DIY Root View Vegie Grower (aka Gifts for Nieces)
Originally posted 23rd September, 2014
Today I was looking for gifts for my nieces. I’ve been trying to get things that are intellectually stimulating and don’t reinforce gender stereotype i.e. barbie, princessey, cooking and/or housewifey are out (I know they do like that stuff and they’re gonna get it anyway =)
Such toys and activities for girls seem to be getting more traction, for which we can thank initiatives promoting women in STEM, and companies like GoldieBlox (despite / because of controversial ad campaigns).
One excellent thing I found was Roominate. Possibly a little too old for my eldest niece, but I still think pretty cool. Reviews were very positive and I may or may not have ordered some (mum and kris in case you were going to steal my idea!)
Another was a butterfly garden; I think it would be super interesting to watch these animals go from egg to caterpillar to pupa to butterfly:
Unfortunately, the closest I could find in Australia was more a mesh cage for growing just the pupae then releasing the butterflies. Not that I intend on keeping the butterflies imprisoned for a long period, but a day of having them fly around in a larger enclosure would be fun.
I’ve asked a local breeder if I can get eggs, and I figure with the correct plant and one of those popup laundry hampers could DIY that pretty easily.
Finally, and the main reason for this post, I found the RootVue Farm
Cool idea huh.
A container for growing vegies, long and thin with a transparent front, so that you can see the root systems.
Then I thought — I bet I could make one of those. Some wood, an acrylic or glass front panel.
And sure enough, someone has already done this (good job Mickey!)
It looks great, but a nontrivial amount of work. I guess I’d do it if I had more carpentry skills & tools, and wanted a longer-lasting implementation.
I then found this smart cookie, who has made a much simpler and cheaper alternative from a juice carton. That’s a brilliant idea I think, and would be a fun and practical classroom / home activity to build with the kids. So much so that I sent it to my sister and mum (who are primary teachers, and obviously mums too =)
That’s a great, simple implementation hey. I must build me one!
I jumped on my bike and furiously pedalled to my nearest nursery to obtain potting mix, and radish and carrot seeds (I picked them for their suitable shapes, and I read they’ll be fast to grow)
I then acquired a juice carton, and an overhead transparency.
Upon returning home and drinking a lot of orange juice, the thought occurred to me that if I was really lazy (and I am really lazy) I could even go without the cardboard container; one could simply tape the plastic sheet into a loop and stand it on a plate or something.
For a while I pondered using gaffer tape, but then noticed these bits of wire around our garden, plus they’re more minimal and aesthetically pleasing. So here’s what I did:
Wrapped the wire around
Insert potting mix!
(please ignore the post-apocalyptic garden in the background, I never said I had a green thumb)
After a while I started using my hands to fill the potting mix, because it’s more fun to get a bit dirty, just like walking barefoot on the beach or eating pizza with your hands — it just feels better =)
Cleaned a bit of the spillage off the dish like so
Planted seeds & watered.
Whereupon I noticed how the water percolates through the soil, already cool eh.
(also, decided I needed another loop of wire to maintain hull integrity)
And that’s it.
For the wire, you could also use pipe cleaners (schools still have them everywhere right) or coat hangers.
