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Building greenhouses and planters. Chapter 2 - Planters.May 22 '06 (Updated May 24 '06) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line In the second chapter of a multi-part series, we discuss building a couple of simple planters.
Building greenhouses and planters. Chapter 2 - Planters. "What the h*ll are you gonna do with all that old wood?" said my wife sweetly as she surveyed a bonfire sized pile, thrown in the garden. "Planters," I said with a smile. "It looks like a load of garbage to me," she said, delicately kicking a plank or two before heading back to her keyboard. Now it was true that the wood that I had scavenged from the pallets was old, beat up, and had many splits but I had a vision. It was time to build. * * * In the second part of this article, I build a pair of planters. Converting them and other garden structures into modified greenhouses is covered in the next chapter. I built my planters out of old pallets I scavenged in Chapter 1, and a bunch of stuff I had lying around. However, describing that build would be confusing, since it has a lot of extra steps and most people are unlikely to have the same junk that I do. Instead, I am going to describe how to build an 8' x 3' x 4' planter from nice spanking new cedar, like I would have done if I had any money. Afterward, we will discuss design criteria, and what I really used. * * * Ingredients: * 5 - 8' long 2" x 4" cedar studs * 1 - 12' long 2" x 4" cedar stud * 7 - 12' long 1" x 4" cedar boards * 2 - 8' long 2" x 2" cedar struts * 1 - 25' roll of 2' wide chicken wire * 1 - 50' roll of 3' wide black landscape cloth. * 1 - 7' by 100' roll of plastic deer/bird netting * 1 - roll of Garden Tie Velcro * 260 - 1-1/4" x 7 deck screws * 20 - 2-1/2" x 8 deck screws * 1 - box of 9/16" wire staples * 9 - small, cheap concrete bricks or pavers (4" x 4" x 1" is fine) Standard notation is 1' is 1 foot, while 1" is 1 inch. Remember that when talking planed lumber, 1" is really 3/4", 2" is really 1-1/2", and 4" is really 3-1/2". The lumber yard calls it 2" x 4" (two by four) because that was the size before it was planed smooth. If 12' is too long for you to transport, have the lumber yard cut all these 8 pieces to two equal approx 6' lengths. Some yards may already have 6' lengths available. The lumber yard won't have 2" x 2" cedar struts. Have them rip a 2" by 4" in half lengthwise for you. (Unless, like me, you have a table saw and can rip it yourself.) Some yards may charge for this. Cedar is quite expensive. However, cedar is naturally insect, water and sun resistant. With care, it could easily last you 30 years. You can save a lot of money by using pine. Without some form of protection, the pine will need replacing after a few years. Since this planter is for growing food, the use of normal water seals, like Thompsons, is out of the question, because they contain dangerous chemicals that could leech into the food. You can't use pressure treated wood for the same reason. Food safe water seals are expensive, and need to be renewed annually. A nice coat of white outdoor acrylic paint is good, but it will need periodic refreshment too. It all depends on how you store the planters in winter. If you can keep them out of the ice and snow, everything will last a lot longer. If you are using pine, you can safely use a pressure treated boards for the three cross pieces at the bottom of the planter. Remember, pressure treated wood dust is a carcinogen, so wear a mask when you work with it. Garden Tie Velcro comes in a big 5-6" diameter roll at the Garden Center for about $5. If you prefer, you can substitute 6d galvanized common nails for the 1-1/4" deck screws. This is slightly cheaper and possibly faster, but not as strong. Twisted nails are strong, but they are murder to remove if you make a mistake. Tools: * Tape Measure * Black Sharpie Pen * Hammer * Combination Square * Drill Driver with self countersinking bit set * Crosscut Saw * A pair of small Quick Clamps. * Wire Cutters/Tin Snips * Rough sandpaper, wood rasp, Surform plane or Random Orbit Sander. * Scissors or utility knife Optional Tools: Table Saw Radial Arm or Chop Saw Circular Saw Bubble Level or Carpenter's Level Safety Equipment: - A baseball cap or brimmed hat. - A long-sleeved heavy shirt. - Sturdy denim pants. - Heavy work boots. (Optional) - Leather palmed work gloves. - Safety glasses. The Plan: What I intend to build is something that looks a bit like an upside down trestle table. The 8' x 3' base will be a pallet like platform topped with landscape fabric. 4' high legs will stick up at each corner. Chicken wire will be stretched across the bottom 2' of the legs. The top of the structure will covered by deer netting to make a box shaped enclosure to hold plant pots. This is purely utilitarian -- no points are being awarded for looks. The assembled piece is too big to get in and out of my workshop, so I built it in the garden, beneath a shady tree, near to its chosen resting place. Wood Assembly: The planter we are about to build resembles a table lying on its back with its legs stuck up in the air. Consequently, in this write up, I have called the vertical structures legs, even though they really aren't. If you have an assistant, things go easily. If not, use the clamps to hold things while you work. All joints are at right angles and should be checked with the square. All cuts should be made at right angles and square. If you have one, a chop saw or radial arm saw helps. If not, a maple miter block and a crosscut saw is a cheaper, weight-reducing, muscle-building alternative. Some of the lengths are approximate to allow for the saw kerfs while making efficient use of the wood. What is important is that all the pieces are the same length. For example, if