Cheap plastic 2x3 boxes

Well it doesn't look that impressive but here they are. I had my list of supplies in hand along with the costs to build my boxes... and then I saw these for $13 each. Heavy duty plastic tubs that are typically used to mix cement in, each one measures 3ft x 2ft x 8in. This is 3 squares bigger at half the cost of my original plan. As for what I filled them with... lol... i grabbed like 7 different things... peat moss, compost, verm. AND perl. potting soil, a bag labeled potting soil that was actually compost and a bag of miracle grow with "moisture crystals" .... I put a half bag in each one and mixed it all up.

Seedlings have sprouted(not in boxes yet).. I just need finish up the trellis thing I started making (green poles) In the background that stump is a mulberry tree we have been trying to kill off for several years. This year I will kill every little sprout that DARES to grow.

[img]https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/[/img]

That looks good , did you drill a load of holes in the floor of the trays to allow for drainage ?????



If not you really ought to , for plants don't like stale water at the bottom of the tray around their feet.

B Maier.....Welcome to the forum. That's what I call bargain-hunting. You did good. Yes, be SURE to drill drainage holes, several, in the bottoms of those boxes. You've made your start. Good luck.

Yup... the bottom had 1/4 inch trenches and I had my hubby drill a dozen or so pencil thick holes in the bottom at those low points. In hindsight I SHOULD have made these into tabletops because I have an industrial quaility folding table in my basement (the kind they use at schools) But no biggie I can use that next year if this year goes well for me.

Wow those look good !! WHere'd you score those ??

Score! Those will work great! I was going to make a couple of little beds for my girls to each call their own; maybe I'll go this route. Please do share price and where purchased?

Menards, but any building supplier will have them in the same area they keep bags of cement. You can even order them online... search for "cement mixing tub"

I googled it and found this as well ... lucky ducks! Lots of uses for these things.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_19252-1569-ST3608_?PL=1&productId=1226689

At Lowe's the EXACT tub I have.

I have seen mention of a larger sized tub... but I haven't found a source for them. My lazy butt does NOT want to build boxes if I can buy a plastic one fairly cheaply. So far I have only seen a picture of one being used as a trailer (not kidding, it is that big)

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ais-hp.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P1050472.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ais-hp.com/blog/&usg=__HGbpkg_GrtaxWMUJawD8PgOh2rk=&h=1920&w=2560&sz=2481&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&tbnid=iy3b9aVkJSrRlM:&tbnh=146&tbnw=195&ei=wyRpT8ipDZH1ggeC_JW-CQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcement%2Bmixing%2Btub%2Bgarden%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26imgrefurl%3Dhttp://ais-hp.com/blog/%253Fm%253D201109%26imgurl%3Dhttp://ais-hp.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P1050472.jpg%26w%3D2560%26h%3D1920%26sig%3D112435269269742359455%26ndsp%3D16%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D703%26tbs%3Dsimg:CAQSEgmLLdv1pWQlKiHKg3hdb0wfwg%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=171&sig=112435269269742359455&page=1&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=89&ty=74

B maier wrote:Menards, but any building supplier will have them in the same area they keep bags of cement. You can even order them online... search for "cement mixing tub"

I googled it and found this as well ... lucky ducks! Lots of uses for these things.

Yup. That's what I use for our Call Ducks

I'm thinking since these have a lip all around the edge, they would be super easy to make stands for to use as a table top garden.

Those look like they will work well.

Why didn't you just cut the whole bottom out of them?

1. cutting the bottom out would be more work than I want to do

2. I can move them if I want to by sliding them across the ground because there is a bottom

3. If I get ambitious I could turn them into a tabletop as the poster above you mentioned

yeah.... ignore #2 & #3 because it was mostly #1

I discovered these at both Lowe's and Home Depot last week and was wondering how well they'd work for my first SFG. So happy to know they'll work just fine!!!

Question: I want them to be TTs instead of on the ground. So which would be the best way to support them? I'm thinking of either this all aluminum folding camp table (load limit 100# and height adjustable 21" to 27") or this less expensive folding table with self-storing legs (load limit 200#) where the tub would stick out about 6" on the 3 ft side.

Any thoughts?

I'm not sure either will support the weight. A fully loaded and soaked 4x4 weighs somewhere between 250 and 300 pounds.

Ka

I'm not sure I would go with either option. Although these are not full 4x4 boxes and are not as heavy, both of those tables look rather flimsy.

If it were me I would use a couple of wide milk crates. They might not be as tall as a table without stacking them but would be allot stronger. It wouldn't be all that hard to stack them though... get 4 instead of 2 per box. (a stack of 2 at each end)

Bonus! - the "table" could become shelves if you stack them on their sides (melting or cementing them together to prevent sliding)

Buy direct site http://www.idairycrates.com/pricing-orders

B maier wrote:I'm not sure I would go with either option. Although these are not full 4x4 boxes and are not as heavy, both of those tables look rather flimsy.

If it were me I would use a couple of wide milk crates. They might not be as tall as a table without stacking them but would be allot stronger. It wouldn't be all that hard to stack them though... get 4 instead of 2 per box. (a stack of 2 at each end)

Bonus! - the "table" could become shelves if you stack them on their sides (melting or cementing them together to prevent sliding)

Buy direct site [url=http://www.idairycrates.com/pricing-orders

http://www.idairycrates.com/pricing-orders[/quote[/url]]

Cinder blocks would also be good for 'legs'.

Thanks B maier for this idea.

A little while back I posted that Mel was looking for ideas to get new gardeners interested in SFG. Mel mentioned that they were talking about "kits". I told him about your idea of the cement mixing pans.

I think this would be FABULOUS to carry a book, grid and bags of soil.

Glad to help, throw in a few seed packets and a 2x3 section of trellis for a lid and you have an all in one set up. You could even market it as a theme... "the complete salad garden" "the complete salsa garden" "grow your own soup"

stuff like that.

I forgot to mention... they do have smaller tubs for $6

Wow been looking for a cheap way to make movable 2x2 beds, after looking at this and doing some calculations I think this would make a wonderful choice for my movables, and the price is very good! Thanks so much for posting these I hadn't thought of looking for cement tubs even tho I've used them before!

Time to hit up Lowe's and get some tubs and a drill bit to make drainage holes, do you think these would slip onto a wood frame of 2x4's if the bottom was supported by cross beams to make a deck like foundation at the 2ft range? I'm not sure how heavy these would be when wet any guess?

James

Two things to consider...

You'll need support in the middle too if you raise it. There's a lot of weight in the tub.

The tub may get warmer than a wood box. If you have high heat, it's something to consider. Plastic retains heat, wood doesn't. Being dark or black, it will also absorb all rays of the sun (that's why it is dark. White reflects all light.)

Maybe you can spray paint the outside & rim first?



PS: @B where did you find the dancing banana? It is my favorite emoticon. When my lad was little he would immitate it to make me laugh...and it still does. I just showed it to him, he laughed, jumped into position with his lanky body and 10 years later remembers the moves. What a riot!

2 questions: How deep are these and does the material seem like something that would withstand the elements for at least a couple years?

mageice3 wrote:... I'm not sure how heavy these would be when wet any guess?
James

35-50 pounds when filled to 6 inches with saturated MM.

Thank you! I need a few extra squares and didn't want to build another box. This will be perfect!