Starting Saturday

For you string users (and clothesline users too):

How do you attach it to the top of your box? I've got 4 more boxes to grid and I hate the wooden lath!

Heidi

I put small screw-eyes around the top edge of my box, then wove the clothesline through those.

model a man wrote:what does ftw mean?

What did it used to mean, boffer?


As for attatching string, I use small roofing nails....with the big heads. You have to be a bit careful with your hands, but you get used to things really fast. If you hammer those nails down to about an 1/8th of an inch from the wood, you escape a lot of snags. And, a decent box of them is pretty inexpensive. Just wrap the string around, and about every third "weave/nail" you put a couple half hitches in the line to cinch things down. Yay boy scouting!

Maybe Boffer's eyes rearrange letters like mine do all the time, switch the f & w.

FarmerValerie wrote:Maybe Boffer's eyes rearrange letters like mine do all the time, switch the f & w.

Waht are you syniag? We dno't see lkie we uesd to tehse dyas?

model a man wrote:yesterday I was at Costco and they sell a raised bed kit made by lifetime...

I found a link to the lifetime raised beds that costco sells and it states that they consulted with Mel on making these raised beds (way to go Mel)
http://blog.lifetime.com/article/356105/lifetimes-new-raised-garden-bed

Hey, thanks for the heads-up on this. That sounds perfect for me. I was going to build mine out of wood, but I've been worried what my neighbors were going to think about how it looks. I'm going to Costco today to check it out.

HPartin wrote:How do you attach it to the top of your box?

I use treated screws the same way BBG uses roofing nails.

I always pounded the nails in too far, so I tried using duplexes (two headed nails) but I didn't like how they poked my hand. With screws, I can easily move them in and out so they're just right.

I meant no disrespect, notice I included myself, it is something I have done all my life, and glasses won't fix it, more than likely its a mild form of dyslexia. I taught myself to speed read, big mistake, I take several letters from a paragraph, reform them and make my own sentences, so I have to slow down when reading.

While speed reading on the forum one day, FarmerValerie posted something funny that she later had doubts about, so to be on the safe side she sat down and wrote:I meant no disrespect, notice I included myself, it is something I have done all my life, and glasses won't fix it, more than likely its a mild form of dyslexia. I taught myself to speed read, big mistake, I take several letters from a paragraph, reform them and make my own sentences, so I have to slow down when reading.

We thought it was funny, how come you changed your mind?!

I use short screws on the sides of the box instead of on top as that way it wont split the wood if you are using 3/4" wood and weave it with one piece of long string. and the last screw that the string goes around I tighten all the way to hold the string from comming loose

And that would save hands and knees from scrapes and bumps too.

Model a man shows us there is always a better way. I like it!

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:Model a man shows us there is always a better way. I like it!

Me too, I did one of these

Okay, now I am cornfused, I thought I was elaborating on my ability to re-arrange letters in words, not changing my mind. Guess my allergy meds are making things worse than they are, sounds like I need a nap. It's not only not nice to mess with Mother Nature, it's not nice to mess with brunette's who should be blondes while they are on allergy meds.... heeheeehee

model a man, I like the screws on the sides.

I'm gonna steal that!

LentilSoup wrote:model a man, I like the screws on the sides.

I'm gonna steal that!

I think we all are....lol.

Wow, great advice everyone! Thank you. Special thanks for the head up on cotton! I think I read somewhere not to post anything about growing "illegal" plants. Just a few days on the board and I am already guilty!

I stopped by Lowes today to pick up some products that HD didn't have. Unfortunately the selection was identical. An early AM visit to Pikes is in order since I have confirmed they have Vermiculite (Pretty darn expensive though) and maybe a compost or two that the other places didn't cary. Also, I found out last minute that I can get FREE compost from my county, so I'll have to make a stop here too.
http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/publicwrks/sanitation/san_ProcessingTransferStations.html

I got a little too impatient tonight and built the box. Just a few minutes and it was done. Very easy! Then, since it was only 9:30, I decided to tackle the issue of the uneven ground with no real plan (I think I just wanted to dig). Looking back, it probably would have been a much better idea to place the box on the ground and then remove some of the earth from under the higher end until it leveled out. Maybe remove some of that higher ground that was inside of the box or just level the inside. Now I have a giant hole in the ground of soft earth and an aching back. I'll have to figure out a solution tomorrow.

