Determinate tomato, broccoli, cabbage, collards, pepper, etc.
Here's what you'll need - A 5 gallon bucket with lid, small piece of landscaping fabric, a scrap piece of 1" pvc pipe at least 20" long, 5 yogurt cups, and a cheap piece of 12" square floor tile (about $0.40 each at Lowes) Total cost for planter - less than $5.
I'm gonna be moving pretty fast through this tutorial, because the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.
Photo below - here's a closeup of the cheap floor tile. It didn't come in my color, but was the cheapest one they had. (Okay, I was just kidding, I don't care if it has sissy designs on it - it's gonna be covered with soil anyway) Hehe....
Photo below - components prepped for assembly. Notice the various holes drilled or cut in the bucket where the small black line is marked ( 3/8" hole drilled 3-3/8" from the bottom), in the corners of each of the 4 yogurt cups to the left (which will let water from the reservoir move freely in and out of each, so as to not take up valuable water storage area), in the pvc pipe, and in the piece of floor tile. The yogurt cup inserted into the floor tile is the wicking basket, which has a single 7/64" hole drilled in the bottom of it.
Photo below - Place 4 of the cups evenly spaced into the bottom of the bucket. These will be used to support the perforated barrier (floor tile), which keeps the soil mass resting above the water reservoir.
Photo below - Slide the round piece of floor tile (after trimming it to the contour of the bucket) with wicking basket inserted down to the bottom.
Photo below - Insert the pvc fill pipe down through the perforated barrier (after cutting a hole for it to fit through), all the way down to the bottom of the bucket.
Photo below - cut a piece of landscaping fabric to rest on top (which helps keep the soil from falling into the water reservoir, and also roots inside the soil mass).
Photo below - using a 1-1/2" hole saw, cut a hole in the center of the lid (for the plant to grow through), and also another one to the side - which allows the pvc fill pipe to protrude through.
That's all there is to it. Ok, I know I didn't show how to fill with soil, but this post is only about constructing it - not filling or planting it. I'll probably place a pepper or tomato plant in this one during the spring workshop, and show the attendees every step of maintaining and cleaning it for storage, as well.
Anyway, this is one of the many planters and containers that will be shown at the event.
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
38 comments:
A very nicely constructed container. I wish I had space to try some of these out. I have taped out every square inch of direct sun I have.
Thank you so much for posting this! I will be assembling a few of these this spring and was unsure about some things. This makes it quite easy now. Thank you!
Have you been following Raybo's soil mix trials on GardenWeb? So far he feels a 3:2:1 ratio of potting mix, bark fines, and Perlite works better than strait potting mix. I am thinking of trying this since I found the miracle grow potting mix wicked too much water and stayed too damp. What do you think?
That certainly seems straight forward enough. I really like step by step photo sequences like this. Words combined with the visuals do a lot for my ability to "get" what needs to be done.
Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for posting these, EG! It's great to see the recycled items put together, and your method using the tile instead of a second bucket. Are you using the same method with the kitty litter buckets?
Very cool, I wish I lived closer, I would have loved to attend this event. You are very handy. You dog must be very proud =)
Dan - thanks. It's sad that you don't have any more room left for some of these, because they work pretty dang good.
Rachel - you're quite welcome! Yes, I have read Raybo's container mix trials posts. I'd like to reserve my thoughts about it, so as to not belittle anyone's ideas. However, I will be glad to discuss it in detail by email.
kitsapFG - I'm glad you liked it!
Momma_S - You're very welcome. With the cat litter bucket design, I wouldn't dare try this tile setup. Instead, the 2 bucket design is mandatory.
Zach - I'm glad you like it. My dog is about the only one around here that likes what I do. Hehe...
EG: I will drop you an email :)
I was wondering how you made those SWC that you had. One question though, how does the water wick up?
Somerlyn - It wicks through the 7/64" hole in the bottom of the cup located in the middle of the piece of tile.
Thanks for the article. This is something I would like to try.
