My Boxes are FINALLY Built

Hopefully this is the right place to post my pictures. If not, I'm sorry. I guess it can be moved.

Anyway,

My boxes are FINALLY built! After months and months of site planning, discussion, determining box dimensions, etc., they are built. Here are the pictures.







If you look close, the boxes aren't laid perfectly straight. They kind of bow out in the middle. My brother-in-law and I put the first one in and we saw the slight unevenness but by then, the corner stakes were already pounded into the ground and the box was screwed to them. It would've been a hassle to redo it.
Fortunately, when we did the next one, it was uneven in the opposite direction, so it kind of looks like they were made that way. LOL Hey I'm happy about them.

They're 12 inches high at the top of the slope and 20 inches high at the bottom of the slope. For some reason, the sides are slightly higher than the boards that go across the back. It's not a big deal at all. I can either leave them like that or get some 10 foot long pieces of wood and fill in that discrepancy. I might just leave it like that.

We started building around 11am and finished up at 3:30pm. We had a lunch break between building the two beds. It went quicker than I thought thanks to my brother-in-law for being great with tools and building things.

The beds look great. They're maybe 90% level. I couldn't be happier.

Way to go TTT! All that research pays off doesn't it? Those look fabulous.

Now all I have to do is wait for my compost to finish and I can get busy with filling and planting.

Oh I'm glad for you! I know you've been anxious to get those done. Hey, while you're waiting for your compost to finish, are you going to do anything about the grass in the boxes?

gwennifer wrote:Oh I'm glad for you! I know you've been anxious to get those done. Hey, while you're waiting for your compost to finish, are you going to do anything about the grass in the boxes?

I don't work this Monday so I figure on digging up the grass and turning it over and laying hardware cloth and weed block down. I didn't think I would want to bother with either of those two but since there are voles around here, I better keep them in check. Part of the reason why I'm using the weed block is because there's a slight gap(less than a half inch) under parts of those boxes and the weed block will keep the soil from running out.

Congratulations Triple T !! Let the gardening fun begin!

@Too Tall......I've often seen longer boxes with a 1 x 2 braced across the bed midway to keep the box from bowing out, especially with the weight of the added soil. You can do that easily enough.

quiltbea wrote:@Too Tall......I've often seen longer boxes with a 1 x 2 braced across the bed midway to keep the box from bowing out, especially with the weight of the added soil. You can do that easily enough.

I know what you mean quiltbea but that's not what I meant by my boxes being bowed. I guess I should've said angled. Here's a simple sketch if you were looking at my boxes from the sky.



See how they're kind of angled? It's no big deal at all. It actually looks kinda neat like that. Like we were trying to be stylish

@TooTall......Sorry, got it wrong. And yes, that is looking stylish being a bit assymetrical like that. It'll be great.

Looking Great TTT !!



You'll be having bumper crops in no time once you get your compost in there !!



Well done !!



I did the bracing deal on my compst bin when it was being used as a cold frame, and it's still holding up good.. I only have to redo the doors as they're starting to break down..

I asked my brother-in-law if they needed to be braced across the middle(from front to back) and he said that with how thick those boards are, there shouldn't be a need for braces.

Sounds like you got some good lumber as well.. The lumber I used had some "interesting" bows in them .. Had to use ratchet straps on a couple times to get things lined up and squared...

They're hemlock boards.

When I went to the lumber mill, I gave the guy a list of the dimensions I wanted. Two weeks later I got them delivered and I didn't really do anything with them until today. That's when I noticed that the 8 foot boards were anywhere between 9ft and 10ft 2in long. Also some of the boards were a little thicker than the two inch thickness I ordered. Every piece of wood was longer than it should've been. No big deal really....we just made the appropriate cuts.

I went to Lowes for my lumber... Sunds like that mill did right by you, so you can bring in more business.. Not a bad thing in these times...

Tuxdad wrote:I went to Lowes for my lumber... Sunds like that mill did right by you, so you can bring in more business.. Not a bad thing in these times...

I would definitely go back to them again. I wonder how much more expensive it would've been to have them "finish" the lumber.

Including delivery and the box of screws, those boxes cost me 208 bucks. I did have all of the 1 by's left and some of the stakes and 4 big blocks of wood that I wound up not using. I might run out to the store tomorrow and get some stain to stain the outside of the boxes. I also need hardware cloth and weed block.

If I can keep the total cost of those two boxes(not including the soil) around 250 bucks, I'll be happy.

I actually think the sides being taller looks kind of cool and decorative... Nice job TTT!

UnderTheBlackWalnut wrote:I actually think the sides being taller looks kind of cool and decorative... Nice job TTT!

Maybe I'll just leave it like that.

WOW ttt those look great, I also like the way they slope.
Did I read it right, your boards are 2 inches thick?? They must have been expensive.

As far as the bracing mid way, I think that the mels mix is not as heavy as regular dirt, and so I am thinking that I will not need the bracing I used on previous beds.
But then again with some massive tomato plant pushing its way... those 2 inch boards will come in handy for strength.

GWN wrote:WOW ttt those look great, I also like the way they slope.
Did I read it right, your boards are 2 inches thick?? They must have been expensive.

As far as the bracing mid way, I think that the mels mix is not as heavy as regular dirt, and so I am thinking that I will not need the bracing I used on previous beds.
But then again with some massive tomato plant pushing its way... those 2 inch boards will come in handy for strength.

The total for the wood(including delivery) was 200 bucks. They're 20 inches deep at the bottom of the slope and 12 inches at the top. 10 feet long and 4 feet wide. Most of the boards were two inches thick but there were one or two that was actually maybe 2 1/4. LOL it made cutting them fun.

If that area would've been completely flat, those boxes wouldn't have cost me 200 bucks.....maybe more like 150. And it would've taken us about an hour per box....if even that.

Are you gonna have enough compost to fill your boxes ?? They look pretty big..

Tuxdad wrote:Are you gonna have enough compost to fill your boxes ?? They look pretty big..

Only the top 8 inches or so will be Mel's Mix. The bottoms will be screened topsoil. My compost pile is pretty big and I'm going to add two more types of compost to it. Three if I can manage to find that third.

Lowes had 3 of the 5, and walmart had the 5th, and possibly 6th if you're not too picky.. Was able to find worm castings at a local hydroponic gardening shop in my area..

Have you picked up your vermiculite yet ??? Sounds like you've got the compost pretty much covered...

Tuxdad wrote:Have you picked up your vermiculite yet ??? Sounds like you've got the compost pretty much covered...

Not yet.

I found a store about an hour south of me that carries vermiculite. I think they charge 30 bucks for a 4 cubic foot bag. I won't get that till later this month.