Ann's Air Gardens

Lemon Grass Babies

Just when I thought I'd done all my digging for the day, a neighbor stopped by with a wonderful  gift in hand.  She brought two lemon grass plantlets -- babies from the clump in her yard.   I got my shovel back out of the shed and planted them right away.  When I find the charger for my camera, I will take a picture to put here.

Now for a Bay Laurel tree to put near them :-)

My other neighbor gave me babies from her Aloe Vera plant last night.  I have been buying the Visvita brand of aloe drink because it has chunks of the aloe floating around in it.  But it is way too sweet.  I love the chunks, though, and like to add strips of fresh gel from my own plant.  My favorite flavors are pineapple and coconut.

Recycled Shower Doors

A couple  of 40" x 40" raised planter kits were on sale cheap at a local store, but I wanted 3 more things that their design did not offer:

1) More height

2) Toe room underneath the planter

3) Ledge to lay tools down, etc.

So here is what I came up with:

Those are 12" square brick "pavers" with 4 standard bricks as spacers.  This brings the height up to 28" and I inset the pavers, so that I can stand right next to the planter without stubbing my toes.   The glass ledge is made from two tempered glass shower doors that my good neighbor was going haul away as trash after remodeling a bathroom.   I took the frames off, expecting sharp edges on the glass that would have to be sanded down, but this glass was nice and smooth on all sides.  This gives me 5" of ledge spare all the way around.

More photos coming after I've gotten to the store for more potting soil and put some plants in.  Seedlings started indoors in my AeroGardens for this project and about ready to plant include Swiss Chard, Beets, Romaine lettuce, Fennugreek, Basil and Black Beans.  I bought a few flowering plants to provide color and fill some space until my crops start to fill out.  

I think this looks great and will work well and the best part is the cost of building it came in under $100.   That does not include the potting mix,  which will be $30 or $40.   But there is room in my postage stamp sized backyard for a small composting bin, so the potting mix should be a one-time expense.