Growing Chinese Cabbages in PVC Pipe

Here's how you can create your low budget green garden at home that doesn't need alot of space. I'm Vannak, Here in Cambodia, I'm living in a flat on the 1st floor so I don't have much space for doing my gardening. so this could be the best way I could imagined of. :D

Step 1 Materials & Tools

Here's what you'll need:

Meterials:
- Plastic Botles = 01
- PVC Pipe = 02 (5 inches in size or larger is recommended)

Tools:
- Saw
- Scissors

Comments

[cart562]

Using PVC is a great idea in itself, but for plants to really get big and do well, they need more room for their roots to develop. I would recommend getting the same diameter pipe and cut it into several 8 inch or so long sections, put a cap or something on the bottom, and stand them up in a row. It would probably take more material but you're plants will have more growing room and it wouldn't take up any more space than in the picture.

[fantasticx2]

This sounds great, can't wait to try this, I have a ton of PVC needs to be put to use and at the moment no wood to make planter boxes for plants and seeds.
Thanks for the great idea!!!

[Udon]

I very like.

[NailedtotheV]

Does dripping ever cause a problem? I'd think that the cuts on the bottom would make a mess on the floor. I'm moving into an apartment this summer and may have to give this a go!

[lordrobin3k]

Hi, it's depend on the soil you choose, for me I choose Composed soil so it doesn't have alot of dirt. so when the water dripping down to the floor, it just vaporized in minutes.

[thepelton]

You can get a type of potting soil that retains the water, holding it unti the plant needs it.

[papabob56]

What a great idea! I have the perfect space for a planter such as this and I can get all the pipe I need for free. The local plumbing shop has tons of these pipes, in various lengths sitting in a refuse pipe. I'm going to try this idea to grow some lettuce and swiss chard. Thanks for the awesome contribution. : )

[michael68]

I built a hydroponics unit the same way, the only thing you have to watch out for is contamination from the PVC pipe, it can leech into the soil, there are plenty of websites you can go onto that will tell you of more suitable materials, great instructable.

[super moderator]

In a small setup like the one you have there try replacing the soil with Perlite (google it!) or other hydroponic mediums. You should find that it is faster and the crops will be bigger and less disease prone. Great Instructable by the way.

[ModrnHippe]

Awesome idea! Not so sure I would grow cabbage though, maybe some tomatoes or carrots. Here's a video to help you make compost to help the plants grow http://tinyurl.com/o36xno

[bossing07]

here in Manila we have very limited space, your PVC pipe idea opened doors for opportunity. for 5 months now whenever i pass the stairs, i always see several PVC pipes above our roof, they are just there....useless however when i came across your idea i turned the pipes into something useful. like what u illustrated a plant box. i planted varities of vegtables!!! in no time i wont be needing to visit the market. ill just do the harvesting on my roof.

[sgsidekick]

Be aware that if you live in a hot climate, you'll need to water a lot more often than regular "ground" gardens!

[virlusun]

Hey, this is a great idea. I think I will try it with some dripping system or hydrophonics, but I like this idea much better than just hydrophonics.

[thepelton]

Hmm, I like this idea. I live in a second floor apartment with a patio, and no available dirt area to grow stuff, and I want to supplement my diet. Not sure I would grow Chinese cabbage, though. (Bok choy?) Probably I would grow mustard greens. Mustard is fairly hardy, and doesn't need the absolute best soil to sprout.

[lordrobin3k]

Nice, mustard greens seem to go well with this.

[thepelton]

A trick I got from my Mother was that you can use fresh mustard greens in a sandwich where you might normally use yellow mustard spread or horseradish, such as in a meatloaf sandwich or a hamburger. Tastes great, and is healthier for you than yellow mustard spread.

[sheratan]

Hello. Being a Kim Chi addict, I must say I was pleased to see your instructable. Thank you. I live in Thailand and I wanted to know a couple of things about how you grow your cabbage: Did you grow them from seed? Which Conditions are best suited for the cabbage (full sun?,...)? Thanks : )

[lordrobin3k]

Hi, I did grow from the seed. I left the seeds in water around 1 or 2 days until the roots came out. then i grew it in a wet soil. and keep it not really direct to sunlight. You may grew your Cabbage under half shade/sun conditions. that's make your cabbage healthy. Thanks, -Robin

[kcli]

Very nice job! I've been thinking about a similar project for my deck railing using gutter material but now believe the PVC pipe would be far sturdier and would allow deeper root growth...thanks!

[regtech]

What size is the pipe?

[lordrobin3k]

you can choose the pipe size from 5 inchese or larger than this would be recommended

[ironsmiter]

hmm, makes me wonder if a cut 3L soda bottle would loosely fit over the end? If so, you could then shrink it on with heat, and have a leak-proof version for an indoor/outdoor planter.

[lordrobin3k]

you need to find the thick bottle that can easily fit at the end. you can do the shrinking with heat. for me i prefer this way, so it looked clean and you don't require more tools and time. Thanks, Robin