After reading the book Square Foot Gardening I decided that I would build raised beds for my new vegetable patch. Since I failed woodwork in junior high I enlisted the help of my husband in this venture. Lucky for me I'm married to a woodworker. Jody normally builds fancy furniture,
see here, but he's pretty good at boxes too. As you can see at left, Gino made the inspection and gave his stamp of approval.
The boxes were intended to be 4 feet by 4 feet and 6 inches high however what I discovered is that apparently an 8 foot board is not necessarily 8 feet long, nor is it 6 inches wide, even though that's what the sign says. According to Jody, who knows these things, that 8 foot board might be 8 feet and 1 inch and the 6 inch width is likely more 5 and half inches. I really want a minimum of 6 inches of soil in my boxes so I chose boards that were 8 feet long and 8 inches wide (or is that 7 and a half?).
Rather than getting picky about cutting off an inch here or there all four boxes were built by simply cutting the 8 foot boards in half. They should be approximately 4 feet along each side and sort of 8 inches high. Having perfectly square boxes wasn't a priority for me but it's something to take note of for those of you who want things absolutely square. And something to consider if you need a specific planting depth.
All four boxes are now complete. Aren't they pretty?
5 comments:
Yay raised beds! There's something about the sight of them empty and ready that gets me energized! Have fun planting!
just started up one of those square foot gardens myself .. it will be a lot of fun to see what it does, i'm sure ..
That's another example of 'Trade Talk' where what they say is not what you get. At least with lumber the length is usually a bit more while the width is always less.
One place 'trade talk' has been forced to tell the truth in NY is nursery growers. The pots now have to state the true volume. Used to be a pot marked 1 gal was a bit less than 3 quarts. Now they're labeled 2.96G/2.80L
I see you have a pouch kitty too. What's up with these udder cats?
Hi Laura and welcome Jane, I'm very excited to get planting and very happy about how nice the boxes look, even without anything in them. Can't hardly wait to see stuff coming up.
@ WiseAcre
I had no idea when I started gardening that I would need to know so much about carpentry. (next project is a compost bin) Mind you, I had no idea I would need to become a computer expert in order to write a blog either!
I blame the pouch on old age and too much junk food. Gino used to be a much more athletic cat but lately he's developed a fondness for battered fish, cheddar cheese, potatoe chips, and peanuts. Give him a beer and he'd never leave the couch!
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