Adventures in Table Top

ralitaco wrote:Thanks so much for taking the time to sketch that up and to answer yet another post by me.

 I'm happy to help, since l don't know much about growing veggies.

I put the sides with the double rods along the frame for no other reason than my shelves were 2'x5', and the double rods were on the long side.  But those are the strongest sides, so for your shelves, I'd put them spanning  the unsupported space.

I wouldn't use any other support under the racks.  

ralitaco wrote:How far apart would you do the carriage bolts? every 16" or 24" or something else?

24" would probably work, but I'd do 12" just 'cause it would make me feel more confident.

Well, I made a decision, actually several...for now at least...I think....

Decision 1: I am going to start posting the larger version of the pictures. I was doing the thumbnails because some of my posts were long and had lots of pictures and I thought the POST looked better; however, as I have been perusing the forum, I don't see too many others using the thumbnails AND I find that I prefer looking at the larger images. I feel like I can see a lot more and don't have to click on every one if I don't want to; only the ones that strike my fancy.

Decision 2: I am going with my design where I am laying the 2x4 flat on top of another 2x4 for strength. The main reason for that is because, I had the 2x4's and screws on hand. If I went with the 2x6 and carriage bolts, that would mean another trip to the store...ugh.

Decision 3: I am going to make 2 - 2'x4' Tabletop beds for my mother for Mother's Day. She stopped by the house the other day and told my wife that she really liked my TT garden and that she wished she had one like that. So I decided to put my 2 - 2'x8' beds on hold to make hers. (Which really works out well because I get to see if I like my design and I can figure things out alot easier on a smaller TT)

Now part of my lumber is coming from an old set of steps that I have had for about 15 years. We recently replaced them and I decided to "reclaim" some of the wood. The 2x's are treated and have been outside all that time so they had gotten dirty, a little moldy and very gray. Since I am using them for the Table portion of the bed, I figured since they would be on the bottom, nobody would really see them AND I planned on painting them anyway. Well as I was trying to mark the wood to cut it, they were so gray and dirty that I couldn't even see my marks but then I thought "Say hello to my little friend" aka my belt sander with 50 grit sand paper.

Here are some before and afters:








I thought they turned out pretty good. 


Here are those pieces assembled in my upside-down "L" design:




I screwed the vertical pieces together at the corners with 3" deck screws. I screwed the Flat pieces down with 2.5" deck screws every 5-6". I still have to put one cross piece across the short side at the mid point.

For the "Bed" portion, I am using new untreated 2x4's that I will also paint and line with 6mil plastic. I have those pieces cut and will post a picture tomorrow.
Additionally, I have to make the Legs and will be using NEW treated 2x4's. I just have to figure out what size to make the legs for my 5'0", 75 year old mother. I am leaning towards having the top of the bed at 32" but that's a decision for the morning

As previously promised...MORE PICTURES!!!!!!

The bottom support "Inverted L" with the sides in place




The groove routed for the down-turned end of the shelf (I need to add a 3/4" piece along the top of the 2x4 cross support)



The shelves in the groove



The shelves in the box





The legs...sort of...


The top of the bed is going to be 32" high so I cut the leg 32" and the box is 12" so silly me cut the support leg 12" instead of 20". I had to cut some 8" pieces to add on. Oh well, this is a work in progress and a learning experience.

Everything about gardening is a learning curve!   Nice routing.

sanderson wrote:Everything about gardening is a learning curve!  

Yes it is!!! And on that note, any idea what happened to my poor cucumber. It looks like the main stem got squashed and then it just died.


On the up side, I made my 1st harvest of 2015
Now I have to figure out what to do with the swiss chard. I read that you can saute' the leaves or eat them raw. Also, to cut out the rib and cook it like asparagus...now I have to figure out how to cook asparagus too.

sanderson wrote:Nice routing.

Notice I only posted one groove...the other side taught me that I needed to use a jig / guide for the router.  

