly related to light intensity its growth will vary from one installation to another. It is not a parasite but you may not like the look and it is taking oxygen from the water.

PPM also uses a creative technique to make holes in the bottles. He fills them with water, freezes them and drills holes with a wood-boring (spade) bit. This is a good idea if you have enough freezer space to freeze many bottles at the same time.

If not, you can use a hot knife or better yet, an electric wood-burning tool with a knife insert. With this method, you need to make cutting guides with a sharpie marker. 

Note that PPM uses strips of kitchen sponges for wicks. You could do this or use polyester batting material (or poly felt) for wicking. Polyester fabric is a staple item in my SIPs tool kit. Pellon is a good brand.

I have not tested either of these ideas. In my view the plants are not particularly robust but to each his own. I have also looked at photos of many of the popular hydroponic window farms and feel the same way. The plants I see are rather small and spindly looking. 

In my view, a light garden with shelves is a more productive way to grow edible plants indoors. I favor the combination of natural light from a window supplemented with fluorescent (or LED) lighting. It would obviously be helpful if we had the results of side-by-side testing of a variety of "apartment gardening" methods.

via www.youtube.com

Herb Planters or Propagators » Your Choice, Free or Pay

Someone in the U.K. didn't get the memo about making free sub-irrigated planters and propagators (SIPs) from recycled soda bottles.

You can have the convenience of buying these for 6.95 pounds ($11.00 U.S.) plus shipping and tax, or you can make the ones below at no cost other than a small amount of your time.

Of course you will also be helping the environment by keeping these bottles out of our landfills.

You can see Flickr photos on how to make them here. One of these days I will make a YouTube video about these simple SIPs. Promise!

2-liter soda bottle SIPs with 16 oz deli container tops

2-liter soda bottle SIPs with soda bottle and deli container tops.

via www.thebalconygardener.com

The Capsule pot is a mini and stylish propagator designed to be easy to use to grow your first herbs.The capsule pot is self watering, just add water and it gets soaked up into the soil. Add the herb seeds (included) and watch your beautiful herbs grow.

The black inner container can be split apart to reveal the soil plug which can then be transplanted along with your growing herbs. With a cute capsule design the capsule pots look great on the window sill and on a working desktop. A great present for anyone who wants to start indoor gardening and growing their own herbs at home.

• The size is nice and compact at only 10cm high!
• Available in basil or parsley.

Contoured Plant Based Plastic Bottles Coming From Pepsi. But What About SIPs?

The sub-irrigated planter (SIP) to the left was made from a 3-liter diet Pepsi bottle (see prior post also see how to make them). While it is good news about a new and greener Pepsi bottle, it looks like the days of straight-sided 2 and 3-liter soda bottles are numbered. That is not good news for making soda bottle SIPs.

Coke has already gone curvy. As you can see, a Spider plant is growing in a curvy SIP but it is more difficult to make and not nearly as flexible in design options. From the picture of the new contoured Pepsi bottle above it looks like the same thing will be true for Pepsi SIPs.

Contouring adds strength and perhaps some visual appeal but it is not so green. It may seem a utopian idea but there is real value in making soda bottles straight-sided. Are you thinking Don Quixote rides again? 

Recycling is good but upcycling or repurposing is even better. Soda bottle SIPs are an unintended secondary product of significant value to society.

Having grown plants in them for many years, I believe it could be justified to make them as a primary product. I’ve learned more about growing plants and plant science from soda bottle SIPs than any other information source.

Clear soda bottle SIPs should be helping to grow plants inside every school in the world. They would quickly demonstrate how easy it is to grow plants using sub-irrigation as compared to tricky-to-learn drench and drain watering in traditional pots with drain holes.

Clear SIPs teach recycling, water conservation, some basic plant science as well as an introduction to edible plant growing. What could be more important than learning some simple science along with self-sufficiency about feeding oneself? Learning how to use sub-irrigation on a personal level is a survival skill.

So, my message is to save all the straight sided soda bottles you can find and turn them into SIPs. What a great recycling project this would be for every school in America.

Know that growing edible plants with sub-irrigation is scalable from windowsills to backyards and school yards, to rooftops and balconies to commercial farms. It is not well known by the public that sub-irrigation is widely used in greenhouse growing around the world. It is even employed in field farming in some parts of the U.S.

Why then is it not taught in the public school system? Why are consumer horticulture institutions such as urban botanic gardens not teaching it? Many millions of children who are destined for lives of obesity or hunger deserve better.

via:crispgreen.com

Using plant-based, fully renewable resources, the company plans to manufacture a beverage container with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

For years, scientists and inventors have offered up futuristic alternatives to the resource-intensive plastic packaging clogging up our landfills and recycling bins. And for just as many years, practical environmentalists have said that these designs are all well and good, but until the day they're used in mainstream commercial production, their impact will be minuscule.

It appears that day may not be as far away as we thought.