SIP's

It all started when I was cleaning up my back patio, which is little and enclosed in brick. It's big enough for a table and chairs and for Little Red to have a little fun out there but pretty small. I was looking around and started thinking about how I could make it better, and then I started thinking about gardening.

Well then I spent my daughter's entire nap time looking up gardening in urban settings and learned about SIP's, or sub-irrigated planters. There is a lot of information out there and a few ways to do it, but basically you are growing things in planters instead of in the ground and you are watering them from the bottom up so the roots take in what they need and you use less water with better results. You can even grow big plants in them.

Here are a few pics and a website to check out.

the vegetable revolution

inside urban green

earthtainer


Two great websites to check out are:
earthtainer.org
insideurbangreen.org

Here's what I did with my new found knowledge. Mine looks a lot like the first picture above. I used three sections of corrugated and perforated drain pipe on the bottom, the middle drain pipe has a hole for the PVC pipe (which is where I add water to the plant), and then the soil and plant are added. There is also a drainage hole drilled into the container to allow water to escape, which prevents over watering and allows the soil to get oxygen.



I planted a hydrangea because they grow very well in this area and are shade loving flowers... which is good because my patio only gets a couple hours of sun where this planter is sitting.


Are you an avid gardener or just starting out? Either way I hope this was somewhat inspiring, informative and helpful.

~Risa~