3 Gardening Upcycling Hacks for Growing in Small Spaces Ep4 S1

This episode shows 3 great gardening hacks of upcycling ways to repurpose items for growing food in small spaces.
The 3 x examples of growing food using upcycled materials are: vertical grow wall using old pallets; old jars; and a mini greenhouse made from recycled plastic containers.
This is the fourth episode in our growing food in small spaces series ( see Ep1 here • How to Build a Raised ... and Ep2 • Beneficial SMALL Anima... and Ep3 • How to Grow a Vegetabl... )
This episode and video series were created with the help of Creator Queensland (a QLD Govt and KZbin initiative) and Griffith University.
The following student crew from LiveLabs helped create the "Growing Food in Small Spaces" series as part of their film course final assessment:
Scott Nolan - Director
Emma Adin - Unit Manager/2nd AD
Karlee Catalano - 1st AD
Sophie Cross - Camera
Phoebe Ireland - Data Wrangler
Tom Davison - Camera
Kenny Waterson - Sound Recordist
Hugo Hood - Production Assist
Patrick Mahon - Continuity
This series was certainly a great learning experience for me as well as being a fun project to help create - thanks to all who made this possible.
Support me on Patreon: / selfsufficientme
Help support the Channel and buy a T-shirt/Merchandise from our Spreadshirt shop: goo.gl/ygrXwU
Shop on Amazon for grow lights bit.ly/2TGrziL
Shop for grow lights on eBay Australia: bit.ly/2DElPk2
Blog: www.selfsufficientme.com/ (use the search bar on my website to find info on certain subjects or gardening ideas)
Forum: www.selfsufficientculture.com
Facebook: / selfsufficie. .
Twitter: / sufficientme
Subscribe to my channel: goo.gl/cpbojR
Self Sufficient Me is based on our small 3-acre property/homestead in SE Queensland Australia about 45kms north of Brisbane - the climate is subtropical (similar to Florida). I started Self Sufficient Me in 2011 as a blog website project where I document and write about backyard food growing, self-sufficiency, and urban farming in general. I love sharing my foodie and DIY adventures online so come along with me and let's get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

[@Selfsufficientme]

G'day Everyone! Hope you are enjoying this series if you have any comments or questions on this episode whack'em down below and I'll try my best to get to them! Cheers :) P.S If you haven't seen the first 3 episodes here's a link to the playlist goo.gl/ef3jNt

[@heathturner480]

Hey Mark, I have been watching your channel grow for some time, but this vid is next level. Your editing and production is really stepping up. Keep up the great work but please please dont sell out, stay down to earth, the way we love you

[@chriskrause950]

Self Sufficient Me have you got a podcast program? Im harvesting an its something that would be awesome to listen to whilst in the header or tractor My wife an i grow most of our own food to an the kids eat better as well. Thanks for your experience information 👍

[@paulinah2392]

I am a big fan of u . Can u do a video how u keep away pests like spider mites?

[@jacobbaxley1419]

Hey Mark, Greetings from Florida! Nice drone! You really stepped the game up on this video man! lets see you keep blasting away the fire!

[@IberianCraftsman]

im amazed the dirt stays in place without adding a net or something in the front.

[@devandevan1403]

Discovering this channel has got to be one of the greatest things to happen to me in the past two years

[@Zartzify]

Hi Mark, my 4-year old son’s favourite part of the video was when you built the wall of plants. He’s a massive fan.

[@ivormectin.3046]

I cover pallets with mesh both sides.. Then fill and cut slits in mesh to house plants.. Keeps compost in and retains more water.. I also grow more high yield nutritional plants.i don't have a massive space like you, it's a great way to make a flower wall... Love your channel..

[@aussielady7539]

Your too funny, “out of ammo, reload” oh you are the best to watch and learn from, as my teacher use to say, ‘learning should be fun’ and gee you’ve nailed it Mark.

[@MrBizteck]

With his 'nail' gun too!

