August 2023
The radishes at Hudson Guild sprouted
A few weeks after planting, the radishes were up and close to harvest, on a bed nobody had to water daily.
Partners · Manhattan, Chelsea
Hudson Guild
We built our first Auto-Watering Planter with members of the Fulton Senior Center, who maintain it themselves.
Since 2021 · Active · Program & Community Engagement Coordinator
- What we delivered
- Custom Auto-Watering Planter
- Growing now
- Bell peppers and radishes
- Size
- 3 ft x 2.5 ft, indoor
- Who uses it
- Fulton Senior Center members and residents
Work with Hudson Guild began in 2021. We prototyped with residents and program directors at the Fulton Senior Center for more than a year before delivering the first Auto-Watering Planter in early June 2023.
Residents maintain the planter themselves. They have grown bell peppers and radishes in it. The feedback we hear most is about the routine of tending it rather than the produce — and several members have since asked whether they could have a planter of their own at home.
In late 2025 and early 2026 we opened a second thread with Hudson Guild: exploratory conversations about older-adult programming at 119 Ninth Avenue and 441 West 26th Street, including a virtual meeting. Nothing is scheduled yet — this page will say so when something is.
Field log
Progress log
July 2023
Checking in on the planter and meeting with seniors
We met with members to see how the planter was holding up, replanted radishes, and talked about the sub-irrigation systems we planned to build for other community centers.
July 2023
Filling and planting the first planter
Filling the sub-irrigation system with water through the corner access pipe, then planting it out for the first time.
June 2023
Delivering and setting up the first planter
We delivered the planter to the Hudson Guild Fulton Senior Center and set it up in the common room with the residents who had been prototyping it with us.