Poor planning

About that kale.  I planted some seeds.  And they sprouted!  Not that that’s terribly unusual, at least when you use seeds that are from the last couple of years.  Now, I have 3 different kinds of kale, and nowhere to put them now that they’re doing their thing with the growing.  

I don’t have the greatest planning skills, clearly.

But there are these things that I’ve been looking at for a while.  SIPs.  Self Irrigating Planters.  You can buy them in any number of stores or online, but those suckers are expensive.  Like, $40 for a tiiiiiiiny planter.  

Why not just use a regular pot?  
Or the ground?  

Well, I have this problem.  With sand.  My backyard should be oceanfront, that’s how sandy it is.  

There’s this other problem.  With my apartment.  I don’t have a spigot in my backyard.  It’s the worst.  I have to haul water from the house.  And for someone with my proclivity for dropping things, it can be... messy.

So these SIPs.  I read on a blog (imagine that) instructions for making my own 35 gallon SIP.  And it looks pretty damn easy.  With things that I could easily find in any home improvement store.  I even made a spreadsheet for material costs!

Lookie:

Where Found:	Item:	Cost:	Quantity:	Total:
Home Depot	Sterilite 35 gal. Latch Tote	$14.97	2	$29.94
	Easy Gardener WeedBlock3 ft. x 50 ft. Polypropylene Landscape Fabric	$9.97	1	$9.97
	1/2 in. x 10 ft. PVC Sch. 40 Plain-End Pipe	$1.78	1	$1.78
	4 in. x 10 ft. PVC Sch. 40 DWV Plain End Pipe	$16.51	1	$16.51
		Total:		$58.20

So, not including the potting mix or fertilizer, two of these are going to cost around $60.  Which is amazing, considering I haven’t been able to find any of this size for under $200.

Now, I just have to make a couple of these puppies, stick my kale in their new high-rise luxury condo, and wait for the sweet, sweet taste of ingenuity.