Urban Farm

Background:

In the city, it’s often convenient to grow plants in containers. Self-watering containers (also called “sub-irrigated” containers) have a reservoir of water at the bottom that is wicked up to the growing medium by capillary action, where the roots absorb it as needed. The water reservoir reduces the rate of evaporation, meaning that you have to water less often, saving both water and time. It also encourages plants to develop a healthy, deep root system.

Supplies list:

• Two 5-gallon pails (source: Uline, Home Depot, ask at bulk store/DIY wine stores)
• One 3-inch round aquatic basket (source: Grow It All or other hydroponics stores)
• One 18-inch long x 1-inch diameter PVC pipe (source: Home Depot)
• Growing medium made up of: 1 parts compost + 1 part coconut coir + 1 part soilless mix (choose a soilless mix that contains peat moss and perlite for drainage)
• Extra coconut coir to fill aquatic basket
• Water (for soaking coconut coir and soilless mix if needed)

Tools needed:

• Power drill
• Drill bits (3-inch hole saw for aquatic basket, 1-inch hole saw for PVC pipe, 1⁄4-inch bit for drainage hole)
• Hacksaw (for cutting fill tube)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the lower pail.
   • Attach the 1⁄4-inch drill bit to the power drill and drill a hole anywhere on the side of the pail, 4 inches up from the bottom. This is your drainage hole for overflow.
2. Prepare the upper pail.
   • Attach the 3-inch hole saw bit to the power drill and drill a hole in the middle of the bottom of the pail. Attach the 1-inch hole saw bit to the power drill and drill a hole between the middle hole and the side.
3. Prepare the fill tube.
   • Using the hacksaw, carefully saw one end of the PVC pipe at about a 45 degree angle.
4. Prepare the aquatic basket and wicking material.
   • First soak the coconut coir in water according to package instructions then fill the aquatic basket to the top (the coconut coir is your wicking material).
5. Assemble the container parts.
   • Stack the pails. Place the aquatic basket in the 3-inch hole (the lip of the basket should overlap the hole so that it’s suspended). Place the fill tube through the 1-inch hole in the upper pail with the angled end down (this is to prevent suction in the water reservoir).
6. Fill the water reservoir.
   • Using a hose or a watering can with a downspout, pour water through the fill tube until you see water leaking out of the drainage hole on the lower pail. Your reservoir is full.
7. Add growing medium.
   • Mix your growing medium ingredients, taking care not to compact them. Fill the upper pail with potting mix up to about 1” below the rim. You’re ready to plant!

Tips:

• Use safety precautions when handling power tools
• Add mulch to your container to help further minimize water loss
• Choose a dark coloured pail to maximize heat (e.g. for heat-loving plants like tomatoes)
• Choose a light coloured pail to minimize heat (e.g. for cool season plants like lettuce)
• Check out the Toronto Tool Library if you need to borrow tools

Background:

Seed Balls are an effective technique for sowing seeds in depleted or disturbed areas without needing to cultivate the land. It is part of a practice known as Guerrilla Gardening, which involves planting on abandoned or neglected sites, to both rejuvenate and beautify these spaces. Guerrilla Gardening is also used as a political tool to make a statement about land rights and land use and to provoke change through direct action. Seed balls have been used historically as a method of propagating plants from seeds without disturbing or cultivating the soil. Known as seed balls, or clay “dumplings” in Japan, this technique was made popular by Japanese natural farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka, author of “One Straw Revolution”. Central to his approach to natural farming, Fukuoka strived to minimize disruption of the soil and dependency on oil-based machines.

How it works:

Seed balls are a mix of clay, compost and seeds, rolled into individual balls that can be thrown and broadcast in the area.

Instructions:

Mix together the following:

• Clay – 5 parts
  A great source of clay for seed balls is “waste” clay from a pottery studio. If you crush it up into a powder, it makes a fantastic medium for seed balls. Most recipes call for red clay, but you can use anything (even clay from your garden or yard, but try to avoid including weed seeds in the mix).
• Compost – 1 part
  Vermicompost (worm castings) is an excellent choice for seed balls because it is rich in microbial life that will inoculate the area. Compost is essential because it will provide nutrients for the growing plants. Microbe Hub, a social start-up out of Ryerson’s SocialVentures Zone, has provided the castings made from organic materials collected on campus!
• Seeds – 1 part
  Appropriate seeds are native plants and wildflowers that support pollinators and beneficial insects and remediate the soil. Avoid choosing plants that could become noxious weeds.
• Water – splash (as needed)
  Add a little water to bind all the ingredients together.

Once it's all mixed and the balls are formed, let them dry out for about 24 hours. Once they are dry, you are ready to launch your seed balls into the world!

Background:

Vermicompost means composting organic food scraps with worms (“vermi” = “worm”). Worm castings (manure) are rich with nutrients and microbial life. Because worms do not have any digestive acids, they rely on bacteria that live in their stomachs to break down the food. Red Wiggler worms are used because they like to live in a nutrient rich environment (like composting food scraps), unlike common earthworms which prefer a mineral rich environment (like soil). Plus, red wigglers secrete a substance that kills pathogenic bacteria like E. coli.

Red wigglers can eat their own weight in 24 hours under ideal conditions. Their population increases rapidly and the new worms can be used to make new bins or fed to backyard chickens or fish (or used as fishing bait!).

Equipment:

• 2 rubbermaid containers and a spacer
• Power drill and small (1⁄4”) bit
• 1/2 lb red wiggler worms
• Bedding material (finely shredded newspaper, unbleached paper towels, cardboard, sawdust, coconut coir) Soft food scraps (avoid meat and dairy as well as oily/greasy/spicy/citrus foods)
• Spray bottle with water

Instructions:

Designate one container to be the bottom container and one to be the upper.

1. Place some sort of spacer in the bottom container (a block, box, etc). This container will catch any

   leachate (liquid from the composting process) created in the upper container.

2. Drill a few air holes on the sides of the upper container at the top of either end to create air flow for the worms. (They need oxygen!) Use a small drill bit size and don’t make too many holes, otherwise the bedding will dry out too quickly. Drill a few holes along the bottom of the sides to drain any leachate.
3. Add enough bedding to fill about 3⁄4 of the bin, and mist it with the spray bottle so it’s just slightly damp (not dripping). Worms like it humid but not wet (they can drown). Put the lid on the upper container.
4. Place the worms on the bedding -- they will migrate downwards away from the light. Allow them to settle overnight. The worms will eventually break down the bedding, so add more bedding as needed.
5. Start adding food scraps for them (small pieces of soft food are easiest for them to ingest, e.g. avocado, mango, banana, apple, melon, coffee grounds, pasta, rice). Only add food when the earlier food is broken down. Ideally feed them once or twice a week, to help prevent fruit flies and to prevent the compost from overheating, which can kill the worms. Bury the food partly under the bedding and rotate where you put the food in the bin each time.

Harvesting:

Castings should be harvested every 3-6 months as they can become toxic to the worms. One method is to place bedding to one side and feed only that side for a few weeks, encouraging the worms to migrate to that side (and then harvesting the other). Another method is to lay the castings/worms on newspaper in a well lit environment and they will huddle in a ball away from the light. Similarly, the castings can be placed on a screen that the worms can crawl through to escape the light.

Hints:

• Add finely crushed eggshells weekly to help keep the pH level balanced
• If you notice mites on the worms, it means the soil is too acidic; add finely crushed eggshells and bedding in order to increase the pH
• Use your vermicastings to create compost tea for your plants!