I am having a bit of trouble figuring out how the soil gets "wicked" since the landscape fabric appears to prevent the soil from getting to the bottom of the pail where the water would be.
It seems that the soil line would stop just about where the hole in the larger bucket is drilled. It looks like the tile and landscape fabric cover the center cup and therefore there would not be any wicking action via the soil.
So...I am obviously missing something. Please let me know.
Jeff - you're welcome. When assembling the planter before use, moistened soil is packed into the cup in the center - to the point that it is mounded. Of course, landscaping fabric is laid on top of that, and the soil mass for the plant on top of that. True, the landscaping fabric slows the wicking down a tad little bit, but not enough to notice. *Please notice the location of the 3/8" hole in my post (I wrote the wrong value, but sice have edited it to be the correct value) 3-3/8" from the bottom.
I see, dirt goes in the cup before you put the fabric over the hole. I can't wait to try this.
You have a great blog and I never miss an entry.
They're going to love learning this.
Somerlyn - exactly - I'm glad you understood what I was trying to say. Thanks for the compliment, and for also being a reader of the blog.
stefaneener - I sure hope so!
I made my SWCs out of two five gallon buckets - the bottom of the second bucket is drilled with the same pattern as the tile you used. Also, I have never used landscaping fabric in mine.
A question - I just got my first yard this year after gardening in containers only. What do you put in a container when you also have a yard available to you?
LGJ - I also make the kind of swc/swp that you described.
The onlything I can think that would be reason for still planting in containers, would be to segregate things so that cross-pollination doesn't occur....
This is really COOL. If I lived in an urban space will limited growing space, I would line these up my driveway. And the cost to construct one of these seems relatively reasonable. Heck you can probably salvage most of the parts.
I'm sorry I don't get it. First off, is there a metal piece that is also involved? If not, what is the thing with the holes in it? Fabric cloth? (remember, this is only my second year gardening and I have no idea what some of these things are) I am also not getting how it wicks up. Whenever I have seen a wick, it has been more of a cotton type device (i.e. candles etc). I don't understand what wicks it up. The soil? Does the soil in the cup that is in the bottom transfer it to the soil that is.....near it? I dont know. I am just not getting it. lol
Oooooh....aaaaaahhh... very cool, and seemingly easy to put together. Can't wait to try it! My only question is do you have to keep the lid on it? The tomato plant will grow through that little hole okay? (Okay, that's two questions, sorry!) ;)
Again, very cool.
JenGC - I'm sorry that you don't get it. Maybe someday i'll do a post about filling - then planting it with something. There isn't any metal piece involved. The soil is where the wicking happens.
Jamie - i'm glad you liked it. You don't have to use the lid, but it is beneficial to do so. Yes, the tomato plant will grow through the small hole with no problems.
EG, thanks for the great ideas! I think I can create a SWC using completely recycled material that I already have around. However, because I am using kitty litter buckets which are not UV stable, I will have to re-create them every year. Oh well, it's free!
Looking for a follow up on this. The more I thought about it the more it concerned me that the glue formt he laminate would end up tainting the soil. It's July so it's 6 months old. How did it grow out?
THANKS! Love your blog. Been reading for months, but finally subscribed to make it easier. :-)
ibarbidahl - Right now I have a jelly bean tomato plant in it, and have picked several very good quality tomatoes already. Of course, i've been eating them too, and haven't died from it yet either....
Why wouldn't indeterminate tomatoes work. Thanks for the tutorial. I plan to use some form of this in my greenhouse this spring.
roywasilla - there's just not enough soil mass to get many tomatoes from an indeterminate variety. I've tried it several times, and only got limited fruit from the plant.
Hi EG, I have multiple 5 gallon buckets that I plan to use, and have been looking for a one bucket plan. I like the idea of the tile and will give it a try. I understand why the indeterminates may be too large. Do you think that this would be a right size for sweet pepper plants though?
