Phytodrift – Floating Treatment Garden

What is a Phytodrift – Floating Treatment Garden?

Essentially, a Phytodrift is a platform used to grow vegetables while filtering the water of excess nutrients.

In this case, the platform is created with woodchips as a substrate, which are held together by a jute sack and surrounded by plastic bottles for flotation. The garden is placed on a waterbody. On this platform, plants are grown. Their roots hold onto the substrate and reach through the bottom of the platform into the water below. Gaining their essential nutrients from the lake water vegetables grow and can be consumed after harvesting.

Besides sustainable and minimal-maintenance farming, another benefit of these floating gardens is water filtration. Nitrogen and phosphorus, the nutrients consumed by the planted vegetables, are the main culprits behind a phenomenon called algal blooms that plague lakes and seas globally.

Usually, native plants are used to achieve this filtration effect, on similar islands called Floating Treatment Wetlands. However, the idea of Phytodrift is additionally having the benefit of being able to grow vegetables on them; satisfying two needs in one.

The materials used here are surplus, like jute bags from coffee roasteries and woodchips from the forest Industry, as well as plastic bottles that form the border of the floating islands. Keep this in mind when recreating a Phytodrift to ensure it stays as sustainable as possible.

Disclaimer: Always check the status of the waterbody in question to make sure it is not heavily polluted. If it is heavily polluted with chemicals or heavy metals etc. you should not grow vegetables on them as they may contain these pollutants. If you aren't sure about it you can send your first batch of vegetables to a lab to check them for contaminants, otherwise, you can also plant native species on them which helps filter the water as well and enhances biodiversity!

Find out more about this project or follow an illustrated version of the instructions in the following Guide:

1. Jute Sack
2. Substrate e.g. Wood chips ca. 4,2L (You could also use straw)
3. 6x 500ml Plastic bottle with Lid
4. Needle & Thread / Sewing Machine
5. 6x Pins
6. Pen / Chalk / Bar of soap to mark the fabric
7. Scissors
8. Seed from a vegetable (Check the pdf in step one to see which vegetables are most likely to flourish)
9. Seeding Mix Soil
10. Empty Kitchen roll
11. Tape
12. Stick / Similar tool to poke a hole
13. Jute rope
14. Pattern printed on 4x A3 sheets of paper

You can download and print out the pattern here:

Start by planting the seed of a vegetable of your choice in soil. The plant needs approximately one month's worth of growth before being planted in the Phytodrift. You can also use any previously planted seedlings to transplant into your Phytodrift if they are around 8 cm tall.

What you need for this Step:

1. Empty kitchen roll
2. Scissors
3. Seed starting soil
4. Seed from a vegetable of your choice

1. You can follow these instructions to make your plant pot out of surplus materials:
2. Cut an empty kitchen towel roll in half
3. Cut 4x ca. 2cm long slits in it
4. Fold the sides inwards
5. Fill it with your seed starting soil
6. Plant the seed as you normally would
7. Let it grow for a month or more and don't forget to water it!

What you need for this Step:

1. Pattern printed on 4x A3 sheets of paper
2. Scissors
3. Tape

1. Print out the pattern on 4x A3 papers
2. Arrange them to fit together
3. Tape them together
4. Cut around the pattern on the outermost line
5. Cut out the inside of the pattern

What you need for this Step:

1. Jute Sack
2. 6x Pins
3. Pen / Chalk / Bar of soap to mark the fabric
4. Pattern

1. Pin the pattern to a flattened jute sack
2. Make sure the pins go through the paper pattern as well as both sides of the jute sack
3. Trace the outlines of the pattern onto the sack with a pen, a piece of chalk, or a bar of soap
4. Fold the edges of the outer side of the pattern inwards along the dashed line like seen in the picture
5. Trace the outline of the pattern once again
6. Remove the pattern and pin the two sides of the jute sack together to keep them in place

What you need for this Step:

1. Jute Sack
2. Needle & Thread / Sewing Machine
3. 6x Pins
4. Pattern as guide

1. Cut around the outermost outline on the jute sack
2. Sew along the outlines marked with a black dashed line in the pattern
3. Leaving one side open like instructed in the pattern, so that two “pockets“ are created

What you need for this Step:

1. Jute Sack
2. Substrate e.g. Wood chips ca. 4,2L (You could also use straw)
3. 6x 500ml Plastic bottle with Lid
4. Needle & Thread / Sewing Machine
5. 6x Pins

1. Fill the inner pocket with woodchips
2. Sew along the inner dashed line to enclose the woodchips
3. Remove the labels of the plastic bottles and make sure their lid is screwed on tight
4. Fill the outer pocket with empty plastic bottles, one per side
5. Sew the last dashed line by hand to enclose the bottles
6. Great, you now own a Phytodrift!

What you need for this Step:

1. Phytodrift
2. Scissors
3. Stick / Similar tool to poke a hole
4. Seedling from step one e.g. mint

1. To plant in your Phytodrift, use a stick or similar tool to poke a hole in the middle of it
2. If the opening isn’t wide enough, you can cut a tiny piece out
3. Take your seedling out of its pot
4. Carefully plant the seedling with its roots first into the hole

What you need for this Step:

1. Phytodrift
2. Stick / Similar tool to poke a hole
3. Jute rope

1. To make the harvesting easier tie a rope to the Phytodrift
2. Poke a hole at one corner of the Phytodrift
3. Thread the rope through the hole
4. Tie a double half hitch or similar knot to secure the rope
5. Make sure you anchor the Phytodrift by tying the other end of the rope to a post on land
6. Put your Phytodrift on a waterbody of your choice! Remember to check the water quality before; read disclaimer in the Introduction
7. Once your plant is ready to harvest you can pull the Phytodrift by the rope on land
8. Harvest your vegetable like you normally would and reuse the Phytodrift after!

Great! You now own a functioning Phytodrift – Floating Treatment Garden. Enjoy your vegetables and your less polluted waterbody!