Yo Y'all,
At Christmas 2016, I agreed to do a project for Mrs Otis and build her 4 raised bed planters. The project had a number of setbacks and design changes, but I finally wrapped it up this weekend. I built the 4) 12' X 3' X 24" planter boxes after work and on weekends last spring. Then scorching summer and the health bug bit me and I had to hold off till after my back surgery. Finally got the last 2 done.
I got 2 of them filled and set up a drip irrigation system with drainage for them and Mrs. Otis has been growing vegies in them for about 8 months now. But I wanted to try something different for the other 2 boxes. I saw an article on the interweb about building Sub-Irrigated Planters (S.I.P.) and decided to try it on the other 2. I found this website which was about the best I found to explain it all, http://albopepper.com/SIP-raised-bed.php I'm not sure how well it will work out, but it was worth a try. If it works, the advantages are they will be essentially maintenance free and will water the plants from underneath. Should really be a benefit when it hots 115 degrees. If not, they can work just fine as top watered planters.
This is an old pic after the first 2 were done. THe 2 empty ones are the S.I.P. planters.
I started out by leveling off the dirt, removing any and all stones, big and small. Next step was to put an underlayment down to be a barrier to help prevent damage and leaks to the liner. I used Harbor freight tarps - Cheap and effective.
I used corregated drainage pipe for the reservoir. The idea is that you need a resevoir seperated from the dirt and also having an air pocket to get oxygen to the roots. I adopted this design from Albopepper's website. The ends are covered with shade cloth to prevent dirt from getting in and mixing with the water.
The internet sites suggest using pond liner, but thats pricey here in the desert. I chose to try using heavy duty construction grade 6 mil visqueen double lined as my reservoir. It seems to not be leaking anywhere so far.
Here's the pipes in the lined planter. I installed a drain tube that is positioned at about 3/4 of the diameter, which will allow for an air cavity underneath the soil and keep the water level constant.
Albopepper claims that no significant soil will get into the corrugated drainage pipes, but I chose to lay down a layer of nylon shade cloth to be sure. I used 4x4 blocks as spacers to keep the distance between pipes relatively equal. The layer of soil used around the pipes is as loamy as I could make it.
The bottom layer of soil covering the pipes. I mixed peat moss, vermiculite, perlite and garden mulch to wick up water to the plants roots, or so the theory goes. The top layer of soil is some local soil, Tim's Organic garden soil that I bought by the trailer load.
The finished beds. I made a drip system to hydrate the soil from the beginning. It was super dry and it took quite a while to get it hydrated on the other beds. Plus it will help to prevent everything from drying out when the summer heat hits here in the desert.
Final results.
Eventually, I plan to put a pergola over them. The heat gets brutal on gardens here in the desert, and some bird netting really helps the harvest too. Frigin birds! But for now, Mrs. Otis has her final 2 raisde beds operational and has already planted Spinach, Beets, red Romaine lettuce, radishes, cilantro, parsley & Thyme in them. She's stoked, and you know what they say, Happy wife, happy life!
At Christmas 2016, I agreed to do a project for Mrs Otis and build her 4 raised bed planters. The project had a number of setbacks and design changes, but I finally wrapped it up this weekend. I built the 4) 12' X 3' X 24" planter boxes after work and on weekends last spring. Then scorching summer and the health bug bit me and I had to hold off till after my back surgery. Finally got the last 2 done.
I got 2 of them filled and set up a drip irrigation system with drainage for them and Mrs. Otis has been growing vegies in them for about 8 months now. But I wanted to try something different for the other 2 boxes. I saw an article on the interweb about building Sub-Irrigated Planters (S.I.P.) and decided to try it on the other 2. I found this website which was about the best I found to explain it all, http://albopepper.com/SIP-raised-bed.php I'm not sure how well it will work out, but it was worth a try. If it works, the advantages are they will be essentially maintenance free and will water the plants from underneath. Should really be a benefit when it hots 115 degrees. If not, they can work just fine as top watered planters.
This is an old pic after the first 2 were done. THe 2 empty ones are the S.I.P. planters.
I started out by leveling off the dirt, removing any and all stones, big and small. Next step was to put an underlayment down to be a barrier to help prevent damage and leaks to the liner. I used Harbor freight tarps - Cheap and effective.
I used corregated drainage pipe for the reservoir. The idea is that you need a resevoir seperated from the dirt and also having an air pocket to get oxygen to the roots. I adopted this design from Albopepper's website. The ends are covered with shade cloth to prevent dirt from getting in and mixing with the water.
The internet sites suggest using pond liner, but thats pricey here in the desert. I chose to try using heavy duty construction grade 6 mil visqueen double lined as my reservoir. It seems to not be leaking anywhere so far.
Here's the pipes in the lined planter. I installed a drain tube that is positioned at about 3/4 of the diameter, which will allow for an air cavity underneath the soil and keep the water level constant.
Albopepper claims that no significant soil will get into the corrugated drainage pipes, but I chose to lay down a layer of nylon shade cloth to be sure. I used 4x4 blocks as spacers to keep the distance between pipes relatively equal. The layer of soil used around the pipes is as loamy as I could make it.
The bottom layer of soil covering the pipes. I mixed peat moss, vermiculite, perlite and garden mulch to wick up water to the plants roots, or so the theory goes. The top layer of soil is some local soil, Tim's Organic garden soil that I bought by the trailer load.
The finished beds. I made a drip system to hydrate the soil from the beginning. It was super dry and it took quite a while to get it hydrated on the other beds. Plus it will help to prevent everything from drying out when the summer heat hits here in the desert.
Final results.
Eventually, I plan to put a pergola over them. The heat gets brutal on gardens here in the desert, and some bird netting really helps the harvest too. Frigin birds! But for now, Mrs. Otis has her final 2 raisde beds operational and has already planted Spinach, Beets, red Romaine lettuce, radishes, cilantro, parsley & Thyme in them. She's stoked, and you know what they say, Happy wife, happy life!
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