Old Corn Elevator Turned Into Raised Irrigated Garden

Old Corn Elevator Turned Into Raised Irrigated Garden AG WORLD 31-2-22 After having hip replacement surgery, George Reisner, Jewett, Ill., decided to make his gardening easier as he moved into retirement. He came up with the idea of mounting an old ear corn elevator at waist level to reduce the need to bend over. He set the elevator on a base of concrete blocks. In all, he uses 120 ft. of elevator in his gardening efforts. He raises a full line of garden crops in the elevators, including lettuce, strawberries, green beans, and cucumbers. "It lets me pick strawberries, green beans, and other labor intensive crops level with my chest. I got the idea when I quit feeding cattle. I had a big manure pit and a big concrete floor that I wasn't using." He cut the drag chains out of the elevator sections and lined the bottom with 18-in. dia. plastic field tile, cut in half. He ran a length of 1 1/2-in. dia. plastic pipe along the bottom, into which he bored holes every 20 to 24 in. to allow water to percolate out into the soil. The pipe is hooked up to a hydrant at one end of the elevator. Then he filled the tile with decomposed cow manure. "The concrete lot is set on a slight slope, so excess water runs down off one end of the tile and onto the concrete floor. There's very little wasted water," notes Reisner. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, George Reisner, 7409 E. 2050 Ave., Jewett, Ill. 62436 (ph 217 683-2318).

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