model a man wrote:yesterday I was at Costco and they sell a raised bed kit made by lifetime. It is made of some kind of thick plastic and comes with what looks like a clear drop cloth to cover the top with. it states you need to supply the weed block cloth and compost mix. it 4'x4' and cost is $99.99. this may help some who lack building skills and building tools. I just looked at the photos I took with my phone and the box states you get 2 4'x4' raised boxes and at my costco the item # is 545587. if I figure out how to get the pictures from my phone to my computer I will post the pictures
I found a link to the lifetime raised beds that costco sells and it states that they consulted with Mel on making these raised beds (way to go Mel)
http://blog.lifetime.com/article/356105/lifetimes-new-raised-garden-bed

I saw these at Costco too. My husband really liked them, I think because they are a little easier to put together than the 4X4 redwood boxes we built last summer. We may try one......or two. We liked the little tent thingie.

Welcome to the forum, Darold. Your plans are shaping up great.

The only problem I see is if you are planning to garden organically, you shouldn't use peat moss with chemical fertilizer added. If that doesn't matter to you, then it should be fine.

We buy our peat moss at a local garden center in compressed bales. It has no chemicals added.

Keep us posted on how your garden grows.

Darold, take care of that back, that is what sidelined me last year for 3 whole months, all I could do is look out the window from July till October. Hot baths, those IcyHot pads that you stick on are great, and make sure you work smarter, not harder. Chalk this episode up to learning a lesson, and take the time to use the most important thing you have, your brain instead of brawn.

We would love to see pictures of your progress!

darold wrote:Wow, great advice everyone! Thank you. Special thanks for the head up on cotton! I think I read somewhere not to post anything about growing "illegal" plants. Just a few days on the board and I am already guilty!

(snip)

I got a little too impatient tonight and built the box. Just a few minutes and it was done. Very easy! Then, since it was only 9:30, I decided to tackle the issue of the uneven ground with no real plan (I think I just wanted to dig).

Welcome re: the cotton. It's worthwhile that it got talked about, so other people know, too!

As for the unleveled box...as long as you are not on a huge slope, you could get some of those 1x2 wood garden stakes and level the box by putting the stakes in the ground and then drilling through the box into the stakes. If the gap at the bottom isn't huge, your Mix may spill out a bit at first but the pressure will eventually stop itself up naturally. I had a few bigger gaps, pictures below show what I did with it.

Big gap (with timbers pulled up so it looks worse than it is; note Nth bucket of sod yanked)


All better


Another gap


Another patch



That second patch was pretty ugly to start with. I had to scoot the timber to the outside edge of the 2x to maintain the internal dimension of the box and it bulged on the outside. Plus it wasn't a perfect fit and I tucked a piece of lawn edging in as well to try to keep it all together. However, that whole area ended up covered with landscaping fabric and bark mulch, so it is almost invisible now. I could probably pull out the edging now, but why bother?

Woke up early, and headed out for Vermiculite, compost, and tarp.


Home Depot had these for sale:




Supplies all lined up




Box placed in position to get an idea of size and how level the ground is. As you can see, I've decided to place it on the side with more sun.





I just wish I hadn't played in the dirt last night. Now I have this on the other side to deal with:



Removed the bushes that were in the way and dug some space out under the boards to make the box level.




Mixing the compost:



Everything mixed up and weed barrier in place




At this point of filling the bed, I began to worry that I didn't make enough mix.



And here is the final product.



Although I used the calculator, I feel that I should have another inch or two of mix. Also, this last photo was taken around noon. As you can see, there isn't much sun. Worse, I returned home around 5pm and the planter was in the shade by then too. I hope the shade shrinks as the summer approaches. I'm concerned all this work was done in vain. Overall it was not a lot of work if you subtract the digging around for no reason last night. I throughly enjoyed the experience.

Update:


I apparently didn't know how to use the calculator. When I used it on my phone I didn't press "enter" to update the numbers. So, instead of purchasing 6.2 cu ft of each item, I bought about 4cu ft. ugh.

Mixing is so much fun. Don't forget your Mix will settle, too. A few run-backs to the store are probably par for the course. Looks GREAT so far!