Outside The Box Spring Gardening Ideas (Permaculture)

Spring is upon us, and any greenthumb worth his salt has already planned out this year’s garden and is probably nursing seedlings that are ready to be planted and/or planting right now.  Below is a list of ideas for some side projects you might consider to give your garden that little something extra this year.

Learn Lashing to Make Your Own Garden Trellis
This is a great article that will give you the basics of lashing.  The best resource I have found for lashing has been the Boy Scout Handbook.  It is a treasure trove of basic knowledge and is available at a minimal cost.  Additionally, you should look into past copies of the Scouting Handbook.  They span the last century and contain a ton of forgotten knowledge.

Build a Vertical Garden with Recycled Plastic Bottles
Put those new lashing skills to the test, or use a wire frame to create a vertical garden!

Along the same lines as the above linked article is the sub-irrigated planter.

Space Saving Vertical Earth Gardens
Here is another take on the vertical garden.  This one uses PVC pipes connected in a downward spiral. Just water the top and let gravity take care of the rest!  You can collect your water in a bucket at the bottom and reuse it, or for a more technical design, set up a small electric pump in the bottom collection tank for hands free, zero maintenance irrigation.

Taking the pump idea one step further, you could add some fish to your water reclamation tank for a small aquaponics system.  Grow a few plants to feed the fish and this forms a closed system.  There is no need to fertilize, the fish do it for you!  Permaculture at its finest!

Its getting warmer, get out and do something different this year.  You may be surprised with the results!

See you at Galt’s Gulch!

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