Tetra Hydro Box Garden

I made these garden boxes per the instructions of brian3140 .
This is my first garden! Two years ago I helped clear, till, plant, weed, and harvest a patch of land with a couple of relatives, but, while I did get to enjoy the fruits of my- but mostly their- labor, it wasn't my garden.
I live on rented property and can't have a regular in-the-ground-type garden. But I love plants and home-grown vegetables, so I thought I'd try my hand at container gardening.
So far it has been a great success.
I grew all my plants from seed in various types of home-made and store-bought seed starters and then moved them to the boxes.
I also have a few flower plants, which so far have no flowers on them.

My plants:
yellow squash
broccoli
apples (I can't remember what kind. oops.)
pickling cuccumbers (organic)
sunflowers
cosmos

My garden isn't the fanciest, prettiest, or classiest. It doesn't even have fully-grown plants yet. But it's my garden!

PuckMonk says: Dec 16, 2011. 12:22 AM

Another bonus would be to put clear plastic on the leftover part of the lid and use it to start your plants from seeds in the boxes. Viola mini greenhouses.

kuinut says: Apr 28, 2011. 6:32 PM

how is the water wicking up into the soil? It seems like there wouldn't be enough contact between the reservoir and the growing medium to use up all of the water. I could be wrong. I would really like to hear if a wicking area isn't needed. It would mean one less step when I make my containers. Nice photo set though, very thorough.

cww in reply to kuinutMay 11, 2011. 2:51 AM

You can poke an old piece of T shirt rag through the hole as a wick so that the water can get to the roots even when it is running low.

penandsword (author) in reply to kuinutMay 8, 2011. 1:43 PM

@kuinut
There is a drainage hole on the side of the box right at the very top of the reservoir, at almost at the same level as the dirt. So when I water (about every 3 days or so) the water level comes up and soaks into the dirt, the excess draining out the hole. I'm sure that after only a few minutes the water is soaked up into the dirt to the point that the water in the reservoir is no longer actually touching the dirt.
So, to answer your question, the water just wicks into the soil through contact, nothing fancy. *All* of the water is never used up. There is always a bit in the bottom until you raise the water level up again.
I'm not sure if there is a better or more efficient way to do this. It's my first time making anything like it. You could make your own and experiment with it to see if you could improve it. : ) Good luck!

pbiehler says: May 1, 2011. 12:40 PM

I have this done but not your steps you did. I just took one and poked holes in bottom . A bunch too. lol But I just did that and placed rocks on the bottom and layered it and have a tomatoes and a squash growing together in it/ The tomato helps the Squash and the Squash helps the tomato. One covers the grounding and keeps it moist and cooled and the other tops over the other just enough to keep to harsh sun rays off. ^.^

penandsword (author) in reply to pbiehlerMay 8, 2011. 1:47 PM

I love how you said your pants help each other. Now that my plants are growing pretty big, I think the box is getting a bit overwhelmed. I've got three squash plants in one box and, at only about a month old, they are overflowing the box!

penandsword (author) in reply to penandswordMay 9, 2011. 8:10 PM

I meant "plants", of course, not "pants".
: )

jbailey-1 says: May 3, 2011. 12:16 PM

I had an idea for this, I'm moving to a piece of land that has 5 acres of grass, I though about making a traditional garden, but I like the idea of the containers, and not have to till up the lawn. I was thinking of making a bunch of these containers, and putting them on a trailer that I could move around the yard as I needed to mow where it had been, and also move it to get the most sunlight as the seasons change. Any thoughts, or problems you could find with this?

Thanks.

penandsword (author) in reply to jbailey-1May 8, 2011. 2:08 PM

Your idea sounds great. I wouldn't have thought of that.
I deffinitely think you should try the boxes, but maybe just a couple at first to see if you like them.
This is the perfect way for me personally to garden because I live on rented property and can't have a regular garden in the yard.
Other advantages besides not having to till up your yard are that the boxes protect your plants from burrowing bugs and animals (since the plants aren't in the ground), and they don't have to be weeded (at least mine haven't so far).
They are low maintenance and great for inexperienced or busy gardeners (like me).
The only problem I can think of doesn't even pertain to the plants themselves. Unless you moved your trailer around pretty frequently you're going to get big dead spots in your lawn where the trailer blocks the grass from the sun. I don't know if that would even matter to you, but I just thought of it.
Other than that, I think it sounds like an interesting idea that could work very well! : )
I do suggest, though, that you get the opinion of brian 3140 (http://www.instructables.com/member/brian3140/). He's the one who made the instructions I followed, and may have more to say about it.
Good luck with your garden!