DIY Vertical Garden Planter - Finished Product (Post 2 of 2)

About a month ago I posted about a vertical planter I made.  I wanted to share the finished product so you can see how it turned out, and share the final materials list and cost, in case you'd like to make one yourself.  I adjusted the design a bit because the upper shelves needed more soil than I originally provided for.

If you don't have much space in your yard, or just have a balcony or other outdoor space this design is great for getting a lot of planting space out of a small amount of surface area.  For a spice or herb garden this would work awesome.  For larger fruits and vegetables I would opt for a deeper planter or for optimum production in the ground.


Tools:

1. Saw
2. Drill (with Phillips head bit)
3. Tape measure
4. Level (I didn't use this, but if you want everything perfect would come in handy to check yourself)

Materials:

1. 6 - 1" x 6" x 8 foot lumber
2. 2 - 5/8 " x 1/2 " x 6 foot cedar fence boards
3. 2" wood screws (box)

Directions:

1. Cut 8 foot lumber in half, resulting in 12 pieces, each 4 feet long
2. Separate pieces into 4 groups, with 3 pieces each.  Screw together lengthwise at right angles to create shelves
3. Attach first shelf at bottom of cedar fence boards to create base, putting screws through the side of the cedar fence boards, which are the vertical pieces
4. Measure up 15 inches from top of base and attach next shelf, repeating to the top of the fence boards.
5. Vertical garden planter is now complete. Add organic soil and plants as desired.
6. If water is not draining down from the upper shelves, you can drill a few holes in the underside of the shelf, in the middle of the board to help.

I used Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil for my planter, my first time using the product, and it has been awesome.  I'm not always the best at growing potted plants and have been really impressed with the results.  I highly recommend this product.

My total cost for making this planter was 49.89 and the cost for each material is posted here.  I've been really happy with the turnout so far, and have my first ever banana peppers, serrano peppers, and paprika peppers ready for picking.  Here's a photo of the finished product.

Front profile

 The plants I'm trying out are (from upper left):

• Banana pepper
• Serrano pepper
• Malabar spinach
• Purple basil
• Hungarian paprika
• English thyme
• Okra
• Burpless cucumber
• Dinosaur kale
• New Zealand spinach (my favorite of the items in the planter - really awesome)

Thanks to the Horton Plaza Farmers Market, City Farmers Nursery, and the Little Italy Farmers Market for the plants. :)

Side profile

Happy planting (and eating)!

The Problem With Pavement - Part 1

Don't it always seem to go, 
That you don't know what you've got
'Til it's gone
They paved paradise 
And put up a parking lot

- Joni Mitchell

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Yard.

One thing about my yard, and much of the San Diego area, that bothers me is the amount of concrete, asphalt, and other pavement that cover much of the land area - including the entirety of many yards.  For example, at right is a photo of my neighbor's backyard.

We live about a mile from San Diego Bay and less than 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  This is an area that gets frequent dew, has a very temperate climate, and relatively high humidity (around 75 percent) year-round.  Although San Diego doesn't get much rainfall each year, about 12 inches in our area, the climate is very well-suited to growing many types of plants with little to no watering required.  It's disheartening to me that paving over the land is the preferred option for many in the area.  This is in addition to the roads, freeways, sidewalks, driveways, commercial and residential buildings, and many other structures covering the ground.

The amount of paved surfaces and structures covering the ground leads to issues with urban runoff.  Urban runoff is the problem created when pollutants (oil, grease, trash, etc.) are directed to water sources like bays, rivers, and oceans.  Paved surfaces reduce the ability of the ground, plants, and other natural materials to filter and slow the progress of pollutants traveling to water sources.  Due to impervious surfaces like pavement, the runoff produced by a typical city block produces 9 times more runoff than a wooded area of the same size.

In San Diego, all public storm drains send water directly to the ocean, without any treatment or filtering.  This means that when there is rainfall all of the trash (cigarette butts, wrappers, animal wastes, roadkill, motor oil, gasoline, dirt, litter, etc.) are sent to the water we swim, surf, fish and play in.  As a result of urban runoff there are regular beach closures of the Pacific Ocean in the San Diego area.  The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on earth.  That is ridiculous.

