File:20120824-DM-LSC-9004 (8827303164).jpg

Transcript:

00:01 [Music chimes in then fades out] USDA Logo and United States Department of Agriculture

00:04 [The People’s Garden logo. Folk guitar strumming quietly begins] The People’s Garden

00:07 [Leslie talks and Bob walks up carrying trough, then drops it on ground to speak.] Leslie: Welcome to the USDA People’s Garden here at Powell Elementary School, in Washington, D.C. I’m Leslie Burks and today, we are building a mobile garden planter, with the help of Bob Sniecus, who is carrying a 100-gallon sized trough. Subtitle: Leslie Burks, Project Manager

00:24 [Bob speaks to viewer.] Bob: Hi Everyone, this is going to be so simple. Subtitle: Bob Snieckus, National Landscape Architect

00:26 [Trough with soil and bean plants about one foot tall] Leslie: Now here’s Bob with the first step.

00:31 Bob: We’ve connected two dollies bought at a local hardware store. [Trough is lowered onto joined dollies.] Subtitle #1: Dollies connected using cable ties. Subtitle #2: Load capacity of each dolly shown is 800 lbs. Subtitle #3: Make sure the planter is on a sturdy base.

00:40 [Hands apply tape to threads.] Bob: First we wrap sealant tape around the drain valve adapter threads. Subtitle #1: Trough came with 1-inch threaded drain hole. Subtitle #2: Drill drainage hole, if not present.

00:48 [Hand finishes tightening valve into drain hole threads.] Bob: And then attach it, hand tight. Subtitle: Hose bib and sealant tape available at hardware stores.

00:54 [Bob talks, while Leslie holds cut pipe.] Bob: Place a 24-inch length of 2-inch diameter PVC pipe with a bevel cut on the end, into the trough. Subtitle: Angle cut using a handsaw.

01:04 [Gravel is pored from bags into trough.] Leslie: The tank will first need a 4” layer of gravel; for drainage. Subtitle: Add an assortment of pea gravel and pebbles.

01:07 [Sound of gravel being pored into tank. Hand spreads gravel across bottom of trough] Subtitle: Build 4-inch layer around PVC pipe.

01:16 [Black fabric is lowered onto camera and gravel.] Leslie: Place filter fabric. Subtitle #1: Tip: Cut a small slit in fabric for a snug fit around PVC pipe. Subtitle #2: Landscape fabric holds the soil in place.

01:24 [View from inside trough, looking at Leslie outside, above the far end of the trough.] Leslie: Add planter soil, as recommended by a nursery. [A bag is emptied into the trough]

01:29 [Leslie talks from beside the trough] Leslie: Then organic nutrients are mixed in. [Hand uses tool to mix soil.]

01:32 [Bob pores compost into trough for Leslie to mix.] Leslie: Thank-you, Bob.

01:40 [Leslie show’s hand-width spacing from edge.] Leslie: When planning your garden layout, just remember to keep you plants about a hand’s width away from the container edge, and think about the full-size width of your plants. You don’t want to crowd them. Subtitle: Get to know the plant you want to grow.

01:54 [Bob is flanked by children as he kneels at end of trough to dig a hole and plant a chive plant.] Bob: Next, I’m going to show you how to plant chives. First, you dig a hole about the same size as the pot. Then you carefully tip the pot. Pull out the chives. See how they fit right in the hole we planted for them. And you just then tamp in around the root ball. And there you go; you just planted the first herbs. Subtitle: Chives

02:28 Leslie: Well, that’s all it takes to make a mobile garden planter. Now Bob and I have to roll on out of here.

02:35 [Leslie, Bob and children push mobile garden planter away from camera.] Bob: Push!

02:37 [Text] Visit Us www.usda.gov/peoplesgarden

Follow Us www.twitter.com/peoplesgarden

Music by Cooper-Moore

20120824-DM-LSC-9003 USDA Multimedia by Lance Cheung.

02:39 [The People’s Garden logo.] The People’s Garden

02:42 [quiet roll of cymbal in then out] USDA (logo) United States Department of Agriculture

USDA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER. TO FILE A COMPLAINT OF DISCRIMINATION, WRITE TO USDA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, 1400 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE, S.W., STOP 9410, WASHINGTON, DC, 20250-9410, OR CALL TOLL-FREE AT (866)-9992 (ENGLISH) OR (800) 877-8339 (TDD) OR (866) 377-8642 (ENGLISH-RELAY) OR (800) 845-6136 (SPANISH FEDERAL-RELAY).

Description: For a school with limited green space that's looking for a flexible way to grow food or other plants, building a garden on wheels is a practical solution. In this video, Leslie Burks, Project Manager and Bob Snieckus, National Landscape Architect describe step by step how they built a mobile planter at Powell Elementary School in Washington, DC. Follow their simple instructions to construct a mobile planter of your own. More gardening resources at www.usda.gov/peoplesgarden. Share your success stories and photos with us on Twitter@PeoplesGarden.