[@karaamundson3964]

I see what you did there. "Nailed it" indeed.

[@aussielady7539]

Kara Amundson , good one hey👍

[@sharonjacobs7624]

Love the way you describe your acreage as "fairly small". I could fit my whole house and garden into one of your raised beds!!! Loving your small spaces series :-) x

[@Selfsufficientme]

LOL - yeah but it's small compared to what most people describe as "acreage" although yes I get your point! Realistically though, our vegetable garden takes up only about 300m square out of our 12,000 so that's not too big in comparison and is equivalent to a good size suburban backyard. I'm not counting our 120 plus fruiting trees/shrubs of course... Glad you are liking the series thank you! :)

[@jessicam3074]

Ya I barely have an acre. I love him. He reminds me of Russell crow!

[@janetbransdon3742]

Thank you so much for the planting seasons for both hemispheres, I wish more gardening channels would address this issue. Cheers. 😁

[@Throllos]

Even though i don't grow any plants yet I still like to watch this channel, I just find it relaxing :)

[@timoacker7538]

This is by far the most wholesome youtube channel I've ever seen. It's really easy to see how much you care about the well-being of your plants and also that of the people around you!

[@kimgee2969]

Yeah..I just came across it a couple of months ago..Love it..learnt so much.

[@blackprincegt]

When I grow up I want to be a Mark from self sufficient me

[@Samanthax1221]

pelican hoof have you grown up, are you self sufficient yet

[@blackprincegt]

@@Samanthax1221 not self sufficient yet mate but working on it. I have a poster of Mark from Self Sufficient Me on my ceiling above my bed so that it's the first thing I see when I wake up. It inspires me to keep working at it everyday. I also stare at it while making hand party

[@Samanthax1221]

@@blackprincegt rottenpelican are you in ireland, you sound committed, do you grow your own food, do you have land, thank you, i have 20 acres but its overgrown and mostly bog, haha

[@jacobflack7747]

Mood, but with a bit more livestock and some suspicious plants

[@JediJenson]

Me to

[@-ShootTheGlass-]

I look at the end result of those garden walls and think “why haven’t I done this yet!” , great job.

[@RossPatzelt]

addictec to watching these vids. Nice not rushed presentation. Love it

[@fmusopp]

I've watched other pallet videos where they move and manipulate the boards to make little troughs. This is MUCH easier. Thank you.

[@larryr.johnson3048]

Nice to see the wife and kids helping in the homestead project. Great family and good ideas.

[@poltex6188]

Love your videos. I did hear pallets with paint on them, you shouldn't use for food. Also, to keep dirt inside, make like a hammock in each section of pallet with cloth, then fill each level with soil. Takes longer to cut & staple cloth, but holds soil in place. I've used the gallon water jugs to seed. I polk holes around on top near spout & 3 holes in each section on bottom. I cut around leaving the handle in tact. Then I tape sections back together after putting soil & seeds, plus initial watering. Take caps off also. I left them outside in the rain & snow, (how they water themselves). I never watered them again. It was so exciting to see them start sprouting & how well they did.

[@scoobydoobydoooo]

These videos from Mark have inspired ideas I'm definitely gonna use. He's also like a happier friendlier chonkier Russel Crowe

[@Artix902]

he's Alex Jones if he got off his supplements

[@jacquiemcintyre]

The pallets project was seriously fantastic. I have to plant in pots etc, so this idea I totally can do. Thanks!

[@RobertaAdesignbyhumans]

Awesome idea, using pallets to create a space for compost and a green wall. They should go together, 2 in 1, yay! I have 14 of them, when the house is done, I know what I can do with them now. 🤗

[@leilandm.4606]

I love the pallet wall....brilliant!

[@user-tb3vj1hc2x]

Thank you so much for the planting seasons for both hemispheres, I wish more gardening channels would address this issue. Cheers.

