Space Saving Planter: Growing Upside Down

This instructable will teach you how to build your own planter that can be hung within a kitchen setting underneath the upper cabinets. You will have fresh greens in your kitchen growing upside down, with little effort.

You will need:

Materials: Wood, PetG (plastic sheet), a mason jar, lazy susan rotating platform, live plants

Electronics: Ultrasonic Mister, 24V 2Amp power adapter

Equipment: Band saw, Vacuum former, drill, screwdriver

Step 1: Step 1: Create the Casing

Decide on a shape of your planter and cut it out of cheap wood. This wood will be thrown away so it does not need to be expensive. Decide on the number of plants you would like to grow and cut the size accordingly.

Step 2: Step 2: Drill Holes

You will need to drill one giant hole to fit the lid of any mason jar (usually 3 inches in circumference). Each plant will need it's own 1 5/8 inch hole. to fit a 1 1/2 inch dowel.

Step 3: Vacuum Form

Heat up and vacuum Form petg over the MDF mold.

Step 4: Cut Back Plate

Purchase a wooden Lazy Susan from any kitchen store. Cut the top piece of the Lazy Susan to your desired shape and insure it is one inch larger than your MDF mould.

Step 5: Cut Lazy Suzan

Now cut your lazy susan in a circle, or whatever shape you like. Make it smaller than your backplate to ensure clean aesthetic.

We used a circle jig and a band saw for the job but if you don't have access to these no worries!

You can also saw through it

Step 6: Find and Attach Jam Jar

Grab a jam jar (chances are you have one somewhere) and secure it in the center hole.

You should be able to twist it on and off without worrying about it falling from the PET.

NOTE: We used double sided tape to hang the garden in this picture, this was a temporary solution and do not recommend you use this method.

It won't end well...

Step 7: Add Ultrasonic Mister

Add a mister!

The mister needs 24 Volts of power so a wall adapter or 4 AA Batteries will do the trick.

We recommend plugging it into the wall since you don't want to be changing the batteries every couple of weeks.

Purchase mister here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mist-Mister-Water-air-Humi...

Step 8: Cut Wooden Dowels

Cut six wooden dowels and drill a small hole that runs all the way through which will hold your plants.

You can try to grow your plants from seed or choose to buy live fresh herbs, decorative plants or succulents and feed the roots through the hole so that your roots will be exposed to the mist.

Step 9: Secure Assembled Frame to Uppers

The next step is to attach the rotating plant holders to the bottoms of your upper cabinets. There are a couple of methods that you should consider:

1) Install with screws, attaching the back of the lazy suzan piece to the bottom of the upper cabinets.

2) Industrial strength double sided tape (With risk of potential damage)

NOTE: Try to install it in a well-light area, preferably around a large window.

Step 10: Enjoy!

Now you can turn the mister on by plugging it in or attaching the battery. Keep in mind the misting will continue to run, hydrating your plant roots lightly and consistently.

We are still in the testing phase of this project, and by no means do we think this is the final design. If anyone has anything to contribute or would like to do some further testing, please go ahead!

Let us know what kind of changes you will make and what you think will help grow and maintain your kitchen plants!