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After reading the "does anyone grow their own crops" thread, I decided I would get some vegetables going. I was a little afraid that it was too late into the season to get some things going. Surprisingly, I had a lot of stuff sprout up 2-3 days after they were planted. I started the seeds in plastic cups, with intention of building a raised planter later. I sourced some wood from a display fixture at work, which made this pretty easy. My original intent was to mount this on casters so that it could be moved around. That may still happen, for the time being it will rest on cinder blocks.
The box measures 34x34x15
I went at the base with a hole saw to create some drain holes for the water
I want to try and keep this gardening project organic. Not knowing what this wood was treated with originally, I didn't want to risk any chemicals leaching into the soil, so I lined the box with 2mil plastic, to prevent any contamination from the sides of the box. I then tacked around the edges of the bottom and cut the plastic away. Then I put some mesh drywall tape over the holes to keep from losing the river rock.
Now its time to fill this thing. It will hold about 10 cu. ft. of soil. I wanted to make sure that water drained properly through the box, so I started with a layer of river rock. This should help keep the drain holes from getting clogged with soil.
Finally, in with the soil. It is a mixture of top soil, mushroom compost, and hummus/manure. I will probably pick up another couple of bags of top soil to top the box off. This is the same mixture that I used to plant the seeds in the plastic cups. Again, trying to keep this organic.
I plan to make a drip irrigation system next week to keep this thing watered. I've got the wood to make another box, however that may be a few weeks down the road.
The box measures 34x34x15
I went at the base with a hole saw to create some drain holes for the water
I want to try and keep this gardening project organic. Not knowing what this wood was treated with originally, I didn't want to risk any chemicals leaching into the soil, so I lined the box with 2mil plastic, to prevent any contamination from the sides of the box. I then tacked around the edges of the bottom and cut the plastic away. Then I put some mesh drywall tape over the holes to keep from losing the river rock.
Now its time to fill this thing. It will hold about 10 cu. ft. of soil. I wanted to make sure that water drained properly through the box, so I started with a layer of river rock. This should help keep the drain holes from getting clogged with soil.
Finally, in with the soil. It is a mixture of top soil, mushroom compost, and hummus/manure. I will probably pick up another couple of bags of top soil to top the box off. This is the same mixture that I used to plant the seeds in the plastic cups. Again, trying to keep this organic.
I plan to make a drip irrigation system next week to keep this thing watered. I've got the wood to make another box, however that may be a few weeks down the road.
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