Before you read this post, check out Plans, Specs and Other Details. It explains what each piece of this puzzle is and why I chose these materials. Feel free to alter your design to suit your desires, but don't fault me if it doesn't work. If it does, do share because I'm always looking to improve. It took us about a day to get it all together (not including most of the planting or the watering system we added afterward) because of all of our trial and error.
To start:
Once you have chosen your garden location you need to set your posts. I put one cinder block with the extra hole facing north, and the other a little less than five feet away from it with the extra hole facing south. (You'll want to have a little pipe overhang so you can attach your pipes to the outer edge of the posts) In each of the aligned holes, place your post close to the inside edge of the hole, and shore it up with spare pieces of 2x4 until it's tight, then hammer in shims to tighten it even more. When the post won't move without taking up the cinder block with it, you're ready for step two.
Prepping the pipes:
When you're ready to start with the pipes, you'll want to mark your holes. Leave room for the zip ties and screen on each end. My pattern was:
Secure the pipe somehow so the hole saw bit doesn't kick your pipe back or spin off and try to drill through your shoe or your table. Sean stood on the end of the pipe that he placed on the ground and slowly started the hole until it really grabbed, then finished cutting the hole. We used a 2" hole saw bit, but 2 1/2" might be better if you choose to use deeper pipe. Don't drill all the way through the pipe, just through one side. Clean all the shavings out from around the hole and inside the pipe.
Covering the ends:
Take your roll of screen and cut a square large enough to have an inch and a half of extra at the least on all sides. You can use one as a pattern if you like it, but I liked to do them one at a time because some of our cuts on our leftover pipes weren't very straight and I seemed to need more to completely cover the hole.
Take one zip tie and place it 1/2" to the inside of the edge of your pipe. Don't tighten it as tight as you can until you have checked to make sure you have it where you want, but be sure to get it tight when you're happy with the placement. Trim the excess. (*Try to keep both zip tie latches near the bottom third of the pipe. The top third is where the holes are and the middle third is the back where the pipe will be snug against the pole). Place the screen over the end and adjust it to where you want it. I cut a slit in the corner where the zip tie latch was so I could slide it over the latch and help hold it in place. Get another zip tie started but keep it really wide so you can slide it over everything. Pull the screen taught and slip the other zip tie over it all, tightening gradually. Make sure the second tie is on the inside of the first tie. This will help keep everything from slipping off the pipe if you can't get it tight enough with all the gathers of extra screen. Adjust the screen so the folds of extra screen on the edges are smooth. When you are happy with how it looks, pull it tight and trim the extra off the tie and the screen, leaving about 1/2" of screen on the far inside edge.
Before you cover the other end, hold the pipe at an angle with covered end down and hole side up. Trowel some soil into the pipe until it's full enough but not packed (you need room for plants and watering). Then repeat the process of covering the other end of the pipe.
Attaching the pipe to the posts:
Measure an even distance for the amount of pipes you want. Don't put the top pipe right at the top of the post or your garden will be really top-heavy. Don't put it too close to the ground either or the neighborhood rabbits will make a snack of your garden and you won't be able to mow underneath. I put four on one side and three on the other. Simple math will tell you that if you start 18" from the ground, you center the first pipe at 18", the next 18" above that and the next 18" above that if you have three. If you have four pipes, start at 18" from the ground, then 13.5" every pipe thereafter. You can adjust to your liking, taking into account the plants you want to plant. I put the heavy ones like tomatoes at the bottom and lighter, shorter ones at the top, like lettuce and spinach.
Have someone help you hold the pipe up snugly against the post. Take a length of hanger tape and measure about an inch and a half at the top to screw the tape to the post. You might not want to screw it on just yet. Twist it a quarter turn to the right and, with the twisted part as close to the pipe as possible, tightly measure around the length of the pipe (over the screen) until you get back to the post, then quarter twist it back so the tape runs against the post and leave enough to screw onto the post. Cut the hanger tape and twist it back so you can measure (line up the holes in the tape to make sure you have the same length). You can cut as many of these as you need, but don't twist them until you get them up against the pipes. Place the middle of the length of tape at the front of the pipe HOLES FACING UP to the sky and screw a lath screw into that hole. Go easy, or you'll have the same bounce-off effect as the hole saw bit earlier. You will have to put some muscle into it unless your screw is a good self starter. The ones I purchased probably couldn't be described that way. Screw the top part of the tape to the post so the middle of the pipe matches up with your measurements, then holding it as snugly to the post as possible, pull the hanger tape as tightly as possible and screw the bottom part to the post. Repeat on each end until all pipes are secured.
