We now have a raised vegetable garden GardenBOX growing near our seedling section. It is performing well. It comes delivered, fully installed with growing medium and optional worm farm. You do the rest. Here is some info from its creator Marco Baretta.
Crafted from recycled wooden apple crates and specially engineered for the time-starved gardener, the GardenBOX brings a little patch of nature back into our plastic 21st century lives.
This is the distilled essence of hundreds years of family tradition and patrimony, ingeniously designed to bring life the nooks and crannies of our backyards, patios and balconies and reacquaint us with the joys of fresh tomatoes, basil, eggplants, zucchini, broccoli, lettuce, and strawberries, grown with our own hands and picked from our own gardens.
Fitted with a brilliantly simple sub-irrigation system, the GardenBOX sends water straight to the roots of your plants when they need it, cutting out the bulk of the hard work to maintain a veggie patch. Together with an organic recycling system, the GardenBOX can yield up to 12 months of constant production with just a fifth of the space and water needed for a conventional patch.
The digging, the weeding, the watering, all the hard hours and failed crops – all of it disappears. These aren’t shortcuts or compromises, it’s just clever engineering. Engineering that can bring the joy of gardening to the schoolyard, the aged care home, the terrace porch, the inner-city balcony or the suburban backyard, and turn the blackest of thumbs green.
How It Works
The GardenBOX is a harmonious blend of tried-and-tested permacultural engineering and techniques. High density plantation allows for the compact size, while the custom designed sub-irrigation system means watering can be as infrequent as twice a month.
Combining one of our purpose-built worm stations with our uncompactable soil mix, you’ll have a veggie patch that looks after itself. Acting as an organic recycling system, the worms break down your kitchen scraps and other organic waste to produce worm castings – or vermicompost, the most potent, rich fertiliser known to man.
Sub-Irrigation
The sub-irrigation system is specially designed to create a miniature water reservoir below your plants. Plants drink up water through their roots, taking only as much as they need.
The sub-irrigation system cuts out as much as 90% of the water needed for conventional veggie patches, making it perfect for Australian conditions. Watering is required every 2-6 weeks depending on heat, light, ventilation and which veggies are planted.