Here is a picture of the "shim" I put on top of the crossbar so the shelves hit it.


Here is a picture of the leg with the extra 8" piece.
I am really contemplating replacing the 2 pieces with one 20" and do it right.

Here is the Table part of the TT, I just have to put in the shelves and add the sides


Here it is with the shelves in and the sides on. Also you can see the legs...I have decided I am changing them out

In the background, you can see the steps that I am "re-claiming" the wood from. Sanding the pieces down took a long time but I did not have to buy more wood.

Here it is with white styrofoam on the shelves

5.75"...close enough for me


Now I just have to paint it and add some "MM keeper-inner" cloth aka weed fabric.

Nice!  Fancy cross bar.  Are you going to make holes in the Styrofoam?  I always wondered if Boffer did.  Are you painting or staining or leaving a la natural for your Mom?

PS I think we have a thread on Swiss Chard. Congrats on your first harvest!

As far as the stem, I get that when the soil is too cold. I had to replant cucumbers and cantaloupes last year.

Yes, I am going to put holes in the foam with 1 for every sqare and in the corners just like I would for plywood.

I am going to paint it...not sure what color probably white as a primer and then I'm not sure if I'll do a second coat of white or try to find out what color her shutters are and match that.

ralitaco wrote:I am going to paint it...not sure what color probably white as a primer and then I'm not sure if I'll do a second coat of white or try to find out what color her shutters are and match that.

Time is ticking away and I still have to sand it down one last time, sooooo...I think Mom is getting a pair of 2'x4' tabletop planters unfinished. I'm thinking my sister who lives next door to her, can paint or stain them as her mother's day gift to her -- Now I just have to tell my sister 

Here is a picture of the 2 boxes...notice anything different?



Also, I picked up some vermiculite today, specially made for SFG

Now these are 2 Cubic Foot bags and are 2x as expensive as the 4 cu ft medium grade bags. I have to check another nursery tomorrow and see if they have the coarse in 4 cu ft bags for less. If not, I am thinking I will just get some of the medium grade.


Oh and the answer to the question about what is different is I changed out the supports on the legs to full 20" pieces instead of a 12 & 8.

I was going to say that one is upside down, but your answer is also good.
Mom should love them.

sanderson wrote:I was going to say that one is upside down, but your answer is also good.  
Mom should love them.

sanderson wrote:...Mom should love them.

+1

And so will whoever inherits them, and their heirs, too!

I'm taking mine with me to the old folk's home!

ralitaco wrote:On the up side, I made my 1st harvest of 2015
Now I have to figure out what to do with the swiss chard. I read that you can saute' the leaves or eat them raw. Also, to cut out the rib and cook it like asparagus...now I have to figure out how to cook asparagus too.

These were taken on May 9, exactly 1 week later AFTER the 1st harvest but BEFORE the second harvest:


I posted more pics if anyone is interested on the Lower South May thread if you want to check them out.

I think I am falling in love with Tabletop SFG'ing   But as with any relationship, I know there are ups and downs. 

Some downs are that my peppers haven't started doing much yet, and my cukes have succumbed to Damping off (that should've named it using an "n" in lieu of the "p"). I think I may need to add some soil amendments but not sure what so I think I will need to get a soil test. Last time around I lost all my tomatoes and zuchini to end rot so I don't want a repeat of that.

Still on my to do list are to build 2 more TT beds (2'x8'), finish screening the old MM from my ground boxes, learn more about composting and start a compost pile, decide on what herb and vegs to plant in the new boxes (so I have to get a move on if I want anything in them for the summer), learn about what and when to plant for the fall, finish building my worktable by my shed, mow the grass, trim the hedges, replace the rotted landscape ties, trim the low hanging tree branches, build a pergola to accomodate an outdoor table, build or buy and outdoor table, AND work my regular job.   (funny how that order came out of my brain...build more TT's first and my regular job last...hmmm I wonder what that means)

Made a Lumber Run today, woohoo!
I picked up enough lumber to make 2 Tabletop 2'x8' beds.
Hopefully by this weekend

TT's are addicting. I'm dreaming of one more, a 2' x 6'.

sanderson wrote:TT's are addicting.  I'm dreaming of one more, a 2' x 6'.