Support:
This is the best time to put the cross post in, because now you won't have a lot of play in your posts with all the pipes secured. The whole thing will probably slide to one end or the other if you gave it a good push, but you don't want to do that and make it collapse. Take your 2x4 with the angled ends and slide it down the top between the posts. Secure the bottom end against the post and just above the cinder block. The upper angled end should fit just as snugly against the opposite post. Screw it in place and you should have a lot less give in the side-to-side direction (no swaying).
Watering system:
If you're adding a watering system, which I highly suggest, now is the time to add it. Cut enough 5' lengths of 1" PVC to have one for each pipe you've installed. Put a cap on one end of each pipe. On the other end, attach a valve, then enough extra pipe to get to the end of the planting pipe. Attach an elbow to the extra piece. Attach one of these to the top of each of the planting pipes with a zip tie in the middle of the pipe between two holes. Starting at the bottom, cut a length of pipe that will give you enough room to attach your hose at the ground and put a t-connector on top of it. Put a length of pipe from the elbow on the bottom watering pipe to connect it to the t-connector at the middle of the post. Add another length of pipe to get you up to the next watering pipe and repeat until you have connected each watering pipe to the middle supply. At the last pipe at the top, after connecting to the t-connector, add a small length of pipe and cap it. Attach your hose with a hose connector elbow. Then, with a very small bit, drill a hole angling down into each of your planting holes for the water to shoot out and down into the planting hole. Try to catch and clean out all the shavings. If you need to, you can uncap the ends to flush out the shavings that have gone inside the pipe. Turn the water on and adjust your valves until the water pressure sends water out to the farthest holes.
Planting:
I have only planted grown plants in the pipe garden so far. Next year (2013) I plan to try starting some seeds in the holes. I lose a lot of seedlings transferring them from the warmth of my dining room to the hazards of the outdoors. I also harden them in soup cans, so when it was time to transplant them to the pipe garden, I really had to squash the roots to get it to fit through the small hole. If you are planting with a lot of existing dirt and roots, you might want to push some of the dirt in the pipe to the sides so you can fit everything into the space. I don't claim to be a "green thumb" but this has worked well for me in the past.
To start:
Once you have chosen your garden location you need to set your posts. I put one cinder block with the extra hole facing north, and the other a little less than five feet away from it with the extra hole facing south. (You'll want to have a little pipe overhang so you can attach your pipes to the outer edge of the posts) In each of the aligned holes, place your post close to the inside edge of the hole, and shore it up with spare pieces of 2x4 until it's tight, then hammer in shims to tighten it even more. When the post won't move without taking up the cinder block with it, you're ready for step two.
Prepping the pipes:
When you're ready to start with the pipes, you'll want to mark your holes. Leave room for the zip ties and screen on each end. My pattern was:
3" 4" O 4" O 4" O 4" O 4" O 4" O 4" O 4" O 4" O 3"
I had nine holes (O) across the top of each pipe, and staggered them so when the plants hang down, the open areas below are utilized. After using them that way for a while, I have concluded that less is more. Spacing them out will give you less plants overall but if you choose plants that get really bushy or need to "breathe," spacing them out would be a great idea.Secure the pipe somehow so the hole saw bit doesn't kick your pipe back or spin off and try to drill through your shoe or your table. Sean stood on the end of the pipe that he placed on the ground and slowly started the hole until it really grabbed, then finished cutting the hole. We used a 2" hole saw bit, but 2 1/2" might be better if you choose to use deeper pipe. Don't drill all the way through the pipe, just through one side. Clean all the shavings out from around the hole and inside the pipe.
Covering the ends:
Take your roll of screen and cut a square large enough to have an inch and a half of extra at the least on all sides. You can use one as a pattern if you like it, but I liked to do them one at a time because some of our cuts on our leftover pipes weren't very straight and I seemed to need more to completely cover the hole.
Take one zip tie and place it 1/2" to the inside of the edge of your pipe. Don't tighten it as tight as you can until you have checked to make sure you have it where you want, but be sure to get it tight when you're happy with the placement. Trim the excess. (*Try to keep both zip tie latches near the bottom third of the pipe. The top third is where the holes are and the middle third is the back where the pipe will be snug against the pole). Place the screen over the end and adjust it to where you want it. I cut a slit in the corner where the zip tie latch was so I could slide it over the latch and help hold it in place. Get another zip tie started but keep it really wide so you can slide it over everything. Pull the screen taught and slip the other zip tie over it all, tightening gradually. Make sure the second tie is on the inside of the first tie. This will help keep everything from slipping off the pipe if you can't get it tight enough with all the gathers of extra screen. Adjust the screen so the folds of extra screen on the edges are smooth. When you are happy with how it looks, pull it tight and trim the extra off the tie and the screen, leaving about 1/2" of screen on the far inside edge.
