Tom Peele Makes a Garden Flourish on the Gateway to Detroit

​From the Grosse Pointe News ...
By Jody McVeigh, Editor
Mary Fodell’s brother, Tom Peelle, has been hard at work making improvements to the Edible Garden.
He recently built two large wicking beds, which are raised garden beds built over a water reservoir of the same size, allowing the plants in the bed to absorb water at a natural rate, even if the surrounding soil is dry. Or, in the case of one of Full Circle’s beds, if it rests on a concrete parking lot.
“There’s a reservoir with 4 1/2 inches of water underneath,” Peelle said. “A pond liner goes up halfway, then I put tubes down, which provide a way for there to be 150 to 200 gallons of water underneath the dirt.”
A layer of straw and sand are added beneath the actual garden, helping wick water up to the plants’ roots.
“And if it’s raining a lot, there’s a drain so it never floods.”
Currently, Peelle and a team of Eagle Scouts are building composting bioreactors that involve fungal-based compost as opposed to bacteria-based compost.
“All the major compost people are switching their beds to this type,” Peelle said. “You don’t have to turn it. It’s neat. You just load in the chicken (waste), then the organics. There’s a wire screen in the bottom that keeps rodents out. The idea is to have all the compost within a foot of air, which allows the air to penetrate constantly. It’s healthier than bacteria-based compost. Plants need fungus in their soil. It’s easy and it’s neat and it’s faster. And it’s not smelly.”
Peelle’s plans for the Edible Garden don’t stop with his latest offerings.
“I want a hoop house next year, with our own well and drip watering system,” he said. “I want this to be all organic and self-sustaining, where we’re not using city water or electricity from the outside.
“And if the chickens do too good, I want to add rabbit hutches,” he added.
#EdibleGarden #TomPeelle #MaryFodell #RiverviewHealth #FullCircle #WickingBeds #FungalCompost #OrganicFarming #SustainableLiving #EagleScouts #CommunityGarden #UrbanAgriculture #HoopHouse #RabbitHutch #ChickenCoop #CompostRevolution #GardenInnovation #fullcirclefoundation— at Full Circle Foundation.