Urban Sustainable Living with Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl

I’m Patty Marino the Garden Girl. People asked me all the time how do I grow herbs and vegetables in a container in small spaces. Well I’ve been experimenting with container gardening for years and I found out that the containers tend to dry out quickly and they also need fertilizer. This year I’m installing a drip irrigation system throughout my patio with a fertilizer injector. That way my plants will be in optimum condition whether I’m here or away.

For my trip irrigation system for my container garden, I’m starting as we start all drip irrigation systems right at the beginning at my spigot. And I’ve got my manifold already connected, I’m starting with the timer of course and then if got my easy flow fertilizer connector. Then I’ve got my filter. You want to make sure that you have a filter on any of this drip irrigation systems because you never know there might be some small impurities in the water and you want to catch those before they get into your system and I’m going to be able to fertilized my garden with some organic fertilizer through the manifold.

When you have container garden of course it needs those nutrients in order for it to grow and for you to have a beautiful container garden you have to fertilize it pretty often. Before I connect the manifold to my spigot, I am going to connect the hoses for my fertilizer. The black one is on the top side and that is going to connect to my easy flow fertilizer injector than I’ve got my clear tubing here and I’m using clear tubing so that I can see my fertilizer as it goes into my system. So I’d left enough flack for just move it around wherever I want.

Now I have to get my ½-inch main line and connect it to my easy lock fitting here and then I think I’m just going to take it up right onto my patio container garden. So I’ve run my main line tubing up to my brick patio here, now I’m taking it and I am supporting it all the way around my patio here on to my fence. I’m using this support clamps and I’m just attaching them to the bottom of the fence here an I’m going to take this main line tubing all the way around my whole brick patio that way I can add containers whenever I want, wherever I want.

All right so I’ve run my main line to up to this corner and now I want to cut around this corner plainly. So I got an easy lock elbow here I’m just going to put in place where I want it and then I’m going to measure where I need to cut it with my tubing. And I’ve got my elbow and now I’ve got my other end push it in. All right I’ve got my elbow in and now I can keep running my main line tubing all the way to the length of my brick patio.

I’ve moved my orange mint container so that I can install the irrigation system right behind it, it’s going to be nice and hidden. And I am going to install a pot dripper in this one. You got the miracle punch here just squeeze. I’ve got my porter inch tubing here. I took off my punch insert tool here, my tubing goes right over it, and I just squeeze.

All right so you just want to muscle it in there until you hear that pop and it is in. Now I’m going to add a valve in here also. All right I’ve got my pruners here I’m just going to muscle it in. I got my other piece of tubing that I’m going to connect there. All right now I’ve got my pot dripper and it’s got a threaded end on it so all I have to do is twist it. All right so it is twisted on have it right into the middle. I’ve got the pot dripper in and now my orange mint is going to thrive.

For lavender container I’m going to use the down spray sprinkle. That way I can control over spray. For my tomato container I’m using nine inch circle drip line. The emitters are spaced out every nine inches. In this container, I’ve got tomatoes and I also have basil and marigold. So the 9-inch basing is going to work perfectly. I love this system because it’s so eversible I can even irrigate a hanging plant.

Already run a quarter inch tubing along this post here from my main drip line. I’m going to cut it where it’s flushed with the top of the planter. And I'm going to attached this pot dripper, it’s threaded so I can just screw it right on to the end of my porter inch tube. All right it is in, my container garden is irrigated and now I can go on vacation.

I’m Patti Moreno the Garden Girl thanks for watching.