There are a number of things that can be done to reduce urban runoff and I plan to write a number of posts on the topic, this is the first.  I wanted to start with one of the most simple and obvious ways to reduce urban runoff - by reducing the amount of pavement.

Along one side of my house there is a strip of land about 2 feet wide and 35 feet long.  It's not structural concrete or necessary for the support of our home.  I believe it was leftover material from pouring the driveway and put down to avoid weeds growing along the house.  Given that our property cost about $100 per square foot of the lot, that is $7,000 worth of lot that isn't doing anything for us.  From a monetary perspective as well as an environmental one it makes sense to use this space in a better way.

I decided to plant some climbing plants along the reed fencing to give us some additional privacy.  These plants will also reduce the noise level in our yard and home and help to improve the quality of air coming in our windows.  Additionally, I selected plants that have pleasant scents, and that are attractive to birds, butterflies, and other local wildlife.  My initial plant selections are:

1. Wild desert grape (Southern California native)
2. California blackberry (California native)
3. Fuggle hops

Since the pavement in this area of the yard is pretty thin I only needed a sledgehammer and a masonry chisel to get the job done. I'm hoping to pull out our driveway in the coming months but need to find a jackhammer first.  If you're attempting to remove concrete from your yard I'd recommend using a jackhammer for an area of large size, or for strong / thick concrete.  Also, take care when using a sledgehammer to not hit your hands.  I made the mistake of smashing my right index finger (twice) and haven't been able to type properly for a few days.  Thankfully, no major damage and the finger should be back to normal in no time.

Ready to start.

Ready for planting. 

After clearing out a space for planting I found that the soil underneath was pretty good quality.  I added the plants (1 gallon container size, from City Farmers Nursery) and a bit of organic soil on top for additional nutrients.

The newly added Fuggle hops (fore) - looking forward to some beer brewing.

This area is pretty shaded so I selected plants that didn't need a lot of sun.  A bonus of the shaded area is that the water requirements are minimal - it's nice and cool all year-round in this space.

The wild desert grape I planted a few weeks ago - the  vine is climbing well.

Although Joni Mitchell wrote Big Yellow Taxi about a disappointing visit to Hawaii, the sentiment of the song is equally applicable to San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, and many other beautiful places in the U.S. and abroad.  Hopefully small efforts like removing a bit of pavement can help to make the parking lots we live in a little greener.

DIY Project - Vertical Garden Planter

I ended up tweaking the design for this planter after a month of seeing how it worked.  Please see updated design here.

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the start of a new month, I had a new plant budget to work with, so I was antsy to get to the ever-fabulous City Farmers Nursery today and see what new treasures they would have to add to my yard.  I was not disappointed and found many new plants to bring home and try out, and also picked up an idea for how to add them to the yard without taking up too much space.

On display at the nursery was a vertical garden box that I really liked the look of. Since I was headed to Home Depot to pick up some paint on the way home anyway (we're painting the exterior of our home) I figured I'd try my hand at making a vertical planter to use in our yard.  I thought that others might be interested in this design since it's a great way to get a lot of garden out of a small space.

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Commentary:

Vertical gardening is exploding in popularity in many different forms these days, from Manhattan condos with living walls to 150 foot 'supertrees' in Singpore and everything in between.  (Both of those articles are awesome and highly recommended.)  For many people, vertical planters are a functional and easy introduction to using space and resources like light, water, and fertilizer in a more efficient way.

Below is a breakdown of the design I used for my vertical planter, along with some notes and photos.  The biggest advantage of a vertical planter is that you can get 3, 4, or more times the planting space as if you used just the ground on which the planter sits.  Additionally, with a design like this one the water you use can trickle down from one box to the next, maximizing the absorption and utility of your watering.  Fertilizers can similarly be added to the upper boxes and drip down, to a limited extent.  You can also utilize the shading of the lower boxes to plant different varieties of plants (with the most sun-loving on top, to those more sun-averse on the bottom).

