Page 59 - Green Builder March-April 2016 Issue

www.greenbuildermedia.com/tiny-houses-home

CREDIT: RACHEL KRAMER SELF-CONTAINED GARDENS

Food Security. The Urban Cultivator can be plugged into the city Container gardening has long
water system, or it can operate off an independent water supply. allowed apartment dwellers
to make the most of their
four trays of plants and tucks under a standard-sized cabinet. balconies and small stoops.
One of the advantages of
Best plants for hydroponic gardens: greens, microgreens, this type of garden is its
strawberries, chives, herbs. versatility—the size, shape,
style and origin of the
pots is limited only by the
imagination. The containers
can be salvaged or upcycled; just make sure that if you are growing
plants for food, the container won’t leach harmful materials into the
soil. Just a few possibilities include used tin cans, plastic bottles or
glass jars; plastic and wood crates; palettes; cinderblocks, ceramic
pipe sections or fittings; old plumbing fixtures; buckets and barrels.
Trellises can further optimize space, allowing plants to grow up
rather than sprawl horizontally.

Best plants for containers: dwarf trees, strawberries, herbs, tomatoes,

annual flowers, succulents.

BUILT-INS CREDIT: ANN FISHER

Planters, garden windows and porches can help tiny homes feel
more permanent, and they don’t add to interior square footage.
Of course, if you’re designing a home that might be on the move,
you’ll have to consider limitations of the trailer and maximum width
and length restrictions. One work-around is to design features that
“tuck away” or are easily removed (and re-attached). Porches can
also temporarily house container plants while the tiny house is on
the move.

CREDIT: RACHEL KRAMER CREDIT: GARDENING SOLUTIONS

Flower Power. Window boxes can help ground tiny houses in place Options. Ranging from utilitarian to glamorous, upcycled
and make them feel more permanent. containers can help create an instant garden almost anywhere.

www.greenbuildermedia.com March/April 2016 GREEN BUILDER 57