For those who want to try Jon Traunfeld's movable garden, the table and trays are simple to make out of untreated framing lumber, a bit of wire mesh and window screening, and some nails, wood screws and staples. Find a handsaw, hammer and drill and you're all set. Directions can be found at hgic.umd.edu, under online publications, on growing greens with salad tables and salad boxes. The table costs about $35 to make; the tray, $8.
Traunfeld also is recycling another ubiquitous item: the 5-gallon white plastic bucket used for bulk food, which bakeries, delis and restaurants are happy to give away. Instead of just drilling holes in the bottom and filling with compost and potting soil -- perfect for tomato plants with deep roots -- Traunfeld turns them into self-watering containers.
It's not complicated: just a series of trimming this and sawing that and drilling holes here and there. Directions for the self-watering container can be found at hgic.umd.edu, under online publications, on container vegetable gardening.
