Updated Prototype

It has been WINDY here in New Orleans lately (the last week or so)!  Especially 20 feet up on my balcony where my vertical garden prototype lives.  So on several nights while losing much sleep over my poor little plants getting slammed around in their holes, I thought up some possible adjustments to the prototype to account for some issues that were arising due to high wind.  

First issue: The high winds blow the little plants around in their hard, pvc holes and I was concerned about the damage that could be done to their stems.  I also had the fear that one stiff, hard wind could break a young stem right off against the pvc’s edge.

Second Issue: While there seemed no real danger of the plants getting blown clear out of their holes (they have taken root nicely in them), the wind itself and the movement of the plants in the wind was causing potting material to leak out of the holes little by little.  Not good.  

First Attempt at a Solution: Duct Tape Fixes Everything, Right?

I admit, this was probably the lazy (wo)man’s solution to the problem, but I needed a quick fix so that I could at least sleep at night hearing the wind howling outside my window.  To protect the stems from the pvc edges, I rolled duct tape into a nice padded lip and stuck it to the bottom edge of each hole.  To prevent the loss of any more potting media, I simply taped the hole mostly shut.  NOT aesthetically pleasing, I know.

Second Solution: Spanish Moss

Since the wind has continued for so long, it has kept these issues fresh in my head.  AND every time I go out there to water or sit and read, I wince when I see the hideous duct tape…  so I kept thinking of a better solution.  I came to Spanish moss.  I stuffed Spanish moss in the holes around the plants.  It has proven to be very effective in retaining the potting media and provides a nice cushion between plant and pvc edge on all sides.  I think it actually also minimizes the movement of the plants in their holes by acting like a shock absorber.  Lastly, it is MUCH better looking…

Finally, I am proud to announce that all the plants are alive and well and have put out quite a bit of new growth.  

The Prototype

It’s done.  And…. it’s alive!  Last night I finished the prototype of the vertical productive garden.  It is made up of three planting tubes.  Each one is a 4″ pvc pipe with three holes drilled in it for plants to live in.  I lined the inside of the planting pipes with a mesh to block the potting media from coming out of the small holes that were already pre-existing in this type of pvc, which I think will provide good aeration.  I added a drain to the bottom of each pipe (to hold everything in place) then a 4″ to 2″ pipe converter that connects to the bottom drainage pipe.  The bottom drain pipe is made up of two elbows connected to 1 1/2″ pvc pipes that meet in the middle at a sanitary tee where the water will finally drain into a catch basin.  

Last night I finished attaching the planting pipes to the support structure (with zip ties, by the way).  I then filled each pipe with a few inches of gravel to keep the potting media from coming out through the drain at the bottom.  Then I filled each pipe with planting material and installed the plants.  I’ve decided to operate this element (the potting media) as an experiment.  The two outside pipes are filled with a mix of perlite and vermiculite (inert media) and the center pipe is filled with good, old fashioned potting soil.  I really want to see how plants feel about being planted in soil vs non soil.  

One of the trickiest parts of this whole thing was inserting the plants into pipes.  The holes I drilled in the pipes were perfectly fine for a plant from a standard 2″ cell pack.  Unfortunately, the herbs I’d bought were in 4″ pots and the eggplants were in 3″ cell packs so they got roughed up quite a bit on the way in.  After all the plants were in, they were all hanging at a rather sad angle (about 45 degrees from horizontal) downward.  I was definitely worried they wouldn’t make it.  So I watered all the plants in (pouring water down through the top of the pipe).  Water drained out of the system through the bottom of the tee as I’d hoped.  However, I had intended to have a pump in the collection basin at the bottom to recirculate the water back to the top of the pipes, but at this scale not enough water is going to make it back through to the bottom to make this feature necessary.  Most of the water seems to have been held by the potting media and plants.  Also, I don’t think it will be necessary to have a continuous flow of water past the roots because the potting media should hold enough water for a couple of days.  I’m going to hold onto the pump for awhile just in case…

AFTER ALL THAT….

When I got up this morning, I ran downstairs like it was Christmas morning to check on my little plants and see if they made it through the night.  I was THRILLED to see that the plants have already begun to lift themselves toward the sun (above horizontal!) and seem to be doing well in their new vertical home.  I will provide updates as the plants grow and what I find about soil vs inert media and watering and fertilizing schedules.

