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Re: Indoor garden foundation

One are of possible concern for the foundation is that you are going to be
allowing water right in the center. This is not typical.

Take a look at earthships (do a web search). They have giant planters that
are built into the south face of the building, which is all glass. They are
watered with the "greywater" coming from showers, sinks, etc. (not from
toliets). The modification in reponse to health codes has lead to completly
closed growing areas (i.e. a very big deep cement planter built into the
floor instead of just a hole in the floor).

I'm planning on having a big greywater planter in the house I build
starting this summer...

----------
> From: Bob Kirk <reikirk@ksu.edu>
> To: Indoor Gardening <indoor-gardening@prairienet.org>
> Subject: Re: Indoor garden foundation
> Date: Thursday, March 26, 1998 12:20 PM
> 
> > I am currently building a 2 floor concrete house, on the slope of a
> mountain and I want to install a small indoor garden right in the middle
of
> the house. I have specified to the contractor to make a 2mt by 2.5 mt
room
> that is completely enclosed by wall and windows. On the top of the roof I
> have installed a window which will be used for ventilation and light.
> However, I am worried about the type of foundation that should be
required
> for these construction. I  worry about handling the humidity, and the
> irrigation system to avoid water from building up.
> My contractor tells me that a concrete base is necessary to prevent the
> soil from sinking. I really don't understand that. If it is indeed
> necessary, approximately how deep should the base be so that I have
enough
> space for the roots to grow?
> >
>    Is this *right in the middle of the house* atrium-style? On the ground
> floor, apparently? In that case unless you're in tropical latitudes it's
> going to be like growing plants in a 6.5x8' airshaft - maybe a tree or a
> couple of vines to reach for the light and make a leafy canopy (nice
idea,
> actually) plus some extremely low-light stuff at ground level... won't
> require enough water to worry about.
>    If it's open to the soil, no problem: that's not going to sink anymore
> than the soil outside sinks without concrete under it. Though gravel or
> concrete where there isn't soil might be nicer. But where _isn't there
> going to be soil? Put a 2' walk in this and you're down to 4.5' of beds -
> again, it sounds impracticably small.
> 
>    Maybe the whole building has an elaborate drainage system to prevent
it
> sliding down the mountain, and a concrete drainage subfloor could be
plumbed
> into that?  What it _ought_ to have is construction that would prevent
that
> in the worst case - you can't drain the whole mountainside in any event -
> and if it does, the small amount of drainage from a carefully-watered
plant 
> room this size, even under the middle of the house, isn't going to
matter.
>  
>    Likewise humidity: you'll have to get some air movement in a space
like
> this, which an overhead window isn't going to provide, and the house can
> almost certainly use as much humidity as a small plant room would give
off,
> and more. 
> 
>    "Surrounded by wall and windows"?? If this is just intended as a large
> indoor planter, I'd suggest a plexi/or/glass cubicle with concealed arti-
> ficial lighting, which would grow better plants, display them better, and
> be no more expensive than structural work. If you want something like
that
> open to the soil (as in shopping malls) a shallow freestanding foundation
> well would still be desirable to direct drainage some distance below the 
> immediate floor and footings, and come to think of it that may be what
> the contractor is saying.
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