Search Results for: label/self watering containers

181 results

Self Watering Containers

Mr. Homegrown
Self Watering Containers
18 Comments
Today, something for our apartment homesteaders. If you’ve got a patch of sun and want to grow some food crops container gardening is the way to go. But container gardening has several drawbacks. Containers dry out quickly and if you forget to water, especially with vegetables, you can easily kill your plants. In fact inconsistent watering is probably the number one cause of container plant failure. Container gardening also uses a lot of...

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Self-Watering Containers in Mother Earth News

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Self Watering Containers
14 Comments
We’re proud to announce that Mother Earth News online is excerpting the project, How to Build a Self-Watering Container from our book, The Urban Homestead . We heart Mother Earth News. If you haven’t visited their site, do so. You’ll find a treasure trove of homesteady-type information to peruse. (Here’s a hint about that article: there are illustrations, but they’re not embedded in the text. Look for the link to...

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A Self-Watering Container in a Pot

Mr. Homegrown
Self Watering Containers
1 Comment
The serendipitous discovery of two three-gallon margarine containers behind a dodgy local bakery has led to the yuppification of our self-watering container (SWC) garden. We posted earlier on how to make these handy containers, which have a reservoir of water at the bottom that keeps the soil at a uniform moisture level. We also made a video about them that we’re amused to report has been “favorited” on Youtube by pot growers....

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Blueberries in a Self Watering Container

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Self Watering Containers
9 Comments
...ted them in a self watering container with a home made soil mix made up of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 wood chips and 1/3 azalea mix. Their special soil requirements and shallow roots make blueberries an ideal plant for self watering containers. And attention apartment homesteaders–blueberries will work nicely on that south facing balcony....

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Remember to Label Those Jars!

Mr. Homegrown
Food, Food Preservation
10 Comments
“Label, label, label!” This was one of the most important lessons I learned in my Master Food Preserver training. You’ll note, from the jars above, that I’m not very good about this. When were those jars canned and what’s in them? I have no idea. They were probably the result of some late night canning frenzy two years ago. At the time I probably thought to myself, “I’ll label them in the morning.”...

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More on Hops in Containers

Mr. Homegrown
Herbs, Hops
10 Comments
On the question of growing hops in containers that we posted on earlier this week, Shane in Santa Cruz, CA says: “I think hops will do great in a container, if they are deep enough. I’ve heard you need something like a 1/2 whiskey, at least. The roots can go as low as 9 feet below ground. I’m on my 2nd year of hops, cascade in nice soil, and brewers gold in what ever was in the ground. The brewers gold did better last year grow...

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Hops in Containers Update

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Herbs, Hops
12 Comments
t cutting them down you might be able to squeeze more than one crop out of them in a season. 4. Hops need rich soil. I’m considering putting them in the ground next year with a lot of compost. I fertilized them in their containers, but clearly they could have used more nutrients. I did not get as much of a crop as I did the first year. 5. Hops are apparently deadly to dogs, so  be careful if you have a pooch. I don’t know if they will...

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A 3d Printed Self Irrigating Pot Yogurt Cup Insert

Mr. Homegrown
Design, Gardening, Self Watering Containers
4 Comments
A really nice low-tech/high-tech hybridization here: a 3d printed insert that turns yogurt containers into small self irrigating pot. Creator, Carlynoram, describes the project: This project is a 3D printed insert for a yogurt cup or any container that needs a new purpose. It turns trash into a self irrigating planter for kitchen herbs or flowers. Done in OpenSCAD, I tried to make it as parameterized as possible. Also, it should be able t...

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