My first bubble SIP

It's still cool here.  It's in the 50s right now, although it's been warmer already, and last night was 28 degrees.  I still can't put out my tomatoes and peppers overnight.  I figure in a couple more weeks I can.  I did plant some red onions in one of the raised beds between the herbs and the cucumbers yesterday.

Now about the SIP.  It stands for Sub-Irrigated Planter.  A bubble SIP is a planter without any drain holes in it.  The plants get oxygen from a reservoir at the bottom of the planter.  To learn more about bubble SIPs and SIPs in general, go to Inside Urban Green to learn all about them.  I used a blue plastic  box for mine, and put two of my Cubanelle pepper plants in it.  I  can still bring it in at night if need be, and can move it around the garden (yard) as I see fit.  I grew Cubanelles last year and really liked them.  They look like Anaheim peppers except that they are sweet instead of hot.  They're great for salads.

I'm sold on sub-irrigation after last year.  My Grow boxes worked great.  My rain gutter system is set up and waiting for the plants.  Maybe next year I will convert the raised beds to sub-irrigation too.

Here's a photo of the bubble SIP that I made.  It has two reservoirs in it, made from lunch meat containers from Sam's Club.  I drilled a bunch of holes in them and used a couple of Sparkling Ice bottles to make the water spout.

My bubble SIP and the rest of the plants are inside right now because it's cool and windy outside.  I'm getting them used to the outdoor weather, but only a little at a time.