BUT, this system is going to be really cool when it’s built.  Went and bought plants for it today but didn’t get to install them because gluing and allowing the glue to dry is taking too long.  Tomorrow this will be done with plants growing out of it!  I got eggplant, peppers, basil, oregano and mint to put in it.  Hope they survive…

Next, I staked out how I imagined the ground plane would work.  I want ground vegetation and pavement to intermingle at the edges of the interstate.  In this particular case, I have a path extending beyond the edge of the overpass and vegetation infiltrating the space underneath the overpass.

Later, I looked at how adding additional width to the columns in certain areas (for my water filtering system) would impact the space.  By adding 2′ of width around the entire column, there is still space for a person to see and pass between the columns, but creates a more private space.

Lastly, we wanted to get a sense of the size of the “rooms” created by the columns of the interstate so we taped one off to get a good look.

My second inclination comes from a personal interest in Vertical Gardening and how I might be able to use this concept to bring the idea of public, green space to the upper level (I-10 overpass) users of the site.  I envisioned this element functioning like the existing billboards on site.  

Marché de Halles in Avignon by Patrick Blanc

Next this got me thinking about ways to define spaces on the primary level (Perkins Road) of the site as well.  I could utilize vertical walls to create rooms or separate the various uses of the site and to block out noise from traffic.  Considering also that this site is going to house community farmer’s markets, it felt appropriate to include edible plant species in whatever my design turns out to be.  Check out this article called “Vertical Food Gardens Sprout in L.A.’s Skid Row” from the Architectural Record.  Their style of vertical gardening brings a social awareness of hunger issues and accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables.  The food grown on their walls is free for the taking by local residents in an area of the city that has a high homeless population.  I feel there are similar conditions going on at Perkins Road and that people living in the vicinity could benefit from this type of planting.  

It was raining last Friday during my site observation and I couldn’t help but notice what an issue drainage is on the site and that water from the interstate above gets funneled down below and just sits in puddles.  I would love to be able to harness and store this water (with a rain barrel type system) and then use it to irrigate the vertical gardens and any other plant material I include in the design.  

Collect/ store water for use

SENSING: Acceleration

Acceleration is the change in velocity over time.  This is expressed in meters/ second squared.  Commonly, we refer to a positive change as acceleration and a negative change as deceleration.  

Accelerometers are devices used to measure acceleration and other forces not caused by gravity (like pressure, strain or force).  Piezoelectric sensors are accelerometers that convert these forces into an electrical signal.  They are made out of special materials: piezoceramics or piezo-film.  

Whisker sensors are accelerometers designed to function like the whiskers of a dog or cat only on a robot.  The hope is that these sensors could better help robots interact with and react to their environment.

APPLICATIONS:

Currently, accelerometers are used in Wii remote controls, laptop computers, smartphones and machinery health monitoring systems.  With regards to the landscape, accelerometers can be used to detect seismic activity and other vibrations like on bridges and roads.  

PROCESSING: Pachube

Apparently, it’s pronounced “patch-bay.”  This is a very cool web-based technology who’s goal is to connect remote environments both physically and virtually both by storing data and helping people find and share data.  Anyone can upload data to the service, you just need a device that is connected to the internet or one that sends text messages.  The ways that Pachube (www.pachube.com) can be used is only limited by your imagination.

APPLICATIONS:

Pachube allows you to monitor and track data remotely, graph realtime data and trigger/ control remote devices or environments.  You can track pollution levels, electricity consumption, have your houseplants send you a text message when they’re thirsty… 

OUTPUT: Shape Memory Alloys

Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) are metal alloys that have the ability to “remember” a shape and can be returned to that shape after being deformed simply by applying heat to them.  SMAs undergo a phase change while still remaining a solid.  One type of SMA is called “nitinol” which is a nickel titanium alloy (NiTi).  

APPLICATIONS:

SMAs have myriad current and future applications.  These alloys are used in eyeglasses, bras, braces, anti-scalding shower heads, fire suppression systems…

With regards to the landscape, SMAs could be used as certain elements of bridges, buildings and other infrastructure in earthquake prone areas allowing them to respond to the vibrations and therefore, result in less damage and loss of life.