Brian - it's perfect for a pepper plant, just make sure the wicking capabilities of the soil within it is kept pretty low, because peppers hate too much water. I'd try a 50/50 mix of perlite and MG potting mix in it.....
Great post! After searching several different methods, I decided to use your plans. I'll be posting how things progress on my blog. I'm afraid the water chamber is not big enough but we will see. My mother-in-law will get the next one I build for her patio. Thanks for taking so much time to post the things you doing, I've been reading a lot of your posts and watching the videos for ideas!
I finished my SWP today and added water. The temperature got up into the 80's today and I kept adding water. Does an swp initially use more water?
I also cut a piece of styrofoam from a big piece a TV came in. It doesn't seem to want to float very well. Do certain kinds of styrofoam soak in water? none that I know of does but it seemed as if it did. I will get some from the craft store and see if that makes a difference.
midmented - you're welcome, and I hope it performs well for you. All styrofoam should work good - perhaps the stick you're using is too heavy? When initially filling the reservoir, you can expect the soil to absorb most (if not all) of the water. I always fill again 2 or 3 days later, when it's had time to saturate the soil mass.
Thanks EG,
I built 6 of these as a test last year and just finished 19 more for this year. I think I did all of this for $5 out of pocket with many of the buckets coming from the grocer's deli or bakery counter.
Now I am just reading up on cost effective growing medium.
Mark - you're welcome....the only cost effective growing medium is one that's mixed from bulk ingredients yourself....I added some bark to my mix this year, so that the aeration characteristics could be enhanced some...
Do you have any musings on your favorite mix recipe? I read what I could find on gardenweb but everything seems to go down in flames.
Is there a significant difference between between the use of vermiculite and perlite in the SWC mix?
I picked up 22.8 ft^3 of peat Wednesday for $12. I did have to break frozen bales from the palleted stack when I did that.
I'll probably just play with it and test a few different blends with Celebrity F1 tomatoes, sugar baby watermelon, and bell peppers as my test subjects.
Mark - Yeah, i've got some thoughts on a homemade mix suited for swc's....Vermiculite is really not necessary, because the peat will retain more than enough moisture by itself. The key is to introduce enough air into the soil mass to limit wicking, and also satisfy the oxygen needs of the roots. Perlite, bark, and even some aggregates will supply this need, and I use the following mixture in mine...4 parts peat, 4 parts perlite, and 2 parts pine mulch....
Can you recommend a tomato variety for a newcomer to container (SWC/SWP) gardening - or gardening at all for that matter. I live relatively close to your parts and was hoping you would have some good insight on what works in your area, but also in these 5gal buckets which I'll be using. I'm looking for something easy to grow, tasty, and thrives in the central Alabama. If you could pick 3 or 4 for us to try this season, we'd be mighty grateful!
ljbrandt - well, the cherry and paste varieties work best in 5 gallon swp's, but I like to grow my big tomatoes in larger ones. The Alabama Cooperative Extension Service only recommends varieties like Better Boy, Big Beef, Big Boy, Atkinson, Rutgers, etc due to their disease restance, but i've found that heirlooms work well here too. Cherokee Purple and Brandywine are hard to beat in taste, and I grow both each year...
EG,
When the eBucket design first came out, I bought a sheet of pegboard and cut out all the soil platforms from the pegboard. My dilemma is how to make the pegboard waterproof. I was given all sorts of suggestions on how to make it waterproof, but I'd like to hear from you.
I have about 15 platform discs with center holes and fill tube holes already cut out. I keep a supply of yogurt cups and 5-gallon buckets on hand. All I need is for those pegboard platforms to sit in the eBuckets without crumbling to pieces!
Thanks!
Gymgirl
Gymgirl - Well, you're going to have to coat it thoroughly with something that creates a good barrier. In reality, it'll be more cost effective to just make new ones from the cheap floor tile in the tutorial.
Besides, anything that'll make the pegboard completely water proof will end up making it stiff as a board.
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