Before you cover the other end, hold the pipe at an angle with covered end down and hole side up. Trowel some soil into the pipe until it's full enough but not packed (you need room for plants and watering). Then repeat the process of covering the other end of the pipe.
Attaching the pipe to the posts:
Measure an even distance for the amount of pipes you want. Don't put the top pipe right at the top of the post or your garden will be really top-heavy. Don't put it too close to the ground either or the neighborhood rabbits will make a snack of your garden and you won't be able to mow underneath. I put four on one side and three on the other. Simple math will tell you that if you start 18" from the ground, you center the first pipe at 18", the next 18" above that and the next 18" above that if you have three. If you have four pipes, start at 18" from the ground, then 13.5" every pipe thereafter. You can adjust to your liking, taking into account the plants you want to plant. I put the heavy ones like tomatoes at the bottom and lighter, shorter ones at the top, like lettuce and spinach.
Have someone help you hold the pipe up snugly against the post. Take a length of hanger tape and measure about an inch and a half at the top to screw the tape to the post. You might not want to screw it on just yet. Twist it a quarter turn to the right and, with the twisted part as close to the pipe as possible, tightly measure around the length of the pipe (over the screen) until you get back to the post, then quarter twist it back so the tape runs against the post and leave enough to screw onto the post. Cut the hanger tape and twist it back so you can measure (line up the holes in the tape to make sure you have the same length). You can cut as many of these as you need, but don't twist them until you get them up against the pipes. Place the middle of the length of tape at the front of the pipe HOLES FACING UP to the sky and screw a lath screw into that hole. Go easy, or you'll have the same bounce-off effect as the hole saw bit earlier. You will have to put some muscle into it unless your screw is a good self starter. The ones I purchased probably couldn't be described that way. Screw the top part of the tape to the post so the middle of the pipe matches up with your measurements, then holding it as snugly to the post as possible, pull the hanger tape as tightly as possible and screw the bottom part to the post. Repeat on each end until all pipes are secured.
Support:
This is the best time to put the cross post in, because now you won't have a lot of play in your posts with all the pipes secured. The whole thing will probably slide to one end or the other if you gave it a good push, but you don't want to do that and make it collapse. Take your 2x4 with the angled ends and slide it down the top between the posts. Secure the bottom end against the post and just above the cinder block. The upper angled end should fit just as snugly against the opposite post. Screw it in place and you should have a lot less give in the side-to-side direction (no swaying).
Watering system:
If you're adding a watering system, which I highly suggest, now is the time to add it. Cut enough 5' lengths of 1" PVC to have one for each pipe you've installed. Put a cap on one end of each pipe. On the other end, attach a valve, then enough extra pipe to get to the end of the planting pipe. Attach an elbow to the extra piece. Attach one of these to the top of each of the planting pipes with a zip tie in the middle of the pipe between two holes. Starting at the bottom, cut a length of pipe that will give you enough room to attach your hose at the ground and put a t-connector on top of it. Put a length of pipe from the elbow on the bottom watering pipe to connect it to the t-connector at the middle of the post. Add another length of pipe to get you up to the next watering pipe and repeat until you have connected each watering pipe to the middle supply. At the last pipe at the top, after connecting to the t-connector, add a small length of pipe and cap it. Attach your hose with a hose connector elbow. Then, with a very small bit, drill a hole angling down into each of your planting holes for the water to shoot out and down into the planting hole. Try to catch and clean out all the shavings. If you need to, you can uncap the ends to flush out the shavings that have gone inside the pipe. Turn the water on and adjust your valves until the water pressure sends water out to the farthest holes.
Planting:
I have only planted grown plants in the pipe garden so far. Next year (2013) I plan to try starting some seeds in the holes. I lose a lot of seedlings transferring them from the warmth of my dining room to the hazards of the outdoors. I also harden them in soup cans, so when it was time to transplant them to the pipe garden, I really had to squash the roots to get it to fit through the small hole. If you are planting with a lot of existing dirt and roots, you might want to push some of the dirt in the pipe to the sides so you can fit everything into the space. I don't claim to be a "green thumb" but this has worked well for me in the past.
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