Really chep DIY self-contained box garden

I started with a $3.44 tote from Home Depot. Used a waste 7" tall (from the $1 store). Used an upside down plastic carrier used in the supermarket to hold fruit and vegetables. It was free. Cut a hole in it for the wastebasket and covered it with a large scrap of plastic screen so the dirt won't fall through. Made the filler pipe out of a scrap of PVC tube. I read somewhere not to use PVC because it leachs but these are for brugs and I can't find my bamboo pieces.

Total cost - less than $5.00. An additional plus is that I'm recycling things that would otherwise be landfill - in fact I found a few of them at our local dump.

Does anyone have recipes for homemade planting medium? I'm using my bokashi-ed psuedo-coir (shredded palm tree trunks) with compost. I don't have access to commercial organic fertilizer.

My brugs from the co-op are almost ready to their new homes so any suggestions would be appreciated.

katiebear

katiebear,
Would you place a photo of your setup so we can "see" exactly what you used?
kh

Haven't mastered my camera yet.

Go to www.josho.com/gardening.htm. I used his ideas but firured out to use a vegetable box for the interior unsidedown box as a real money-saver. It also cuts down on waste. If this doesn't help, let me know.

katie

Katie...I would think that your shredded palm trunks are going to need to decompose and in doing so use up alot of nitrogen...but with the compost and the bokashi it sounds like the 'soil' should be ok ... great even!!! I would rinse it really well with clean water to get the salts out. I can't imagine your set up - a photo would be nice - but seems like it sould work. Heck...growing things oout of bags of compost worked for someone!!!!

EMEric says that EM will neutralize salts. Also, in the "the Greening of the Desert" video on YouTube, it says that the methods they used neutralized the salts in their soil.

Maybe I'll be able to grow avacados.

katie

GOOD NEWS!!!! Man...EM is wonderful, isn't it!!!????

How does he say to use it to neutralize the salts? Soak prior to using it ? Water in with it?...I am really interested because I would like to use the inexpensive COIR.

I cut the massive sheathes off the fronds and use the remaining 'feathery' part as a mulch! it works wonderfully!!

As I understand it any EM whether bokashi or spray or watered in, will work. Something about the good organisms seems to neutralize the salts.

The "Greening of the Desert" people did not use EM but found the salts were neutralized through their permaculture methods. Be sure to watch this - or watch it again - it's really amazing and very good for us tropical or sub-tropical people. They found that salts were neutralized, rather than washed out, in four months. This in highly alkiline, salty soil.

katiebear

Watch what????

The "Greening of the Desert" video on YouTube.

katiebear

Katiebear, surely someone you know can help you with your camera and posting photos!!!!

Please?

Let me get through Christmas. I had to make a new beard; the one from last year disappeared. Maybe I can post a picture of me in costume.

katie

Katie...your brugs are going to want a lot of water!!!! So I would put them somewhere easy to water and make them easy to fertilize (or throw manure on them)...

Carol

Thanks, Carol. They are getting lots of water and most have sprouted. The one I accedently planted upside down even sprouted! I put it sideways in a big pot and hope it will make it. Has anyone done this and had the cutting recover. I didn't think I should leave it upside down.

I am hunting this morning. Looking for stuffed animals that are stashed here and there for the kids for Christmas.

If you check the josho.com site directions, mine are almost the same EXCEPT that instead of cutting up a second tote for the inside part, I use a free plastic vegetable/fruit box from the market (any supermarket will probably have them and be glad to give them to you - I even get them free here in Mexico!) and cover it with plastic screen to keep the soil from falling into the water resevoir. It brings the cost down and recycles something that would otherwise go to the dump.

a hunting I must go.

katiebear

Katiebear,
For some reason your link was not working. I think you didn't have the whole thing. The josho.com is for something else. I found it at josho.com/gardening so here is the link for those who are interested: http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm

Would love to see pictures of your box. The only concern I have with using all the different plastics is figuring out which ones are safe and don't leach out bad chemicals into the soil. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Otherwise it's a great way to save money.

Katie: Thanks for sharing that with us, looks very interesting.

Gardadore: Thanks for posting the thread, as I was having a problem accessing the pics and instructions and thought it was me or my computer. LOL

joy112854