Out on the Rooftop

 

All vegetable plants (except the cucumbers) have been on the rooftop for over a week.  GrowBox container #1 has 2 Orange Blossom tomato plants.  GrowBox container #2 has 2 Halona cantaloupe plants.  I have no experience growing melons and have no idea how much water they will need so I played it safe and planted them in one of the larger self-watering containers.  The GrowBox has a 4 gallon reservoir so if anything goes wrong with the plants I can at least rule out water stress as a cause (at least I hope this is the case).  For the melons I also added string to the existing support cage to give the vines more places to grab onto.  Instead of letting the vines sprawl to the ground I'm going to try to get them to circle the cage.

1 Gold Nugget cherry tomato is in my light blue DIY self watering container.  Last year I planted the cherry tomato in a 16" container that only had a 1 gallon reservoir.  Looking back I realize that was a mistake.  Tomatoes are thirsty plants. They need a lot of water to thrive, even more so on a hot, windy roof.  1 gallon of water was not enough to make it through one day in August, as a result the plant struggled and I had to baby it throughout the season.  The light blue container can hold over 4 gallons of water so hopefully I will avoid that this year.  Three, 16" containers got 2 sweet pepper plants each.

2 Gretel eggplants and 1 Padron pepper went into three, 12" containers.

1 Bag of Container Booster Mix: $9.95
1 Bag of Self-Watering Container Mix: $9.95
1 Bag of Fertilizer: $13.05

Running Total: $114.51

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DIY Self Watering Container: Water Cooler Bottle

Welcome!  If you’re new here, thanks for stopping by.  Bucolic Bushwick is a blog about container gardening vegetables.  Have a look around and please enjoy this post about diy self watering containers.

I really liked making my first DIY self watering container so I decided to make another one. Here is my jumbo version of a soda bottle self watering container.

Start out with one 5 gallon water cooler bottle, preferably one without a built-in handle.

Drill holes for soil aeration along the sloping side of the bottle and along the spout.

Cut the bottle into 2 pieces, the soil container and the water reservoir.  Drill an overflow hole in the water reservoir for drainage.

Where you divide the bottle will depend on the distance between the top of the spout and the end of the sloping side on the bottle, where it meets the straight side.  This distance will be the height of the water reservoir.  I, of course, did not measure this distance with a measuring tape (I eyeballed it) so I got it wrong.  To compensate I cut off a portion of the spout.  Ideally you want the spout to rest flush with the bottom of the water reservoir to maximize stability.

I ended up cutting off a little too much from the spout so to bridge the distance between the spout and the bottom of the water reservoir I added a terracotta plant tray.  Avoid my mistake!  Measure twice, cut once.

I placed the soil container over the water reservoir, added a small tomato cage for plant support and finally added the soil. The tomato cage went into the planter before the soil.  I had the spokes of the cage go through some of the aeration holes so that the cage rested at the bottom of the water reservoir.  Having the cage sit so low in planter makes it much sturdier than if it was just stuck in the soil.  Voila! The latest edition to my rooftop container vegetable garden.

Update:  Algae will grow in the soil and water reservoir if you don't block the light so cover it with paint or duck tape before you put it outside.

The only monetary costs involved in making this container were the tomato cage and the soil.  Everything else I had on hand.

1 Tomato Cage: $1.63
1 Bag Self-Watering Container Mix: $9.95

Running Total: $81.56

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Hardening Off Vegetable Plants

Now that the weather has warmed up the hardening off process has begun.

Whether homegrown or purchased, you need to gradually acclimate transplants to the rigors of outdoor life. Move them outside for a few hours each day as transplanting time approaches. Gradually increase their time outside, and decrease their water. When conditions are right for transplanting, remember that calm, overcast days are best for the plant. Transplant late in the day if possible. Immediately water thoroughly, and don't let the soil dry out while the transplants adjust.

I started leaving the vegetable plants outside in a sheltered area of the rooftop last weekend. That first day I left them out for about 2 hours and I've been steadily increasing the time they stay on the rooftop.  The plan is to transfer them to their permanent container homes by Saturday or Sunday.  I would wait a little bit longer, however, for an overcast day.

The only thing left in the dome are the cucumber seedlings.  They all sprouted so I achieved 100% germination rate this season!  This number will ultimately be meaningless by the end of summer, but it made me happy for now.  As a plus I have extras of everything to give away so if anybody wants them just let me know.

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