[@yogiclare]

I've been doing the bottle thing for years... it works well.. at the moment I have strawberries 🍓 in a 5l water bottle.. I cut holes in the sides.. filled it with soil.. now I have strawberries hanging away from pests and they also don't rot this way... love all your videos. Your brilliant 👏

[@Shariberry11]

I love the grow wall idea! I just purchased a house and there is currently no garden space and I need to do quite a lot of landscaping. I still want to have a garden this year so I feel like this is a great solution for a temporary garden for a year or 2!

[@tinahoward5931]

I did the pallet walls I put Italian oregano, lettuce, strawberries and a couple of cucumber plants but of course it doesn’t look as nearly as nice as yours. But I really appreciate your videos. Where I’m living right now, I have as little room to grow anything as an apartment. I’m enjoying all of your wonderful ideas, keep them coming!❤️❤️❤️

[@christyosborne9301]

I like using discarded coolers as planters. They also make amazing small greenhouses!

[@PrincessFidelma]

LOVE the vertical grow wall, it's so obvious and simple! Have been toying with the idea of strawberries in pallets because they're narrow enough for strawbs to flop over the side, instead of (the leaves sometimes) rotting in the pots I have them in, I'm obsessed with pallets!! and have a few in the shed just itching to be used. I've got to try this now! I'm lucky that my porch is a heat trap, and grow things in a very small space (less than 1foot x3) well into autumn. I made a rack with about 7 layers (bottom from pallets! and chick wire, top part is an old veg rack??), at the start of the season I grow on veg for planting outside, then come May/Summer, cut 2litre coke bottles long ways (about 1/4 of the width removed feels like a nice depth) add drainage holes, and they make great growing troughs, they're usually pretty successful for cut and come again salads. 2 bottles fit in a layer, so ... that's a lot of baby veg and salads 😀

[@treaustin1]

This was great. Good tips. I only have a sill at the edge of my apartment balcony to garden, and I manage to grow peppers, lettuce, kale, tomatoes and assorted other things as well. My apartment is the one with all the plants around here haha

[@brandi8040]

Wow!! That wall garden looks incredible!!! So much food can be grown in such a small amount of space! Thank you so much for sharing this video!

[@RainbowtrailchaletsAu]

I like to use glass jars to cover seedlings when I first plant them in my veggie garden. This seems to help them get going a whole lot quicker than those without. In summer you need to be careful of heat building up but in winter leave them on as long as it still fits the seedling.

[@gerlachholmes9498]

You're the best, Mark! Thanks for all you do for us.

[@palynnearven5534]

Great inspiration. Important to educate people on using pallets... some are treated with harmful chemicals that will leach into your food and plants. Look for the HT symbol stamped on your pallets for a heat treated wood, these are safe to use for growing edibles.

[@lyrarchi1933]

Thank you so much for sharing the project a bit down the track, so many people present these beautiful projects but we never see how they actually turn out, you are truly passionate and a real share so thanks Mark!! Loving your channel as always!

[@kdegraa]

This series is a great idea. It’s relevant to many and the idea of recycling junk materials is appealing to many. Having a definite ending to the series is good too, as long as there is another one in the pipeline....... Thanks for doing this.

[@Selfsufficientme]

I will do a second series - there's no lack of content for gardening in small spaces and mini hacks etc - thank you :)

[@Ms.Byrd68]

@@Selfsufficientme How do you deal with 'weeds' AND 'pests'?

[@woden_the_wanderer]

"weapon fails to fire" Brought back some memories

[@theboyjames3065]

What a relaxing guy! Could listen to him all day! Brilliant this. 👍🏻

[@annettefunicello3849]

I was trying to figure out where to plant my strawberries without BUYING a strawberry planter. I can easily get free pallets I just need to tie them EMPTY to the corner of my fence/yard to condition the dogs to leave them alone. I'm also going to staple the landscape fabric to both sides of the pallet and just cut holes in the spots I want to insert/plant the plants. Great idea! Can't wait to try it!

