Have a great invention to help with gardening? Are you the self-reliant type that prefers Building It Yourself vs. buying it? Share and discuss your ideas and projects with other members.
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February 14, 2018 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: central utah
Posts: 233
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Elevated beds
Okay so, I'm getting older (ha) and the one fruit that does really well for me here, and that I enjoy greatly is strawberries. The trouble with them is the bending over part: bending over to plant, bending over to weed, bending over to spread and remove bird netting, and bending over to pick.
So I want to build some beds that end up about three feet high, with soil depth about 12 inches. I have room between the rows of my young orchard and could put as much as 500 linear feet of four ft wide rows....but only if it's not too expensive. Has anyone done this? I thought of hay bales under wood frames but am afraid they would just slump after a season and make a mess. Suggest some materials or methods please! |
February 14, 2018 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
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Yes, I think hay would deteriorate.
How about milk crates? Put down one empty one, with a second one on top of it. Put in an appropriate size grow bag, or line it with landscape fabric. Add soil & strawberries. Unless you are going to fill from ground level to waist level with soil, you're essentially growing in containers. (gonna have to water.) Nan |
February 14, 2018 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2007
Location: North County, San Diego
Posts: 419
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A neighbor bought some raised beds that were essentially a rectangular box on four legs. I told him they were containers but he still calls them raised beds.
As the soil settles there is 6 to 9 inches. He grows tomatoes and squash with drip irrigation on a timer and the plants do very well. |
February 14, 2018 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Illinois, zone 6
Posts: 8,407
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Hydroponic in 4" pvc pipe would be my preference. Then you can mount the pipe wherever you like. I think the trick is to keep the nutrient solution cool, by burying or putting cement blocks around the reservoir tank. I was able to grow lettuce in a very hot greenhouse by keeping the solution against the ground and out of direct sun.
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February 14, 2018 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: central utah
Posts: 233
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Nan,
milk crates is a good idea. I've heard that they can be had for almost nothing.... it does not make sense to fill from ground level, of course, so if I could get enough of them I could build the frame to hold the soil on top of the crates. Zeusp, do you recall about how big those containers with the legs are? I wonder what the bottom was made of? plywood? |
February 15, 2018 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2007
Location: North County, San Diego
Posts: 419
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I think they are about 4ft x 8ft. I believe they are made of wood but I don't have any specifics.
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February 15, 2018 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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What kind of tools do you have?
All you need for materials are plywood 4X4's 2X4's a screw drill and Torx deck screws. You can get the plywood and posts cut at the home centers. You will also need plastic sheet and silicon sealant. Worth |
February 17, 2018 | #8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: central utah
Posts: 233
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Worth, tools no problem here, but here are the numbers I come up with if I go buy lumber and build:
Plywood for bottom, 4studs for legs and bracing and sides, comes to about 54 bucks for a 4 X 8 bed, so let's say $1.75 per linear foot. If I want a hundred ft bed it will cost $175 and while I hate admitting I'm cheap...I'm cheap! So now I am trying to come up with a way to use pallets, which are either free or very cheap. |
February 17, 2018 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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I hear ya, me too.
Worth |
February 17, 2018 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Philly 7A
Posts: 739
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I grow strawberries in a vertical tower.
You could get a huge amount of strawberries in 2 or 3 55 gallon drum towers |
February 18, 2018 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: NewYork 5a
Posts: 2,303
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That would cost quite a bit unless you can find some reclaimed wood. Built one for my
MIL. Top height was about table height. I think it was only 3x10. 18" or so for soil. Just a big bin but needs to be strong. Not cheap. Then she moved. grrr Milk crate gardens are all over NewYorkCity. Mostly in vacant lots that can easily be moved to another location once building begins on the lot. Landowners don't mind as it is temporary. The bottom crates are empty. Top crate is lined with fabric bags. Or just landscape fabric. The crates are not cheap unless you can find a company getting rid of some of their rattier ones. Thats how I got mine. A couple towers is a good idea. I don't grow strawberries anymore. To many critters. But when we did I built a 2x10 board tower to save garden space. https://thesecretgardenatlas.wordpre...york-city-usa/ |
February 18, 2018 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 3,194
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Turn 2 pallets on end, long side to the ground. Turn 2 more on end, short side to the ground. Nail into a square. Nail another pallet upside down on top of the square.
pallets.gif Build up sides to required depth with pallet wood. Line with garden cloth, fill with soil, plant. Nan Last edited by Nan_PA_6b; February 18, 2018 at 05:51 PM. Reason: getting the darned picture to show up. |
February 18, 2018 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: central utah
Posts: 233
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Nan, that's pretty much the system that I had put together in my head.
Thanks for posting that, I'll use some of the details and post some pics when complete. |
February 19, 2018 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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I knew a guy that built a storage building out of pallets and scraps.
The city made him take it down. It looked way better than the homes people live in in Haiti. Worth |
February 19, 2018 | #15 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Mechanicsville, VA zone 7a
Posts: 97
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strawberry planter
Here is a picture of the planter I made. On one end it sits on top of an existing fence post, on the other a 4x4 that I added. I believe it is 1x8x12 for the sides and 1x6 for the bottom. A large size gutter would work as well. You can see it in the background behind the tomato plants.
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"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts." C.S. Lewis |
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