Building Growing Boxes

Adam

Can somebody help me out and tell me the materials and mesurements to build a couple growing boxes.

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[Adam]
"Cass Bonsai Gardens"
"Bonsai Knowledge"
"DaGhostCrew"

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juliet-of-oz

Hi Adam

I can help but the size i give will be in metric!!

My grow boxes are 390mm x 400mm by 140mm height.

All following sizes are in millimeters
1 piece of timber 70 x 20 at 2000 (2 meters)
1 piece of timber 120 x 20 at 1500
2 bits of whatever timber you have laying around (optional - for the feet) at 350mm each
4 of 90 degree corner brackets.
1 piece of plastic netting (or flywire mesh) for the bottom

Cut the 70 x 20 timber into 5 equal 400mm lengths - this is for the bottom of the box.
Cut the 120 x 20 timber into 2 sides at 400 and two sides at 350.

Nail or screw the 120 x 20 timber sides together to form a square shape thats outter measurements are 400 x 390 (the 350mm side plus the 20mm width of the front and back pieces = 390). These are the sides of the box.

Nail the 5 pieces of 70 x 20 timber onto the bottom leaving even spaces between the slats for drainage. Then at 90 degrees from these slats, nail on the feet timber (if you are going to have feet).

Nail or screw the corner brackets onto the four corners of the sides of the box. This will help stop the timber swelling and falling apart with time as the box gets wet....

Lastly put the mesh into the bottom of the box to stop the soil falling through.

For bigger or smaller or taller boxes, or if you want to use thiner timber, just ajust the sizes of the timber that you use. But remember you will be watering these boxes alot! i made some once that fell apart after 3 years or so...now i use brackets to hold the sides together. I will post you a picture of one when i get home from work tonight....speaking of work.....back to it.

hope this helps

jules

ripsgreentree

Adam: You can do the job with treated 2 by 6 from the hardware store. A 24 inch squair by 6 in deep makes a good sized box. That is as much as I want to lift. Use 1 by 6 cedar fence board for the bottom, remember to leave gaps between the boards for drainage and use screen to keep the soil in. I use 3 in grabber screws for the sides and 13/4 in grabber screws for the bottom. As you start putting these boxes together you will think of ways to make the boxes better.
ripsgreentree

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ripsgreentree

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juliet-of-oz

here is a pic

TreeBay

Jules that box is gorgeous! If I made something like that I wouldn't want to put dirt in it. What do you think, Al?

It is nearly twice as deep as one I would make in those proportions, though.

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erubeck

WOW, Jules!

That's a great looking grow box. I made over 20 of them but they don't look that good. Thanks for the new challenge!

I was able to get some old pallets from the nursery which are made of oak. They should last a good while but you have to pre-drill the wood before driving the deck screws.

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Regards,

Ed

juliet-of-oz

hi ya

My grow boxes are deep and large because of our climate - even my potted trees are all in pots a little too big as we get very very hot days here with no humidity at all. I work full time and just dont have the time to water as often as i should so i have to compensate with the type of soil i use and also the amount. Those boxes get quite a lot of gravel (fish rocks) put in the bottom too.

Another thing i do sometimes is nail a piece of styrafoam onto the bottom of the tree so its roots are forced to grow out before they grow down..and tha needs room too.

I guess its all about where you are in the world and what you are trying to achieve with the grow box.

the boxes dont look so good after a few years - i will post another pic with an older one...hehehe its falling to bits - but i made it out of pallet timber which is a fair bit thinner. mind you they werent oak...

Thanks for the comments though (grin). My carpentry skills leave ALOT to be desired and the guys here at work just laugh at me when im making things..but hey I never broke a fingernail making them, so im happy.

Jules