Training Boxes

[bewildered_nmsu]

I'm thinking about making some training boxes for my trees. Reason being, one of my ceramic training pots fell apart after a frost (luckily the tree is somewhat pot-bound so the root ball didn't fall apart). My question is: Will treated lumber harm my plants? I have a pile of scrap lumber but it's all treated but I'll buy untreated if there's a chance the previous will weaken my plants.

[rainbowgardener]

The simple answer is no, to the extent that there are any risks to treated lumber they are mainly to people who might consume veggies grown say in raised beds made of treated lumber, not to the plants. Anyway new treated lumber is a lot less toxic than it used to be

The long answer is of course slightly more complicated. Here's a good article about it:

[url=https://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:MbdRLs6JrjkJ:cropsoil.psu.edu/Extension/Facts/Treated_Lumber.pdf+will+treated+lumber+harm+plants&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us]garden uses of treated lumber[/url]

basically says it depends a little on the type of plant, acidity of the soil, etc, but risks are minimal.

[bewildered_nmsu]

Thanks a lot, that answers my question about the treated lumber. One more question. Is there a preferred design for grow boxes/training boxes, or is it pretty much what you would expect? If you folks have a preferred design would you mind sharing?

[Gnome]

bewildered,

Here's a picture of one I made a while back.
[url=https://img508.imageshack.us/I/growboxsv9.jpg/][img]https://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8238/growboxsv9.th.jpg[/img][/url]
There are no set dimensions or plans, use what you have and make it large enough to allow for good growth but not so large as to allow soggy soil for long periods.

Feet, in this case the slats, help to provide good drainage. 1/8 screen retains the soil. This one was made from 1x (3/4") material. It was made with untreated pine and is beginning to deteriorate but I got a fair number of years out of it and actually have another plant in it now.

Norm

[bewildered_nmsu]

Thanks Norm. I'm going to be building one to slip pot this tree into ASAP (got a final tomorrow). I think I'll try to build a hexagonal one just for kicks.

[djlen]

bewildered,

This one was made from 1x (3/4") material.

Norm

What is the height of the sides Norm? I'm going to build some over the winter to use with anticipated new plants. I've got a ton of scrap wood and
if they will last 2 or 3 for even more years it's worth the time and effort to build them.
Just not sure of what your above dimensions refer to.

[Gnome]

Len,

It's outside buried under mulch right now. If memory serves it's about 3"-4" high, but it need not be filled completely.

Norm

[toscgwsndiqz]

I use groundcover fabric for the bottom of my boxes or just make a frame and set it on the fabric in a method similiar to the Root Control Bag system


[url]https://www.growit.com/treebag/12reasons.htm[/url]

[url]https://www.growit.com/treebag/rollfabric.htm[/url][/url]

[djlen]

Thanks Norm.