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home page » greywater system chapter » planterbed detail page ... you are here
Indoor gardening planterbeds and attached greenhouses are the heart of an HTM. Along with green, growing plants there come benefits both practical and spiritual. Sloped glass gives an HTM its unconventional look, but vertical glass simply does not produce as much solar heat gain or allow you to grow crops indoors. Indoor planterbeds and the ability to grow crops year-round in extreme climates is the hallmark of our sustainable design. Indoor planterbeds perform many functions besides being just a great hobby. The staggering volume of wet earth in these planterbeds holds an amazing amount of energy (cooling or heating). This is one of the keys to high thermal mass housing: energy storage. The other main benefit from having indoor planterbeds is the humidity to be gained from plant evapo-transpiration. Mechanical humidifiers are well known for their stale water and problems with bacterial transmission. Plants provide plenty of natural humidification without any need to worry about how pure it is and totally without need for electricity. Proper levels of humidity are guaranteed to make your home more comfortable in the winter through better transmission of energy (hot air holds a great deal more heat than dry air). Plus, your skin will appreciate it and you won't have to worry about shocking your fingertips off every time you reach for a doorknob. Please note that we have gone to above ground planterbeds in most designs to economize and simplify construction. The one shown in following picture is below grade to store even more heat and offer ability to use larger front glazing panels.
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The burlap "fence" shown here along front of below-grade planterbed was a temporary solution to the problem of dog hair in the tomato patch. We replaced it with cobblestone edging bricks for a more finished look. Oh, by the way, if you ever line a hallway or bed with bricks: DON'T SET THEM IN MORTAR. Edging brick cleanup is a lot easier when they're moveable; you just take them outside and hose them off. |
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Here's a look at a south face design sketch which incorporates a shed roof and a full overhang past the sloped glass. Overhang designs still manage to generate full solar gain during the peak heating months while providing generous amounts of shade in the summer. One advantage of this particular overhang design is that the shade cloth can now be hung vertically across the front of the posts instead of horizontally, awning style, out in front of the home. This is but one example of the type of design choices you will have with your HTM. Don't be lead to believe that the home you see on this site is the only design we can provide, there is very little limit to your choices. For example, you'll notice that the roof shown here is sketched as being built with standard BCI joists instead of T&G planks and logs. Please note that this sketch outlines a very deep frostwall. Some parts of the country call for frostwalls to extend up to four feet below the finished grade. | 
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Planterbeds along the south face are an important part of any HTM. They store an amazing amount of heat in the moist soil while providing a rewarding hobby. The planterbed in this sketch can stop at the floor slab or extend all the way down to the bottom of the footer for an even larger thermal storage mass. We do our best to incorporate planterbeds with sloped glass into your design while taking care to avoid overheating the home with such details as shade fabric and roof overhangs.
As shown below, exterior planterbeds are constructed in much the same way as interior planterbeds. These exterior planterbeds have direct roof gutter irrigation in addition to greywater recycling options. Root infiltration is kept to a minimum and the pipes easily installed by simply laying the leach field upon tilled soil and covering with at least six inches of mulch and/or gravel as per local code and/or your sustainable irrigation needs. Bricks under the pipe every couple of feet will help ensure even distribution by keeping the entire "leach field" level. We recommend avoiding a layer of landscaping fabric under the distribution pipes: (fabric under these pipes will help prevent root infiltration, but the resulting bio-mat negates any long-term benefit). One of the best tips we can offer for a low-maintenance, passive irrigation system is to not glue the distribution pipe fittings: this allows you to easily disassemble the field, clean the pipes, and remove any root infiltration.
In the photo below, you can see where we are installing a layer of landscaping fabric above the irrigation pipes to keep weeds from growing in between the trees and shrubs (those sickly looking sticks). The west side planterbed (shown above) was not fitted with landscaping fabric as a comparison. As expected, we found that the landscaping fabric was unnecessary with a deep enough mulch layer to block weed growth. In fact, the landscaping fabric was a nuisance as soon as it started to decompose. For the record, it has been fifteen years and we have not had to dismantle the leach field pipes yet to remove root infiltration. I suspect that it may never be required.
An orchard is typically the best use of greywater - a small tree can easily uptake 15 plus gallons per day and the pipes do not need to be pressurized. Please take this link to a detail page with typical greywater leach field sketches. With this style of system, the drywells are acting as "emergency overflow" leaching pits - the majority of the water is being delivered directly to the trees in your orchard.
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