So, I got a little over excited about this whole gardening thing. I started my garden indoors in February and boy howdy have I learned some shit, stuff and things since then. The first of which...over planting!
I had no idea what in the world I was doing but I seemed to want to plant everything and with not knowing how they would turn out, I would sow two or three seeds in one hole..and I will be damned but every last seed germinated. I did not see that one coming. I lived in a jungle from February until the end of April and it finally out grew the living room. So...it was time to build a raised bed to put them in and find my dinning room under it all. In an upcoming blog, I will dive way further into this subject. When to sow, how to sow, when to transplant and when to harvest. These are all very important to learn along this journey and I find that you will learn them weather you want to or not. Hopefully I can make all the mistakes for us all and you won't suffer future issues but a garden is a wondrous thing that changes daily so having as much information in your arsenal of defense can make the world of difference later on. This is a big one so again, I will create a blog just for this subject very soon. In the meantime know that I occasionally lost a dog somewhere in all of the leaves in my dinning room...it was a mess. Time for something new and much, much, bigger.
This time I did not draw up a plan and as I have said, sometime you really don't have to. Although it does help the creative processes, sometimes winging it is simply the way to go. Basically we are going to build a box, with legs..a bottom and cover the sides with aluminum sheeting. For the most part you can visualize this in your head and go with the flow. There is something however to be said for making a plan, drawing it out, taking measurements and sticking to it. I did draw this one up a few times but the drawing never really matched any of the material I had on hand. So...I scrapped the plan. By this point, I had worked with so many different projects that I felt confidant enough in myself to allow the freedom of this not being a perfectly choreographed plan. What's the worst that can happen right??!!
What I used:
2-44x48" Pallet Frames
1- 44x48" ish piece of plywood
4- 2 foot 4x4" pieces (optional)
Weed Guard
Sandpaper
4 aluminum sheets or corrugated metal
Staples
Staple gun
Wood Screws
Drill
Stain and wood protector
Coffee!
I have deemed it a pallet frame because I have no idea what else to call them and when you google it, you get some seriously ridiculous responses. Basically stuff goes on a pallet and this frame sits on top of the "stuff" and it gets wrapped in plastic to be shipped. Call it whatever you'd like.
I cut 2 of these pallet frames in half, you need the full 4 corners of the bottom portion in order to make the front and back of the box. But don't discard the scraps, you will keep them and use them for the sides of the box. I sanded the outsides just enough so that I didn't get splinters before moving on to the feet. I really wanted this box to stand up off the ground and not have to be a fully covered box. I really want to allow air to flow and excess moisture to be able to disperse freely and I also wanted a bit of height so that I did not have to bend over as much to weed or harvest. I had a couple of 2 foot 4x4 pieces laying around and figured they had finally found a purpose. I attached one to the bottom of each outer corner, not only did this make the box more sturdy it gave it the exact height I had hoped for. I cut the aluminum sheets to just the right size, laid them across the back of the pallet frame, wood facing out, and stapled the piss out of anything it touched. About a half inch to inch apart. The closer, the better. The more area you can cover, the more weight it will hold. Here is where your going to want to be a perfectionist and I am going to tell you to stop that shit...Corrugated metal or aluminum sheets maybe fairly pliable but you may find yourself needing to bend it just a bit to be able to staple it down but so long as it is straight and covers the entire area, your cool. Relax man, it's just pallet wood. There are no wrong ways of doing this!
I had a piece of scrap plywood that was left over from one of the pallet cushions I had made in a previous blog. It believe it or not was the exact size I needed. I stood the two sides of the box up on there feet and with one leg in the air, one foot on the ground and the other holding the other pallet side, I lay the piece of plywood between two frame pieces I had just cut and stapled it down..a staple about every few inches really just to tack it down. Then I came back in with some heavy duty wood screws and drilled it down.
This is a second box I did shortly afterward but in this picture you can see how the aluminum should look. Notice its not perfect but it is flat-ish. That's really all you are looking for, because your going to be covering it all up anyways later on. I took the scraps from what was left of the pallet frames I had cut earlier and cut both pieces into a U shape. I did the same on both boxes except in different ways.
Box #1
In the first pictures just above you can kind of see the upside down U shape I made for the sides. I had done a small bit of research on this subject already and have found that tomatoes require a ton of freely moving air and adequate drainage. So I decided on this first one not to use the aluminum sheeting to support the sides. Instead I used the weed guard, doubling it over itself I made it twice as strong. I lined the entire box with the weed guard, tacked it down with my staple gun and the results have been amazing. As you can see by the picture below, it aint perfect either. But its ok..it doesn't have to be, it just has to be covered and capable of holding the weight of the dirt.
After a month or two, I got froggy again and decided that this box needed a deck next to it so that you can lean over a bit easier but that it also needed to be stained. Click the arrows below and check out the slide show. The transitions between scrap wood and what it is today are amazing!
Box #2
The first box went pretty well and along with my confidence, my garden is indeed growing. I decided that I wasn't done with just 1 and started a second box. This one I did use the Aluminum on the sides for. I also used a pallet for the bottom to support the entire structure. Below is a quick slideshow of its progress. Click the arrows to the left or right to navigate.
TA-DA!!! This project took less than a few hours and I am now off to an amazing garden start. I placed the deck between the two boxes so it would be easy to work around but later found out that it is the perfect place for a trellis between the boxes. I will update you on that and all of the awesome other projects that you see in the very last photo above.
Everyday I make more progress and everyday my garden and I grow. I can't wait to show you more of its progress over the next few days. It is now your turn to go try this...yes you, you can do this! You can pick up pallets, you can build a garden box and I will be here every step of the way to help you out. If you have questions or need more detail, do not hesitate to contact me. I learn new things everyday and hope in sharing them others will do the same. SO, what the hell are you waiting for? Get out there and find yourself in your own creations!!!
Until Next Time.
~ B.
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