[@HexenFrau]

Man, there are lots of you guys doing this self -sufficiency stuff, but I have to say, I really enjoy your videos the most. Some of the other's are great, too, but I always find myself wanting to watch your video's first. Thank you!

[@happylittlemetalgirl]

The mini greenhouses are the best way I've found to sprout seeds. The 1 gallon milk jugs work amazingly well.

[@michelledoll3712]

Just as an aside: if you have some screen material leftover from doing your windows or your screen room, it might work in place of the shade cloth. Only use nylon, not the coated metal or the fiberglass stuff. It feels really different, so it's easy to tell the difference. You can also buy off cuts and mistakes from screen companies if you ask nicely. Thanks for the super cool video! My family enjoyed it a lot.

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

Thanks. Good info.

[@eviek3809]

"Out of ammunition, Sir" ....ah, it feels like only yesterday. Great video about small-space gardening.

[@JacindaH]

I did an experiment with my grandbabies to see if our store bought beans were radiated. We used a damp paper towel to see if they germinate and transplanted them into water bottle green houses. Those little plants out performed every store bought seed we used. We did dollar store navy beans, Walmart pintos and some great northern my father gave me from his farm. And Goya brand does not radiate their beens so they're nice to keep on hand for cooking and planting

[@hecatelove9667]

YOUR A MANIAC!!!!!! Get over here on my property and work some magic on my land 😁 GOSH I wish you were my neighbor!!!!!!!

[@corbeau-_-]

hes trying to teach you to be self sufficient... not to be lazy xD

[@BeMyVforever]

@@corbeau-_- ya, but dont lie. Anyone would love to be their neighbours :D

[@Asdayasman]

His a maniac what?

[@mariaschoenfeld]

I love this idea! I am thinking of using the vertical pallet vegetable "garden" as my fence. It will protect my property from the outside, won`t take extra space and will be just great and easy to harvest by simply walking around the property :-)!

[@BZilliA]

Was not expecting the weapon misfire drill!

[@farmervee_yt]

One of the best vegetable walls I've seen.

[@OverlandUnknown]

haha i laughted out loud with your stoppage drill on the staple gun. great video, cheers, Grant.

[@iancooketapia]

Wonderful! Exactly the solution to an idea I had today. Was gonna use the pallet to attach plastic pots to, but this is much better.

[@smkelly68]

Have been devouring your videos Mark, thanks for putting them out there! Family are motivated as well, and chickens about to join us is a suburban block, bayside in Brissie. The tip in this video about the marigolds and possums could be the key for us, as we have lost so much to the possum crew that cruise through. Thanks again!

[@madhen6995]

Really enjoying this series. I live on ten acres, but I recently set up a small guest house for my mother, who used to love to garden, but who is now suffering from some issues that make her mobility an issue. I built a small deck onto her house, and I am taking notes during this series to set up a small accessible (but functional) garden for her! So even if you live on acreage, you might still want to find a way to create a small autonomous food garden!

[@elberthardy961]

Love what you do! I only plant on the days I want to eat... A principle to live by... Grow your food!

[@Kitty_Demonix]

I bet I could make a privacy fence out of these.

[@marieward6273]

I'm making a snack bar for my hens with it

[@CrochetwithClare]

Thanks Mark for another fantastic video. I especially love the one with the little jars, great for apartment living !

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks Clare! It's not surprising you'd be into the "crafty" gardening stuff (like the jar) with your expertise I bet you'd do better! Cheers :)

[@CrochetwithClare]

@@Selfsufficientme thanks for the reply, i know how busy it is getting back to everyone. You are doing such a great job on KZbin and i love your videos and your energy I couldnt remember how long I had been following you, but when you said it was 2 years ago that you decide to do KZbin and made the video about it I knew i followed you before that. Time goes so fast. Keep up the awesome work ! I am into veggie patch gardening so you are a great inspiration with SO many great videos. I get tips and tricks from every single one

[@Noelbluesky]

that jar thing is great for micro greens, how convenient! thanks Mark!