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Project Plan: Vertical Garden Planter

Hardware:

1. Saw
2. Drill (with Phillips head bit)
3. 30 - 1.5 inch screws
4. Tape measure
5. Level (I didn't use this, but if you want everything perfect would come in handy to check yourself)

Materials:

1. 5 - 1" x 6" x 8 foot lumber
2. 2 - 5/8 " x 1/2 " x 6 foot cedar fence boards

Directions:

1. Cut 8 foot lumber in half for 4 foot sections
2. Take 3 of these sections and screw together at right angles (see photo, this is the base)
3. Take 6 sections and screw together into pairs, at a 45 degree angle (these are the 'shelves')
4. Attach base to bottom of cedar fence boards
5. Measure up 15 inches from top of base and attach one of the 'shelves' created in step 3
6. Measure up 15 inches from top of lowest shelf and attach next shelf.  Repeat for third shelf as well.
7. Vertical garden planter is now complete.  Add organic soil and plants as desired.

Here's a photo of the (almost) finished product.  I still need to add the last shelf in but Eva was ready for dinner and it's hard to screw boards together with an infant on one arm.  I'll add some photos when the soil is added and everything is growing.

Below are notes on the new yard additions, starting from the top left.  Not all of these plants will stay in the planter, some are too large or needed in other areas of the yard but I liked the presentation for a photo.

1. Purple basil - for cooking.  We love basil!
2. Scarlet milkweed - I've been wanting to add milkweed to the yard for awhile since it's highly attractive to monarch and other species of butterflies.  We'll see how it goes.
3. California blackberry - to attract birds and for eating the berries.  Will go in a narrow area that's mostly shaded next to the house.
4. Fuggle hops - I enjoy making beer and am going to try my hand at growing some hops in the yard.  These will also be in mostly shade and are a climbing plant.
5. Banana pepper - will stay in this planter, hopefully will have some nice peppers to add to our pizzas.
6. Silky yellow milkweed - Another milkweed variety to attract butterflies, this one has light yellow rather than red and orange blossoms like the scarlet milkweed.
7. Irish moss - will be used in another DIY project sent my way from Michelle Cajigal.  Keep an eye peeled for a future post on how this secret project turns out.
8. Serrano pepper - for using in stir fry, guacamole, and other spicy dishes.
9. Hungarian paprika - I had no idea what a paprika plant looked like until I came across this today, but love cooking with paprika and thought I'd give it a try in the garden.  Will have to read up on how to harvest and dry.
10. Green santolina - A natural insect repellent.  We don't have many airborne pests in San Diego, but there are occasionally flies and gnats so I'm going to plant by the door and see if it helps to deter entry by these winged invaders.
11. Spinach - always a favorite, and versatile for use in many recipes

 Hope you had a great start to the week today!

Old Chairs Repurposed into Trellis

A few days ago I wrote about picking up pieces of a couple of old chairs that had been discarded along a street near my house.  I went back to the spot and picked up the remaining pieces and made the backs of the chairs into a trellis for some purple lantana I had planted to attract hummingbirds to the yard.

Inspecting the raw materials.

After seeing this awesome monkey pattern that was beneath the faded red seat covering I was tempted to try and refinish the chairs but between the missing parts and damage already done it seemed a long way above my skill level.

One of the best patterns I've seen in awhile.

Here's the finished product, just wanted to share how it turned out looking.  I'll throw up a new photo when the trellis is covered with delightful purple flowers and hopefully a charm of hummingbirds.  Check out that link for the group names of various birds - pretty good stuff.

The finished product - Eva approves.

The Power of Compounding on Your Yard

I recently wrote about the importance of making a commitment to regularly planting and/or gardening.  As with developing any habit, it takes consistent, recurring effort to form a new habit and make it stick.  Over time, the effort required decreases as the habit becomes a more natural, automatic part of your schedule.  In regard to planting, each addition to your yard makes the next one easier because it becomes a routine habit, knowledge and experience is gained with each planting, and because each plant helps to create better conditions for the next plant to survive and thrive.

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Commentary:

Compounding is a concept typically encountered in relation to a 401(k), retirement account, or investing in general. Per Investopedia compounding is defiined as:

• The ability of an asset to generate earnings, which are then reinvested in order to generate their own earnings. In other words, compounding refers to generating earnings from previous earnings. 

Basically, if you take the interest, dividends, or other earnings of an investment and invest them, your return will grow more and more quickly, as you are earning money not just on the money you contributed but also on the earnings that money generated (earnings on earnings). This idea is the basic premise behind most retirement planning today.  Here's a graphic representation of the idea of compounding.

