Pallet Gardens With Water Cycling

Interesting concept.

Wassa bubblepump?
Is it just pumping air which bubbles up carrying some eater with it?
Del

Pretty cool project + videos, thanks for sharing!

I like the self-contained water cycle - no nutrient runoff.

Now all you need is a little solar collector to run your pump!

You can pick these up for under $10.00 when you catch em on sale.

I use them on my Japanese water fountain.

Bingo!

I couldn't help glimpsing what seemed to be a more standard bed of plants in the lower corner of some shots. I assume you are not new to gardening. Makes me wonder if you chose your forum name because of being a gardener.

One thought that occurred to me is that the plastic could be extended and rolled up on the sides to be used in colder climates for frost protection where people often cover plants at night during freezes, but can uncover them during the day as temps rise above freezing. The side pieces could be "seamed" together at the top with clothes pins to create a triangular tent covering.

I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and imagination.

I moved from Ireland to victoria Canada almost 15 years ago. I have never got used to having to water my plants every damn day in summer! This really affects runner beans which produce from Late July till the frost in Ireland and for about 2 weeks here. And it affects other plants that just keel over and die. And this year, we had no rain from August to now. I want to use something environmentally friendly, that can take my kitchen slop and "digest" it and that doesn't get all the water sucked up by nearby trees. And most of all, I want to have something automatic and cheap as hell. Even my grape vines could not compete with the trees and they are a very deep rooted plant. So that is the deal with this and the dripper irrigation thread. I want to get maximum use from the water and save on the water bill. Stuff is growing well in the pallet garden. Even though it is not in a well lighted place. I am still learning about the vertical part. So far dolomite lime on top and coarse sand going down it is producing growth in the plants in the vertical section (but nothing special). The lime is to neutralize acids in the water and hopefully get a decent ph balance. I got the 20 pallets a few days ago. I might get round to using them today. But it is a big job to cut them all up. This could work even if we got a big earthquake or general strike, etc . (I am trying a solar panel powered version too)

Brian

The only concern I have, is that, the bed is confined.

Growing plants like tomatoes, when the bed is confined so for instance like growing them in a pot, or topsy turvy, or sill planters. The plants tend to starve. And production suffers.

Also one has to be concerned about viruses or poisions. that may build up in the recycling process.

Yes these are probably reasonable concerns. So far it is going great. It started August 11th and I pulled a bunch of the Egyptian onions today. Hopefully I am getting 10 or 20 oversized pallets this week for the next phase! (Not that it can produce much at this stage of the year). It isn't quite like a pot because it should get air pruned all round, even on most of the bottom of the thing because I left a little gap between the plastic and the soil. After 6 weeks, i wonder if I need the vertical part at all? But it contains lime first and then sand and I hope the lime acts as a buffer and the sand has high oxygen getting in and hopefully lots of microbial activity. I really like never having to worry about watering or forgetting to water. In the hot days, you could water 4 times a day and still have periods when the roots are bone dry. But not in this thing. I don't use any fertilizer so my plants are not as good as those of real gardeners.

Brian