DIY web site Instructables details how to keep your plants healthy by building a self-watering planter from a couple of plastic IKEA storage boxes. The concept is simple. Two boxes are nested inside one another; the bottom box holds the water, and wicks made from string carry the water into the top portion, where the soil and plants live. All you need to do is make sure the bottom portion has enough water, and the rest should take care of itself. If your forgetful green thumb tends to turn things brown, this self-watering planter might be the perfect project. If you're looking to go really advanced, check out how to build an automated drip watering system.

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The Home Green Home blog demonstrates how you can build a garden bed from old packing pallets -- and all this in a space barely 4 metres by 4 metres. In our recent discussion about how big Australian houses need to be, one reader argued that a big backyard was essential for growing vegetables. This video shows that compact living is not necessarily incompatible with a green thumb and a copious supply of salad.

Recycled Garden Bed [Home Green Home]

Webapp MyFolia organizes and tracks your garden's progress using all the current "Web 2.0" tools out there—tags, a wiki, Google maps, and social networking. Sign up for an account at MyFolia to:

• Track your gardening progress - list your current plants with planting dates, track your seed stashes and note down your wish list plants.
• Share your garden with others and check out what other gardeners are growing near you.
• See who else is growing the same things you are - see their photos, read their journal entries and even leave them a comment or two!
• Join a gardening group (or start your own!) about any gardening topic under the sun.

Even if you're not a gardener yourself, you can check out other people's flowers and vegetables by just surfing the tags at MyFolia. Do you keep a gardening journal? How do you do it? Tell us about your Getting Gardening Done system in the comments.

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Wired's How-To Wiki guides newcomers gently into the soft terrain of composting, a great way to recycle biodegradable goods and create some of the best growing soil around. You can get started with something as simple and low-cost as a trash bag, the authors note:

Just fill it up with a good mixture of browns (paper and plant pieces) and greens (kitchen scraps), soak it down, punch a few air holes and wait three months. Viola! Compost.

The wiki has more detailed advice for those who want to keep a tidier pile, or learn more about what makes for great material—one easy-to-find example, as previously posted, is non-glossy, low-colour junk mail. Are you composting? What's your setup? Let us know in the comments. Photo by normanack.

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Spring brings with it eager thoughts of planting for gardeners, along with ominous thoughts of keeping weeds at bay. If you're planning on using pre-potted plants or want to protect an entire area from the ever-growing menace, try corn meal, according to the This Garden is Illegal blog:

Corn Gluten is a pre-emergent, which is a fancy way of saying that is it is a seed birth-control. Corn meal scattered around an area will keep any seed in that area from growing into a plant. This means a weed seed or a desirable seed. This method is a good option for areas that you plan on planting grown plants in.

Hit the link for six more ways to kill unwanted growth in your garden, and share your own weed-stomping tips in the comments. Photo by Cyrstl.

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A wall-hanging plant holder makes growing plants in your cramped apartment a realistic endeavour, but there's a catch. As is, the plant wall retails for a steep $250—which is why this one's labelled as a weekend project. From the little schematic included on the image from the web site (above), a fearless DIYer could tackle this one for a fraction of the asking price. Whatever you choose, this wall-hanging plant holder could be perfect for indoor or outdoor use, and is reminiscent of the previously mentioned upside-down tomato planter.

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