Vertical Planting Tower

I have been meaning to do a nice shelving unit to house pots for veggies and herbs, been deliberating on the design, where to put it and also to materials to use. Shall i buy the building material, shall I recycle, shall I hunt down in nearby construction sites....too much thinking and not enough doing...that is the trouble with procrastinating over thinkers.

So after a jolly get together on Saturday morning on 23rd of January with some online gardening friends, i was asked point blank about a vertical planting tower. I was stumped to say the least. I realised I was thinking too much and not just doing anything.

The very next day, I took out my cordless drill and got to it. Keeping it sweet and simple for anyone to follow. I have seen many examples online about vertical planter boxes and below is the culmination of my design.

It took me one hour to get this installed and ready to plant.

Items needed:
2"x2" post about 5 to 6 feet tall. As tall as you can reach.
22 plastic pots - recycled
22 good strong screws. best to get the ones that do not rust.
1 "good" cordless screwdriver and drill set. (there are many cheap one in the market but a good one does the job better with less effort).
1 big clay pot about 1 1/2 feet wide, the wider the better.
4 bricks (new or recyled)
1 bucket of very course gravel (as filler and weight)

Method. 
Before we start, a note on timber selection for the post. I have chosen a nice solid and heavy timber from the lumber yard. it was cheap and hardy. in our tropical climate having a heavy hardwood ensure the posts will last longer and will be effective in fighting against decay, rot and insect attacks.

so now we begin, firstly...and most importantly...YOU must decide how far the pot have to sit from each other. Decide on the height separation. This is important. You must know what you want to plant and how tall they will be. Pruning will help keep the height but there has to be a minimum and a maximum height. I have chosen 8 inches for this prototype. This will allow me to see if I need to modify it in future towers. I had decided to use this configuration more because of the overlapping nature of the pots. I wanted a plush and flush tower. Possibly a nice herb and veggie christmas tree....

Each level has 2 pots, 1 pot opposite each other. Staggering the height of the second level and the direction on the post adds some dimension to the planting tower and space for the plant to grow. So the next level is on the other 2 face, again opposite each other, and then so on and so forth. Simple and neat. Make sure you leave at least 2 feet of length on the post to secure it inside the base pot.

After deciding where the pots will be, using a pen and a measuring tape to keep the distance identical, mark the spots where the screws will be. Use the drill to make guide holes for the screws. the holes should be smaller that the screw's diameter. Pre-drilling also helps to screw in easily and avoids the screws from cracking the post.

So the holes are drilled, and you are ready to attach the pots. I would recommend that you secure the post to the base pot first. It will allow for easier work in attaching the pots. This is how I did it and it is so secure. Firstly, Place the base pot at the final location where you want to place this vertical planter tower because once you fill it up with the rest of the stuff and the post, it will be difficult to cart around.

Place the post in the middle of a pot.
Place the bricks on the 4 flat sides of the post. I used a whole brick on each side for more surface area. The brick is then wedged against the side of the pot. move it around till you find a solid foot hold for the post. The post should not be able to move around. Now fill the pot with the course gravel, ensuring the gravel gets into the little nooks and space between the bricks. The gravel has 2 purpose, (1) is to ensure the bricks do not move while landing support to keep the post firm, and (2) the weight of the gravel will provide a solid base and helps avoid the whole structure from tipping over in strong winds. Note: the pot needs to have a wide base for stability.

Now that the post is secure and standing, make small hole in the side of the plastic pot about 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the rim of the pot. This will be the hole for the screw. Insert the screw partially so that it doesn't run away and it helps you to find the pre-drilled guide holes. Gently screw in and move on to the next till all the pots are attached.

There you go all done.

Now you will notice that the following picture, they are double potted. Well, the attached pots are actually pot holders. In this way i can actually repot or change plants whenever necessary. i do not have to detach the pot from the post. I can move the pots around should they need more shade or even take them down to go into rehab from too much sun or water. It allows a huge amount of flexibility.

So have a go.

Happy Gardening and DIY.

Modification of a small compost bin

In the search for the perfect compost bin for a small garden, I have searched the web. There are many examples to choose from. But most often they are either too expensive or unsightly in a manicured garden. I needed something unassuming but yet cost effective. It had to be big enough to accommodate our daily organic kitchen refuse and also the garden wastes.

As always thinking too much and doing nothing, is a sign of a great procrastinator. My problem is I want it perfect before I do anything about it. I want to do it right the first time or not at all. So searching thru and seeing the many examples, I chanced upon designs with an opening at the bottom.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, why was I wasting so much time trying to create a new garden composter bin when I could modify what I already have. Moreover the vegetation and kitchen waste has been sitting in this composter bin for more than 6 months. It was ripe for harvesting, but I could not get at it as it was on the bottom. So why not make an opening like what I had seen in the examples on the web.

So here it is. This composter bin is actually a clothes or laundry hamper that I have recycled into a Garden composter bin. It already had the required holes for aeration. Just dump in the veggie and garden waste and let it decompose. Ensuring that you have the required mix of green and brown matter for the nitrogen and carbon balance, the recommended ratio is 50/50 balance, These would be no smell and no fuss.

So using some handy power tools I set out to make it happen. I used a Bosch Multitool and a cordless drill. 

I marked out the line  where the hole was supposed to be and used the semi round blade of the multitool to cut the hole. It was perfect for the job. 

Next using the cordless drill, I bored some holes to attach the plastic cable zip ties. This will serve as the hinges to the opening. You could get metal hinges and rivet it to the plastic, but since this was already old I didn't bother. 

    

Now the compost harvesting hole is ready to use. Harvested a nice basin of compost and sealed the bin with a couple of zip ties for another day. Should I need to harvest more, I just cut off the zip ties, harvest and close it back again. Simple. 

All in all, it took me about 30 mins to do the whole thing. You can do this to any one of your composting bins. If the bins are bigger than mine above, then you may have to make openings on either side or on all for side if the bins if it is really large.

Composting...A better way to recycle.

Happy Gardening and DIY.

My favourite FB group chat about gardening. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourhome.mhmgmr/