We made a garden in a burlap coffee sack to demonstrate a simple way to garden when you don't have much space (the link is to engineeringforchange.org's sack garden how-to guide). These garden sacks are popping up in impoverished urban neighborhoods in Kenya and other developing countries. They also work in small yards or on apartment balconies.
We took tips for our how-to guide from Appropedia's and Gardens for Health's bag garden pages and Send a Cow's video tutorial for making a bag garden in Uganda. This is how we did it.
We took tips for our how-to guide from Appropedia's and Gardens for Health's bag garden pages and Send a Cow's video tutorial for making a bag garden in Uganda. This is how we did it.
Step 1: Materials, tools and build time
Materials
*1 burlap coffee sack. Feed sacks and food aid sacks work, too, as would any large bag.
*3 cubic feet of soil. We used organic compost, but a soil-manure mixture would work, as would compost from an ecological toilet, a household waste compost bin or any nutrient-rich soil.
*Gravel. *A large yogurt container with the bottom cut out. Coffee cans or other similar-sized containers also work.
*Starter plants. We planted serrano and habnero chiles, sweet potato, sweet pepper and two kinds of basil.
Tools
*Utility knife.
*Trowel or shovel (optional)
Build time
We spent about one hour gathering the materials and 1.5 hours putting it together the first time. It could go much faster once you know what you're doing.
*1 burlap coffee sack. Feed sacks and food aid sacks work, too, as would any large bag.
*3 cubic feet of soil. We used organic compost, but a soil-manure mixture would work, as would compost from an ecological toilet, a household waste compost bin or any nutrient-rich soil.
*Gravel. *A large yogurt container with the bottom cut out. Coffee cans or other similar-sized containers also work.
*Starter plants. We planted serrano and habnero chiles, sweet potato, sweet pepper and two kinds of basil.
Tools
*Utility knife.
*Trowel or shovel (optional)
Build time
We spent about one hour gathering the materials and 1.5 hours putting it together the first time. It could go much faster once you know what you're doing.
Step 2: Begin making the center column of gravel and fill the bag
Start by putting a shallow layer of soil in the bottom of the sack, place the yogurt container (or coffee can or a similar container) in the center and fill it with gravel.
Shovel the soil around the rock-filled container and fill out the sack to the edges. When the soil reaches the top of the container, pull it up gently, leaving the rocks in a column in the center. Repeat until the bag is full with a center column of gravel. The column is for drainage and water distribution throughout the sack.
Tip: In hindsight, wire mesh (ckicken wire) or (maybe) a wide PVC pipe (or some other material that makes a cylinder) would make it easier to create the central column of gravel. Shape the wire into a long cylinder, put it upright on the bottom of the bag, fill it with gravel then fill in the bag with dirt around the thing. You could leave the wire mesh inside when you're finished. And if you used a PVC pipe, you would have to pull it out when the bag is full of dirt.
Shovel the soil around the rock-filled container and fill out the sack to the edges. When the soil reaches the top of the container, pull it up gently, leaving the rocks in a column in the center. Repeat until the bag is full with a center column of gravel. The column is for drainage and water distribution throughout the sack.
Tip: In hindsight, wire mesh (ckicken wire) or (maybe) a wide PVC pipe (or some other material that makes a cylinder) would make it easier to create the central column of gravel. Shape the wire into a long cylinder, put it upright on the bottom of the bag, fill it with gravel then fill in the bag with dirt around the thing. You could leave the wire mesh inside when you're finished. And if you used a PVC pipe, you would have to pull it out when the bag is full of dirt.
Step 3: Plant it
Plant the top of the sack. You can plant herbs, veggies, flowers or whatever you want that you think will thrive in this space.
Tip: Try putting root crops on top and leafy vegetables and herbs in the sides.
Tip: Try putting root crops on top and leafy vegetables and herbs in the sides.
Step 4: Plant the sides
Cut a small hole in the sack for planting along the sides.
Tip: We cut the holes too big. Try making a small cut that looks like an upside down "T," then scoop out soil from below the cut to make a little shelf for the plant.
Tip: We cut the holes too big. Try making a small cut that looks like an upside down "T," then scoop out soil from below the cut to make a little shelf for the plant.
Step 5: Ta da!
Finished. We settled on six plants, but a sack this size could hold more. Now, you just have to water it, keep it in a sunny spot and cross your fingers.
- Engineeringforchange.org
- Engineeringforchange.org
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If you're looking for bags, find a local coffee roaster and ask them for bags. Most have tons of empties, and will give them away for free.
Many Brazilian coffees are shipped in bags made of plastic fibers that will stand up a lot longer, and the jute ones make great compost.
If you don't mind having one that's not Kona specifically, I just googled "burlap coffee sacks" and found a place that sells them online:
http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/landscape-and-garden/landscape-garden-and-nursery/burlap-and-burlap-bags/burlap-bags.htm?gclid=CM3auOP91a8CFQJ9hwodilFDDg
I MOSTLY use small bags (Ramen noodle, Saltine cracker tubes cut in 1/2 & granola bar bags) to plant seeds & seedlings in until large enough to transplant into the garden ...square foot gardening style.
Just finishing planting about 350 red onions started like that... size varied from 4-10" high & bulbs up to golf ball size. Tomatoes up to 12" tall.
Thanks!!
If you use a plastic sack inside a burlap one, it will last longer than a year.
I love the look you've created!
The look you mentioned might be that way in part because of the photos. I shot it on the "pinhole" setting of an Olympus PEN EP-2 with the fixed 28mm-equivalent lens, if you were interested. Love that camera.
I use burlap sacks and a season i left a few outside in the winter and they were all destroyed in a couple of months.
Maybe Hdpe Monofilament net sacks will last much longer(not so pretty though as burlap)