What are you going to do, go double decker, LOL?!!!  Hang it from the roof?!

Are you looking at Google Earth??

sanderson wrote:TT's are addicting.  I'm dreaming of one more, a 2' x 6'.

YES THEY ARE!!

audrey.jeanne.roberts wrote:What are you going to do, go double decker, LOL?!!!

I was thinking about possibly trying that in the future with a 1' or 2' shelf on the north side of my 4x4. Shade tolerant crop on bottom, full sun on top. I doubt I will ever do that in particular but I was thinking that if I wrapped my 4x4 in clear plastic, it would be like a greenhouse and I could add layers of shelves to start seeds.

Oh, wait...what, you were joking???...ummmm me too

As handy as you are with wood and tools, you ought to make one of those tiered planters for small things like lettuce or strawberries.  Somewhere on this forum, Josh had a beautiful strawberry tower with instructions but it was too complicated for me to build.


Here are the instructions for the one Josh's dad built.
http://www.runnerduck.com/strawberry_tree.htm

Thanks Yolos. I may have to add that to my To Do list

ralitaco wrote:Made a Lumber Run today, woohoo!
I picked up enough lumber to make 2 Tabletop 2'x8' beds.
Hopefully by this weekend

I have cut all my pieces and put together 1 of the bases. I still have to put the box on and secure it to the legs. Unfortunately, I finished too late and didn't take any pictures. But you know me, I will post a bunch soon.

My 2 - 2x8's are finally coming together.
Here are some pictures:
The Tabletop Base. It is solid but the legs tilted if I tried to drag it around to place it. I still had to add the sides of the box and secure those to the legs with carriage bolts. Once I did that the legs were solid. In this picture, I also still had to add my 1x2 by the notches for the front of my shelves to sit on.
I am planning to put a trellis there and also I'm planning on putting a 4' 2x4 across the top of these 7' legs and then tie it into the 4x4 I already have making a version of a pergola/arbor...we'll see if that actually happens.

I did get the sides in place on this Tabletop and built the second one but again it was dark when I finished so no pictures of that...yet. The second 2x8 will be mirrored on the other side of the 4x4.

And here are some pics of my FIRST Cherry Tomato and one of my zucchini plants




Lastly, here are a couple of pictures of the shelves I got in the "natural environment". That is 35 - 1 liter bags of saline (usually full top to bottom) so I think they will be strong enough:

This is the plastic mounting clip that we use. There are 4 of them in total that hold up the shelf with all those bags on it, so I figure my 2x4 laying flat should provide more than enough support for fully saturated Mels Mix:

Hopefully more pictures tomorrow

A few more pictures:

Sides are on:

Shelves are in:

The other 2x8:
I plan to attach 2 - 4' 2x4's across the top to try to make a trellis

A panoramic shot of all 3 beds:

Finally, got some paint on them. I have to do another coat but ran out of paint with the top edge and one side of one not done:

Weather and work permitting, I think I may be able to put the second coat of paint on the inside of the boxes tomorrow. Then I should be able to put in my plastic, fabric and then get the old MM screened with 1/4" hardware cloth. (fingers and toes crossed)

The pergola/arbor will add extra character when the plants grow up and over!

Thanks Sanderson, that is the plan.

So I finally got my other beds done (pics and updates coming soon), but I need help with Herb spacing. Is there a database out there for plant spacing? The list in the ANSFG book is limited. 

I also need to know if I can plant the following now by seed or transplant:
Rosemary - 1 per?
Basil - 1 per? or 4 per?
Thyme - 1 per?
Dill - 4 per?
Sage - 1 per?
Cilantro - 1 per or 4 per?

Thanks in advance