Passive Gravity Irrigated Planter

Home gardening is a great method to reduce both your monthly food budget and environmental impact. In this guide, you will be shown how to build a planter, capable of growing a variety of different types of produce and/or herbs, along with a drip irrigation system to deter disease and pests and passively keep the soil moist. Furthermore, the drip system is designed with a leak rate (0.05 gal/hr) a full order of magnitude below the leak rates obtained from commercial drip irrigation products (0.5 gal/hr), along with reduced cost. Simply pour a few glasses of water into the bucket and allow gravity to slowly feed the water to your plants for hours. This step-by-step guide was written for even the most inexperienced builder or gardener and teaches the basics of gravity irrigation design, as well as how the system could be improved in the future.

Step 1: Materials List

Below is a list of the consumable materials needed for the project. Highlighted prices are estimates, and all prices were gathered in May 2012. While the listed total price is approximately $140, the project could be completed for less than $100 with a few modifications. A few examples are: 1) Substituting cedar for redwood boards (save $20), 2) Eliminating the angle brackets (save $5), 3) Eliminating the copper tape (save $10), 4) Supplying your own soil instead of purchasing (save $5).

Comments

[CountryAngel]

Copper flashing to get rid of slugs is GENIUS!! I am going to Home Depot now to get some for my raised beds which sit on the ground.

[CatTrampoline]

This idea is PERFECT for watering the plants under my grow lights of death. The outdoor plants get watered, but the indoor ones in my study get forgotten.