For millenia, soil has meant life, the source of our harvest. That makes it one of the cruelest ironies of our post-industrial world that so much urban soil is harmful. There is a whole host of industrial contaminants, from lead to cadmium to dioxins, that may be found in our back yard farms.
Raised beds are the solution, based on trucking in dirt and making sure it does not leech. But there is sub-irrigated (SIP) solution, a planter that does not need the dirt, and that does a better job of meeting a plants needs. Most SIPs are made of plastic, like the famous earthbox, or its many DIY iterations.
Well, Robert Hyland over at insideurbangreen has let us in on a great new compromise--a sub-irrigated raised bed planter--made of wood no less!. In this post, he gives us a materials list and basic how-to.
This post is a must for community gardens looking for new solutions to the old challenge of urban soil. But, I should warn you--they work better too!