The concept of compounding equally applies to creating a healthy, flourishing environment in your yard.  If you start with a yard that is nothing but pavement, it's going to be pretty hard to get the first plant to grow.  However, if you can get one plant established, the next plant will be able to benefit from a host of ways the first plant improves growing conditions, including:

1. Quieter environment
1. May promote growth and presence of pollinators and seed disbursing animals
2. Improved usage of water resources present
1. Denser vegetation encourages more dew to form
2. Plants can also benefit from transpiration of nearby plants 
3. Increased soil quality through decomposition of leaves, berries, etc.
4. Habitat for birds, bugs, insects, etc.
1. Provide pollination, seed dispersion, source of fertilizer
5. Increased shade and protection from strong sun
6. Improved air quality

Essentially, these improvements to the conditions in your yard are the 'earnings' on your initial investment and can be 'reinvested' in additional plants.  This reinvestment occurs through the lower input costs required (fertilizer, physical effort, water) the new plants require and the higher 'returns' (growth rate, health of plants) possible.  Lower costs and higher returns both lead to an increase in the growth of the investment made.

These benefits impact not only your yard, but also your neighbors, city, and larger region. Although we apply many lines to the world - property lots, city limits, county and state borders, etc. our actions easily cross these borders and impact those on the other side of them.  This is readily seen on a large scale here in San Diego where there are regular beach closures (more than half the year, 239 days, in 2010) in the southern part of the county primarily due to polluted water entering the ocean from Tijuana, Mexico.  

On a smaller scale, I often find disoriented dying bees on my driveway and yard.  Most likely these bees have been sprayed with a poison by someone nearby and then found their way to my yard.  Decreasing the bee population, and the beneficial effects they provide as pollinators, harms my yard and plants.  More importantly to me, I also worry that whatever was sprayed on the bees may drifting into my garden, patio, yard, etc. where it may directly impact my health.  Actions like this also decrease the returns I can realize on my investment in my yard and garden.

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Suggested Action Steps:

1. Make a regular commitment to adding plants to your yard or garden
2. Consider the plants already in your yard when selecting new plantings
1. For example, if you have a shade producing tree find part shade plants to install below, or climbing vines to climb the trunk and branches
3. Enjoy the quieter, more enjoyable yard you've created and the returns on your investment

My neighbor's yard - first plant is going to have a tough time (if it ever happens).

Part of my backyard - not great, but getting better. (Which yard do you think a new planting would do better in?)

Stretching the Plant Budget with Craigslist - It's Not Just for Casual Encounters Anymore

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. 

 ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

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Yesterday's post was about making a monthly budget dedicated to plants and gardening.  Today's post expands on that theme with a great way to get more for your plant money by using Craigslist.  In addition to being a great resource for plants and other items for your yard, Craigslist tons of items for free, or greatly discounted, that may be of interest to you.  (This may be old news to some, but if you're already familiar hopefully it's a good reminder to check out what's going on in the Craigslist world today.)

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Commentary:

Craigslist is a community-oriented website that allows users to create posts about items for sale, job openings, and much more.  (I've bought and sold cars on the site, searched for apartments, and tried to purchase chicken coops among other activities.)  The site has separate pages for many cities and regions in the United States and around the world.  Included on the main Craigslist page for each area is a link to the 'Free' items section (located in the middle column, under the 'For Sale' heading).  In the 'Free' section you'll find all kinds of things people are looking to get rid of - firewood, pianos, cabinets, clothes, plants, and nearly anything else you can imagine.  

The 'Free' section is great resource if you have something you're not using and want to get rid of, especially if it's heavy or hard to move.  You can help out someone else and also get it moved out of your house for free.  Of course, caution should be exercised when inviting people into your home and I would recommend making sure you have someone else with you when they show up and talking to the person on the phone before arranging a pick-up.  My experience with Craigslist has been great, other than the flaky people you can run into that don't show up when they say they will. 

I've been able to pick up a number of fantastic plants and trees on Craigslist for free - some of them I had to dig up, others were in pots and just needed to be picked up.  In addition to free items, checking out estate and garage sales has been a good resource for purchasing plants for cheap.  Below are photos of some of the plants that I've gotten for free on Craigslist.

