Will this still work?

MSJ 4/21/2011, 3:59 pm

Today I went out to rake the area where my boxes will go. Then we carried a box out to see how it would work against the fence. I thought, "these don't look the same as the ones I've seen on the forum." I got out a ruler and sure enough they are 5 inches high instead of 6". Yikes!

We used the recycled composite lumber so that they would last forever and eco-friendly. I guess I just assumed they would work for grow boxes. Anyway, I have enough invested in these that starting over is not an option. Any ideas? Carrots won't work for sure but will other crops have enough room to put down roots?

I'm glad I haven't planted yet because we just had a heavy duty hail storm with snow expected in the morning.

killjug 4/21/2011, 4:39 pm

That will work fine all finished lumber is smaller than the stated size. A 2x6 is really 5 1/2 x 1 1/2. So your boxes will be deep enough for your plants. The only plant I found that 5 1/2 was not deep enough for was my okra last year but as I live in Texas mine got 8 ft tall and the roots spread all though my box and slowed down some other plants. This year I made a walled off double 2x6 section for okra so it would not steal for its neighbors.

**walshevak** 4/21/2011, 4:42 pm

Since MM tends to settle and most of us are actually growing in about 4", then yes this will work for most things. I would make sure you level your mix all the way to the top, water it in to settle and fill it to the top again. If you have some leftover MM, save it to top off your boxes after they settle. Then keep them filled with good compost between plantings.

Kay

elliephant 4/21/2011, 4:47 pm

killjug wrote:That will work fine all finished lumber is smaller than the stated size. A 2x6 is really 5 1/2 x 1 1/2. So your boxes will be deep enough for your plants. The only plant I found that 5 1/2 was not deep enough for was my okra last year but as I live in Texas mine got 8 ft tall and the roots spread all though my box and slowed down some other plants. This year I made a walled off double 2x6 section for okra so it would not steal for its neighbors.

Gulp. Guess I'm going to have to keep an eye on my okra. First year growing it.

quiltbea 4/21/2011, 4:54 pm

As long as you don't have plywood underneath or weed barrier, I don't see why it wouldn't work even for the deep-rooted things like tomatoes. You can even grow carrots if you loosen the soil down deep enough if your bed is on top of the soil itself.

When Mel started out all he did was lay 'walking boards' around his 4 ft squares so he wouldn't walk on the soil in the bed itself. He just dug down deeper and didn't walk on his soil, ever. He didn't have any boards around his beds til later and his garden was still a beautiful success.

You can always dig a hole deeper than the 5" boards if you don't have concrete or plywood or some other barrier to prevent it. And if you do, there are many crops that can handle the shorter depth.

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