1. Prepare the ground

The biggest considerations for creating a pad in which to place your potted plants and benchbot is how compacted the ground is. Depending on the ground you are starting from, you will have different things to consider. 

Scenario 1: Starting from a lawn 

• Remove existing weeds and undesirable vegetation (for ideal scenario, remove the top 6–10 inches of material, making sure to remove all organic material). 

• Comb and the soil adding a hard compactible layer of material (crush and run is a good recommendation) 

• Rake and level the soil making sure you create a small slope as you move away from the center of the pad you are creating, pay attention to where you want the water to flow when rain occurs. 

Scenario 2: Pre-compacted ground

• Make sure the soil is compacted and level with the same considerations as before, creating a small incline, so the water can run from the surface of the ground. 

• Make sure there are not any big holes across the surface so your benchbot can move free of any obstructions on a smooth surface. 

• If needed, lay a small layer of crush and run to accomplish the desire slope on the ground. 

Scenario 3: Using gravel instead of crush and run

Another alternative that can be used when creating your pad is to use gravel instead of crush and run. For this setup you will still remove any organic material from the ground prior to laying the plastic or landscape fabric. Using this method may compromise the plastic under the gravel but could be and easier alternative. 

• Remove organic material from the ground (if your ground is fairly compacted but still has vegetation on top of it this could also work). 

• Lay  black plastic on top of the recently clear ground. 

• Add 2–4 inches of gravel on top the plastic

2. Establish a weed prevention layer (Scenarios 1 and 2)

Once your ground has been established and a good level of compaction has been achieved, it is time to lay plastic and landscape fabric.

Crush and run setup

I recommend that you used black plastic as your first layer of protection against weeds.  

• Roll out the plastic, making sure you overlap the plastic and use small pins to secure it in place. Make sure the plastic is pulled tight around all edges before securing to the ground. 

• After securing the plastic to the ground lay a layer of landscape fabric secure using same pins as recommended before. 

• Once you are happy with your layout, use landscape pins (or big nails)  to permanently secure both the plastic and fabric to the ground. For best results, add a big washer for more surface are being secure. 

Gravel setup

• Add a layer of landscape fabric  on top of the gravel and safely secure it to the ground, in this case you already have the plastic layer under the gravel.

3. Watering system

Other considerations for your pad layout is irrigation. All pipes should be run on top of the ground, as that would allow for easier maintenance down the line. Schedule 40 or higher would provide better results as it would last longer under the sun.