[@Pisti846]

So Terrific, love these videos! This guy really needs to be appointed the Royal Australian Gardener!

[@donabellahardeneravlogs790]

Strongly agree 💯

[@theregalreptile3953]

I have veggy eating lizards! This will be great to grow my own stuff! The pallet thing is awesome because we have a very small yard!

[@ambert.3792]

thumbs up up for the pallet wall alone! i love it!

[@Lillikoi-86]

I just love your video. I have gophers and no snakes so it’s a problem. I’m going to use the pallet wall to keep my garden up without taking up the whole yard with an hour of just watering. The jar with rocks at the bottom is genius! 👏 I have so many jars and thought I just can’t use them because they drown! Keep making videos!!!

[@LintangCahyaningsih8]

I mainly used plastic bottles and glasses as seedling pots. You can make drainage holes in it using a cheap soldering iron, it'll only take seconds. And if you have some extra yarn, you can make holes at the top and hang it. They can also be painted and used for hanging flower/herbs pots

[@TheNeeenha]

In the jar thing...You can use coffee filters for a soil barrier also

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

Yeah it looks like that structure could be easily eroded

[@geministargazer9830]

Aren’t coffee filters made of plastic?

[@toweringmaple2331]

@@geministargazer9830 no, some kind of paper. Its compostable

[@michelledoll3712]

@@geministargazer9830 The reusable ones are sometimes plastic, sometimes metal & plastic. The disposable ones are all paper. I put them in the compost every day, coffee and filter together. My worms think they are quite tasty. You can get them organic, and non-bleached also. Both of those are better for the environment. The brown ones don't make the coffee taste any different, are the same price, and don't produce any dioxin during manufacturing.

[@markaponte7057]

@@michelledoll3712 thanks for the info

[@ArchitPatelAU]

Actually love your idea on re-using the old cans and grow within and control temperature etc

[@cloudt4181]

Nice! Can't wait to use those pallets I was about to get ride of. Only a small portion of my property gets enough sun for a garden space. Yay!

[@lisathiedeman4487]

Wow! 3 weeks later they are doing fabulously well!

[@tunana6950]

This is so beautiful!! You inspire me to start again and rehabilitate my backyard garden, thank you so much for thisss!! Much love from the Philippines! 💕

[@TheStudentStation]

I love the army references and when you bust out the ET.

[@rickgeorge8287]

I really liked this video Mark. Plenty of good ideas and some really helpful facts thrown in as well. As an ex Servicman myself, I enjoyed the out of ammo drill too!!

[@OujiDarkmatter]

Awesome!I just happened to score 8 Pellets today that a really cheap bloke was going to burn in his fire,so I got a call tipping me off just in time-I'll go back this weekend and score some more and repurpose,excellent yet so obvious when you think about it,cheers Mark,there's always jars at the op-shop too

[@AlasdairILoveOxford]

2 minutes 25 seconds in. Mark, what a legend you are!!

[@michaelkaylor6770]

Once a gunfighter, always a gunfighter! HAHAHA, I find myself keeping my finger straight and off the trigger of my drill motor!

[@armouredjester1622]

That's just good trigger discipline, my friend

[@codie119]

This man is a national treasure ✨ bless him and his bloodline 🙏

[@oliverhel9629]

The pallet wall garden ... Genius

[@craig1166]

That grow wall is absolutely amazing!!! I'm making one now cause of that video!! What a sight to have along the sunny fenceline!!

[@AngelGarcia-he2gm]

Really good format this episode. A good mix of comedy and straight to the point effective ways to upcycle. The palletwall was interesting. The mini greenhouse scraps were perfect for me since I live in Southern California and growing things from seed is very challenging due to pests. Keep up the good work Mark, I look forward to more videos on low cost gardening.

