Under the Choko Tree By Nevin Sweeney

Vertical (Shed Wall) Veggies

This was an idea that I stole from my mate Salman, it used recycled materials and allows you to grow food vertically with a minimum footprint, so what is not to like?

The raw material - as is

We go through a reasonable amount of milk and until recently bought it in 2 litre bottles, but it was brought to my attention that the 3 litre bottles are made from thicker stronger plastic and can be repurposed to make all sorts of interesting things. One of the interesting things that can be made is a vertical veggie garden. However small containers like these have a tendency to dry out pretty quickly on a hot western Sydney summer afternoon so I have made them “self-watering”  by using the same method as used in the wicking beds.

The raw material - cut to suit

Making the Containers

I found it easiest to save up a load of milk bottles and then convert them to plant containers all at once. After washing them out I made a cut just in front of the handle and then down and around the neck so that the main area of the body was intact but there was enough of an opening for a plant to grow out. I used my small band saw to make the cut but you could probably use a Stanley knife (with a leather glove on the other hand!) or a coping saw, or perhaps even a jig saw would do the job.

Scoria in and drain hole drilled

Once the bottles were cut I got hold of a bag of 12mm scoria left over from a previous project and poured 20 to 30mm into the bottom of each bottle, then drilled a 6mm hole in the side at the surface level of the scoria. That way the bottom 20-30mm acted as a reservoir and turning the bottle into a self-watering pot or verrry small wicking bed.

Topped up with potting mix

Once the scoria was in place it was just a case of topping up the bottles with potting mix and then plating a seedling in each. With the containers now ready to go, it was time to mount them on the side of the shed.

Mounting the Containers

I needed strapping of some description to wrap around the handles and secure them  to the side of the shed and after a bit of looking around I found “Abey” brand builders strapping, used to join timbers together in construction work. The particular strap I used was 25mm wide x 0.6mm thick and at $4.50 or so for a 6 metre length it was pretty good value and it was pre-drilled with 6mm and 4mm diameter holes to make fitting even easier.

The strap to hold them onto the shed wall

Having found my strap I cut off 10 x 90mm lengths using tin snips, one for each milk bottle, and bent them around in a U-shape with the ends flared out slightly to go over the rib in the shed wall. The shed is a colourbond steel prefabricated shed with stiffening ribs formed vertically in the walls and by taking the strapping around the handle and down each side of the rib, I could put fastenings through the strap and into the sheet metal rib. This gave the bottles a secure attachment.

Attaching the container to the shed wall

I must admit my first thought was to drill and pop rivet the straps to the shed wall, but it occurred to me that if I wanted to take the bottles down for any reason, like replace the potting mix, replant them or even replace the whole bottle I would need to drill out the pop rivets first. So after a small amount of consideration I decided to drill the ribs and then use self tapping screws, put in with my cordless drill.

On the Wall

It didn’t take long to put them up with the minimum of dropped screws and swear words. Although there were times when I was holding up the bottle, holding the strap in place, holding the screw on the end of the driver while driving it home, where a few extra hands would have been useful. As you could see I tried to be a bit artistic in mounting them, wll I tried!.

Taking the longer view

I have been putting them up in the middles of a pretty hot summer and while the seedlings are staying wet enough, they are still suffering from the strong sun and are not particularly happy. I need to give them a bit of protection with some shade cloth or better yet, plant earlier in the year and give them a bit of time to grow on before the real hot weather hits.

Jan 2014 Update

While the veggies seemed to do OK, the hot weather really took it out of them. The containers are too small and too exposed to maintain a steady and reasonable temperature for good growth. The best thing would be to get them well and truly established earlier in the season before the hot weather came and to install them in a less exposed position where they have some relief from the midday summer sun.

Another problem has reared its ugly head. The containers are starting to fall off the wall because UV embrittlement of the plastic means they can no longer support their own weight, so about 12 months is the best you can expect from the untreated containers. If you want to try this method I suggest painting the containers first with a non-toxic outdoor paint to put a barrier between the plastic and the UV. Again, a more sheltered position would probably extend their life too.

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