Stuff In My Truck, 002

Today, I'm delivering two custom planters I built for a client. I prefer to call them "Mobile Mini-Farms" because these aren't your standard planters, and because you can get a ton of vegetables to grow in a small space.  They are mobile because of the wheels I installed on the bottom.  Hasn't every gardener at some point wished their vegetable boxes were just a bit more to the left of right?  With these, moving them is easy peasy.  

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I had to pack a few bags of soil for the mini-farms too.  I also had a rain barrel to deliver and install today.  The rain barrel is in the cardboard box.  

This is a rain barrel I installed a few weeks ago.

Mobile Mini-Farms
The Mobile Mini-Farm is the evolution of gardenistas throughout the suburban (and urban) landscape.  People tend to have small yards and are very business.  They typically love to get outdoors and get their hands dirty, but like low-maintenance gardens.  Part of the planters job is to reduce weeds, which lowers the maintenance you need to perform on your yard. These planters I'm installing today are equipped with self-watering systems, also known as SIPs.  The irrigation system is below the dirt, and can easily be filled with a normal yard hose.  The underground system puts the water right where the roots want it most.  This simple adaptation reduces the need to water your plants by a factor of 90℅.  In some case, people don't water their mini-farms for 2 weeks in the hottest time of the summer, and still get lush, happy plants.  

The self-water system is made of pipes that I've drilled holes. In the picture above, you can see a longer pipe sticking up.  That pipe is used to put the hose into the system to fill it up.  

Once you put the pipes in the planters, and add dirt, the long pipe is still accessible to fill it (as the pic above shows).  You simply fill the underground tank up, and the water is delivered to the roots of the plants. 

You can see the wheels on the mini-farms.  Two of the wheels have locks and the other two do not.  Also, two of the wheels swivel and the other two are fixed.  You can configure them differently if you want.  It's really up to you. 

The client wanted a rustic, reclaimed look.  I used lumber I had salvaged from a bathroom renovation I did.  I added some paint and smaller pieces of wood to add a little texture and keep the style we were going for.  They are also sealed and stained.  I thought they came out really nice.  

So that's what's in my truck today....or at least, this morning.  The day is still young.