[@lamprinedatsika6292]

Hello, Mark. The garden with the pallets is amazing! Very good idea! Well done! 👋 🇬🇷

[@hyperqueenhzm]

You're hilarious 😂 this is my first video of yours and I'm already excited to learn more!

[@compiticny1445]

We used milk/vinegar plastic bottles in the garden also. In the summer we would put small holes in the bottom of the jugs and fill them with water so that during the heat of the day the water would be forced out to keep the soil somewhat moist. When the weather started to cool we would have "new" jugs that would be placed around the tomato plants keeping them warmer at night.

[@gwenbrown8513]

Love the pallet wall! I'm definitely going to try that one!! Thanks for sharing.

[@vanessadiel264]

Definitely gonna try the vertical planting on my salads and radish this year 🥰 thanks for your great ideas

[@katieshikes9708]

I loved this episode so much that I am going to try all three in my new garden. I love that the ideas are so simply an easy to follow, makes me feel like I could actually get it right and be a vegetable gardener! :-D

[@rockjockchick]

For sure!

[@planetfeelgood17]

Great!! Thanks so much. Great tips and just love the palette Creation! Amazing! All very inspiring! Shine On! 😊🍀🌟

[@livelifesurvive6375]

Crazy fun man. 2 thumbs up.

[@antoinettecapell5527]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the pallet wall!

[@bustedkeaton]

Woah that walk up camera work in the first shot was class

[@mickmckean7378]

When the stapler ran out of "ammo" - cock, lock, look - I remember that from my RAAF service with the L1A1. Love your channel Mark, loads of great practical ideas.

[@maryriley7816]

Love the plastic bottle greenhouse ideas.

[@malcolmmeares5162]

G'day mark love watching and learning from your videos your pallet garden what a awesome idea 💡 definitely be giving this a go keep it up

[@SouthpawDavey]

Good tips mate I like the wall that looks great all food for thought. Cheers Dave

[@loujones5388]

Thanks so much for sharing your know how. I have space, but much of it is in shade. I bought a raised bed like you are using and will add the pallet wall to my fence. I have 3 dogs, so raised bed is a must. Great ideas, I am learning a lot from your videos. Be blessed.

[@danicabonine5321]

I absolutely love your idea of turning your compost pile pallet into a grow wall. I'll have to try this next year. Thanks for the great idea!

[@commentername9737]

I like the pallet wall. I wonder how potatoes would do in the pallet. If they would get enough sunlight to survive, you would be able to grow a TON of in a very small footprint. Plant the seed potatoes at the bottom, and then vertically fill as they grow.

[@NOIRIST]

Your videos are very inspirational. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, as always! And greetings from the UK!

[@ltlbnsgarden]

Wow I am digging the pallet planter! I will try to give that a go this upcoming year. Thank you for the great tips friend 😊

[@Rickenaround]

Gold. Pure gold!

[@spiderjerusalem]

Your energy is always great!

[@LizZorab]

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing them :-)

[@mattalderton3723]

Really enjoyed the pallet wall idea I'm going to try it this summer thanks Mark

[@sappysamurai5170]

Love the grow wall and tips to grow in small spaces! You know what we are needing now! 😂

[@AllotmentGrowHow]

The production values on this vid are top drawer mate, all three hacks are cool and have used the jars and greenhouse methods myself. I've seen the pallet method before and you've done an excellent job with yours. Makes me want to have a go with that in the coming growing season. Thanks for the vid. Cheers Adam

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks Adam! I had a bit of help with these vids but I have learned a lot to improve my own production in the future. Cheers mate :)

[@leonardfrykman3431]

G’Day Mark!! Glad you’ve kept your videos up and continued your improvement. Many thanks!

[@tellket]

Love the pallet wall sir. Thank you for the post

[@christinaclarke6974]

That’s the first pallet garden I’ve seen that looks really nice! Nice work, love your videos 👍

[@manopleelaratanaporn7442]

Mark!I love what you did 👍 I’ll copy what you showing 👏👏👏. Thank you 🙏🏻😁