Growing Box Idea

Bohrier

Today i was thinking about a cheaper and more durable alternative to wooden growing boxes.

I thought aabout an asbestos box, it's durable (it can last more than 30 years), but an adequate one can cost about 20 bucks.

then i thought about ceramic boxes... also very durable, and cheap (i can find an 1 gallon vase for about 30 cents), but then i cant find an adequated shape or size, so i'd have to make one... but the problem is i dont have access to a high temperature oven... so forget it.

Then i remembered those 50 gallon containers used for chemical storing. I can get one for as low as 2 bucks, and make up to 4 growing boxes. They're made of blue plastic, and come in shapes as pictured below. T thiought about making two 89 x 59 cm containers, but then i thought i could make four 59 x 44 cm, about 14 cm deep. I wanna hear any opinions about this, even desctructive criticism

Thanks,

Bohrier

P.S.: yellow lines are the cuts i thought about making

P.S. 2: Merry Christmas for all you dudes!

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FredL

Bohrier, this is a subject near and dear to my heart at the minute. I've been using clay flower pots, large and small for this and, while they are generally adequate, they suffer from one extreme deficiency: they come apart in the Winter here as the result of repeated freezing and thawing.

Next Spring will be my second in a climate with marked seasonal effects (I was in California for all my prior experience) and I have a large amount of pre-bonsai material I collected over the last 18 months; hence the need for a number of grow boxes. I have about 35 in addition to a number of clay pots. I have several different kinds that I'm trying out. Let me tell you what I'm doing.

First, I knocked together 7 more-or-less traditional wooden boxes. They are about 12"x15" and 6" deep. They have a couple of 1/2" gaps in the bottoms where the bottom boards don't meet. They are made of Yellow Pine, so I'm not sure how long they will last. We'll see. I think they ended up costing about $4 each.

Second, I bought ten 16 quart plastic wash basins at Dollar General and drilled five 1/2" holes in the bottoms of each. I think they were about $2 each. I really like these. They have a convenient "lip" for carrying and their size and shape just feel right. I may drill some smaller holes in the side; I'm not fully decided on this.

Third, I bought some twelve quart plastic containers at Big Lots. They were even cheaper than the wash basins, They will also get holes drilled in the bottoms. As well as, possibly, the sides.

Finally, I bought some collanders at Big Lots. They cost me $.99. They are a little smaller than I would have liked, but I'm wanting to try collanders in the worst way. I've heard some very good things about the effect of having air available over the whole surface of the container on root development. This is why I'm also thinking of drilling holes in the sides of my other containers.

I can't report on the results from my various containers, but they all look pretty good!

I think, at this point, I like the wash basins best.

Best regards, Fred

Tony

Bohrier, Those barrels would work for training containers. I would cut them in the other direction however. Just cut the top and bottom off and that will give you two large containers with flat bottoms, drill some drain holes and there ya go.

Tony

pdbbonsai

I also pounded together a few boxes this year for the upcoming spring. However I really love the aquatic plant pond baskets you get at Home Depot or other large home improvement center. For 3 bucks and under you can get a variety of sized mesh baskets. Five sides of mesh. I have used them the last two growing seasons and the trees flourish.

Here are my boxes I made this month. I made these because the pond baskets only go to 13" square, about 9" deep.

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winter projects.jpg (34.7 KB, 477 views)

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weirdowl

Does anyone know if the metal 50 gallon drums would work? I can get all of these I want for free but I've been hesitant to lug the things home because I'm worried that they would rust and harm the trees. Anybody know of a coating that can prevent rust but not harm trees? Thanks

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DavidN

Down here in Australia we many use polystyrene boxes that fruit is mainly tranferred in. It looks very ugly but does the trick. Any thoughts.

Bohrier

they'll sure rust... but i dont think it'll harm the plants... they actually need some iron once in a while to synthetize (is that the way to spell it?) the chlorophil (is that the correct spelling?) they need to photossynthetize their food...

but if you want to, i guess you could buy that protective paint we use prior to the real colour in gates and such... i dont think it'll harm the plants... but it'll just slow the rusting process down... it'll eventually rust and come to pieces...


Bohrier

Craig Cowing

My sense is that as long as the container is the right shape, being somewhat broad and not too deep, and has adequate drainage the material doesn't matter as long as it can hold up for a few years.

This spring I made a bunch of wooden boxes from free lumber I picked up at the transfer station. Nothing fancy, but they've worked ok this year and should next year also.

Craig Cowing
Blooming Grove NY
Zone 5b/6a

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I'm not finished yet, neither are my trees.

saint

The barrels work, that's what this lantana iin the pic is in.

What has been more useful as training pots is large saucers that are made for big pots. There is a company here that sells them. They get as wide as 29" in diameter and are just a couple of inches deep which makes repotting into bonsai pots very easy.

There's a white saucer of the type just on the left of the blue barrel. The barrel and the saucer in this case are both 22" in diameter.

I have also seen fruit boxes and wash basins used very successfully as training pots.

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Best Regards,

Leslie St. John
Barbados
West Indies


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