Can any one give me a few hints on building garden boxes?
Can I use any material (ie plywood) or will the chemicals from the plywood soak into the soil and thus the vegies?
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yooper,
How large of boxes are we talking? Small ones could be made from free pallets. We use Douglas fir for large client boxes.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC01735.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC01738.jpg[/img]
I'm thinking OSB and plywood would not last long. Some use pressure treated (new formula) I will not.
Eric
How large of boxes are we talking? Small ones could be made from free pallets. We use Douglas fir for large client boxes.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC01735.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC01738.jpg[/img]
I'm thinking OSB and plywood would not last long. Some use pressure treated (new formula) I will not.
Eric
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Agree with Eric, plywood boxes won't last very long. The last place I lived, I built raised beds out of 2"x12" boards (not plywood), braced the corners and the sides. They still were rotting and falling apart in just a few years.
Here's what I have now:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=105961&highlight=raised+beds#105961
They are stacked 4"x4" pine fence posts, held together with steel rebar (drill a hole all the way down the stack once it's assembled and pound the rebar in). They are about 9 yrs old now and doing great. The fence posts are less expensive than boards.
Otherwise you can use concrete blocks or anything else you have available.
Here's what I have now:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=105961&highlight=raised+beds#105961
They are stacked 4"x4" pine fence posts, held together with steel rebar (drill a hole all the way down the stack once it's assembled and pound the rebar in). They are about 9 yrs old now and doing great. The fence posts are less expensive than boards.
Otherwise you can use concrete blocks or anything else you have available.
Well those lovely raised beds put mine to shame!
My hubby built my boxes out of free wood
[img]https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vA3amsl86mU/TFBikb8lmNI/AAAAAAAAAP8/lw0-A6Nsw1Q/s320/DSC_0023+%282%29.JPG[/img]
The construction guys will cut 2" off a 2x4 for the 2" and chuck the rest out; because it costs more money to move the wood to a new site then to just buy more (at the customer's expense) they usually burn it. They were more then happy to give us a couple truck-loads.
That's also how I got my potato box (it had pipe-fittings)
[img]https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vA3amsl86mU/TFBRNKP87LI/AAAAAAAAAO8/hWX7JWhoKCo/s320/DSC_0028.JPG[/img]
My compost bin is made from pallets.
Where I got my information on pressure-treated lumber in garden beds:
[url]https://borntofarm.com/gyg-016-is-pressure-treated-wood-ok-for-raised-beds-slugs-and-some-cautions-about-the-web/[/url]
Where he got his:
[url]https://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/pressure-treated-wood-in-beds.aspx[/url]
In that past you really couldn't, but now they use different chemicals in the pressure treating.
My hubby built my boxes out of free wood
[img]https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vA3amsl86mU/TFBikb8lmNI/AAAAAAAAAP8/lw0-A6Nsw1Q/s320/DSC_0023+%282%29.JPG[/img]
The construction guys will cut 2" off a 2x4 for the 2" and chuck the rest out; because it costs more money to move the wood to a new site then to just buy more (at the customer's expense) they usually burn it. They were more then happy to give us a couple truck-loads.
That's also how I got my potato box (it had pipe-fittings)
[img]https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vA3amsl86mU/TFBRNKP87LI/AAAAAAAAAO8/hWX7JWhoKCo/s320/DSC_0028.JPG[/img]
My compost bin is made from pallets.
Where I got my information on pressure-treated lumber in garden beds:
[url]https://borntofarm.com/gyg-016-is-pressure-treated-wood-ok-for-raised-beds-slugs-and-some-cautions-about-the-web/[/url]
Where he got his:
[url]https://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/pressure-treated-wood-in-beds.aspx[/url]
In that past you really couldn't, but now they use different chemicals in the pressure treating.
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lakngulf,
Here is a youtube video on one and looks like there are many more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4S0O5JUb-k&feature=related.
Check out your lumber yards. They usually have a pile of free pallets. Also look to see if they have metal roofing crates. These are usually 2 to 3 feet wide and 12 feet long. Also free at our lumber yard.
Eric
Here is a youtube video on one and looks like there are many more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4S0O5JUb-k&feature=related.
Check out your lumber yards. They usually have a pile of free pallets. Also look to see if they have metal roofing crates. These are usually 2 to 3 feet wide and 12 feet long. Also free at our lumber yard.
Eric
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My son is making a planter so he can do his gardening merit badge for boy scouts. He will be stapling old fence posts cut to about 18" long each to long 2X4's he will make 2 at 8 foot and 2 at 4 foot and then put them together to make a bed that's 4'X8'. I am hoping that he will think to put the fence posts to the inside and the 2x4's to the outside so that the soil will push against the boards towards the 2x4's and not end up pushing the fence posts out if he does it with the fence posts facing out. I know that this may not last more than a couple of years but he only needs it to last the one season. He also needs his garden to be separate from mine. Of course he also needs to make a compost bin and maintain it for 3 months.
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Thanks for the video. I have a good source for pallets, just wanted to understand ways to use them. I like it and will give it a try.DoubleDogFarm wrote:lakngulf, Here is a youtube video on one and looks like there are many more.
Check out your lumber yards. They usually have a pile of free pallets. Also look to see if they have metal roofing crates. These are usually 2 to 3 feet wide and 12 feet long. Also free at our lumber yard. Eric
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DoubleDogFarm wrote:yooper,
How large of boxes are we talking? Small ones could be made from free pallets. We use Douglas fir for large client boxes.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC01735.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/DSC01738.jpg[/img]
I'm thinking OSB and plywood would not last long. Some use pressure treated (new formula) I will not.
Eric
What did you coat the Douglas fir in to deter animals, rotting, etc? I've heard soy oil or linseed oil, but I don't think that deters insects. I don't care that it only lasts a few years, I'm more concerned about bugs.
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