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Suggested Action Steps:

1. Visit the 'Free' section of your local Craigslist website to see if there are any plants or other free items you would enjoy
1. There is also a 'Farm and Garden' section under the 'For Sale' heading that often has great deals on plants and related items.  (Labelled as 'farm+garden')
2. If you find an item you like, contact the poster via the email or phone number included in their post to arrange pick up
3. Enjoy the additions to your home or yard.  
1. Give yourself a pat on the back for helping to keep items out of the landfill and/or trash.
4. Utilize Craigslist to get rid of your own unwanted items and benefit your local community

Camellia trees, in the trunk of our Oldsmobile Alero. 

Norfolk Pine Tree.  Planted Halloween 2011.  This is a tall tree.

Mexican fan palm.  Heavy.

Cherimoya tree.  I'm really hoping it will fruit next year - delicious!

Planting is a Habit - Budgeting for Nature

Budgets bring to mind spreadsheets, bank accounts, and reducing expenditures.  At their root, I believe budgets are a tool we use for accomplishing a goal.  Whether that goal is to reduce our weight using a food budget, to save for a vacation, or pay off a mortgage budgets can be useful to ensure we stay on the right path to meet our goals.

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Commentary:

Over the past few years I have developed an affinity for plants and working in the yard / garden / alley / apartment.  At some point along the way Amelia decided we needed to put a limit on how much to spend on plants so we created a plant budget.  (I admit I was not a proponent of this plan but life, and especially marriage, is full of compromises.)  We decided on a budget of $30 per month on plant purchases and any unused balance could be rolled over to the following month to allow for larger purchases like trees.  We've adjusted this budget over time and today it is $50 a month - the increase is partially because we have been able to reduce our food bill by growing a garden and partially because I have pitiful puppy dog eyes.

I wasn't very excited when we put the plant budget into place but my view has changed over time.  At first I looked at the budget as a limit on what I could spend on plants, which it is.  But it is also a commitment to regularly making an investment in our yard and garden.  Now we have a monthly trip to the nursery, farmer's market, or garden store and can plan for what we'd like to grow in our garden or what flowers would look good in the front yard.  It's good motivation and a reminder to think about the outdoors and engage on a regular basis.  I'm looking forward to when Eva can help us pick out which plants to try and help with watering and seeing them grow.

Another benefit of having this regular commitment to investing in our yard and garden is the opportunity to try new things.  We probably wouldn't be inclined to try planting borage or yarrow in our garden on a whim - I still don't know what they are going to look or taste like.  However, since we had extra funds in our plant budget last month we picked up these plants for a couple of dollars each and now can learn how they grow, what they look and taste like, and how well they do in our climate.  It's a learning experience in addition to being a part of our yard to enjoy.

If you're looking to learn more about plants, gardening, or landscaping I highly recommend creating a monthly budget / commitment to spend a set amount on plants each month.  Whether it's $5 or $100 a month it's a great reminder to get out in the yard and enjoy the weather.  Making regular visits to the nursery will also teach you a lot about the seasons what should be planted when.  If it gets too cold in the winter you can try something for indoors - an herb for the kitchen or trailing plant for the mantle or windowsill.

Another reason I think it's important to make a regular commitment to plants is to remind us of their importance.  We all rely on plants for food, air, shelter, many of our goods like furniture, to clean our air and water, and for many other purposes and uses.  Despite all that plants do for us I think we know relatively little about the plants that surround us in our own corners of the world, as well as plants that exist in other parts of the world.  Despite the importance of plants to all of us I think in general we spend very little, if anything, on helping plants to thrive and learning more about them.  Especially when compared to the amounts we spend on cable and other discretionary purchases I think spending a comparatively small amount on plants provides a handsome return of knowledge and enjoyment.

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Suggested Action Steps:

1. Create a monthly plant budget
2. Spend your monthly budget at a local nursery or garden store
1. Consider native plantings to attract local wildlife to your yard
3. Enjoy the fruits of your labor in the form of fruits and vegetables, shade, a quieter yard, or more birds and squirrels

Here are a few of the recent additions to our yard.  Thank you to Seeds in the City and City Farmers Nursery here in San Diego for these plants, and for all the information you've shared with me and others!  If you live in San Diego you have to take a trip to City Farmers - it's an amazing place with so many plants (and animals!) to see and learn about.

Bush Monkey Flower (California Native) 

Basil, Mexican Elderberry (California Native), Eggplant - Rosita variety (Puerto Rico)