the saw blade is 1/8" thick, all the 36" long pieces are really 35-29/32". Aren't you glad you asked? Cut two of the 8' studs into two equal halves approx 48" each for the legs. Cut four approx 36" long pieces from the 12' stud for the stretchers. Put two legs parallel to each other on a flat surface, broad side down. Place two of the stretchers between them, brad side down, at right angles to the legs. Fasten one stretcher to a leg 3.5 inches from one end, by putting two 2-1/2" screws right through the leg. (You have to countersink the hole about 1-3/4" deep. Put a slight tilt to the hole toward the long end of the leg which will be the top in use. This tilt will prevent water collecting in the hole.) Attach the stretcher to the other leg in the same way. Attach the other stretcher to the two legs, parallel to the first stretcher, leaving a gap between them of 22". Put the screws for the stretcher toward its upper and lower edges -- you will need the mid-section later for fastening long stretchers between the legs. You now have a structure that looks a bit like a square topped A. Form the other leg assembly in the same way using the other 4 pieces of stud. Lay the two of the remaining 8' studs on a level surface, narrow side down. Fasten one of these studs to the outside of the stretcher end of the leg assembly, by putting 2 screws through the stud and into the leg. Fasten another stud to the opposite side of the leg assembly. Attach the other leg assembly to the opposite ends of the two studs, in the same way. Turn the structure on its side, and attach the final 8' stud between the middle of the two stretchers by screwing right through the stud, using the same deep countersink technique you used earlier. Put the structure back down again. It now looks a bit like the square outline of an 8' by 39" trestle table, with four legs sticking up in the air. Make sure the structure is lying square by measuring the diagonals, from the base of one leg to the base of the opposite corner. It is square when both diagonals measure the same. If one diagonal is longer, push on that corner a bit, and repeat this step. Cut most of the 1" x 4" cedar boards into four equal approximately 36" long pieces -- you need 26 pieces in all. Lay 23 of them on the top of the three studs and space them evenly stretching from front to back parallel to each other about 1/4" apart. Fasten them down using the 1-1/4" deck screws with predrilling and countersinking. Use six screws per board attacking them to the front, center and back studs. Countersink only enough to set the screw head flush. Too deep a hole will collect water and provide a place to rot. Cedar boards will split if you look at them the wrong way, especially near the ends. Be sure to set the clutch on your drill driver to the lightest possible pressure. (If you have chosen to use galvanized nails, predrill the nails holes, then hammer the nails in flush.) Measure from the base of one leg assembly to the base of the other leg. Cut the 2" x 2" strut to that length (approx 89"). Fasten it between the two legs, so that the center is exactly 24" above the top of the cedar boards. Repeat on the opposite side. Finally, tip the structure on its side again, and fasten the remaining three 36" boards across the bottom, one at each end and one exactly in the middle. Tip it back upright again. It now looks even more like a trestle table lying on its back with its legs in the air, and stretchers going round about 2' up the leg. ** The reason the long stretchers use 2" x 2" is so that they block less sunlight. Adding the Wire: Wear long sleeves and put on your work gloves. Make sure you have your hat and glasses on -- wire is pesky to handle. Depending on the roll, you may need to square up the end of the wire before you begin. Start on the outside of the planter, about 1 inch from the inner side of any leg. Hold the end of the wire so it stretches from the top of the boards, up to about midway up the upper stretcher. Hold it in place with clamps. Carefully unroll the wire around the planter until you get almost back to the start point, keeping the bottom edge against the boards on the front and back. The top edge should be almost central on the upper stretchers. If all look okay, start attaching the wire using the staple gun. I used a hand squeezed Sears Craftsman heavy-duty gun with 9/16" staples. I find that a staple every second wire is ample. Start by stapling the end you started with down the leg. Then, while pulling the wire taught, staple the top and bottom to the stretchers and to the top of the boards. Staple vertically down the leg as you pass each corner. Continue until you get almost back to where you started. Cut the wire with the snips so that it overlaps your starting point by about 1-1/2", and then finish stapling the wire. Once you are sure the wire is where you want it, tighten the staples by giving each one a light whack with a hammer. Hammer the sharp wire ends flat to the leg. Since I do not care about appearance, I do the following. I cut a piece of landscape fabric abut 8" by 2'. I fold it twice to be 2" by 2', four ply thick. Then I staple it to the leg to cover all the cut wire ends. This prevents me cutting myself or my clothes later, on the sharp ends of the pesky wire. Rounding the corners: Using a Surform plane, wood rasp, or coarse grade sanding paper, round off the outside edges of the legs, the top outside of the stretchers, and all four edges of the "feet". Adding the cloth: Unroll a chunk of the landscape fabric so that it covers the boards, and stretches about 1' up each end. Tack it lightly in place with a few staples. Don't go staple happy, this cloth will need to be replaced periodically. The more staples you put in, the more you will be removing down the road. If you want to use wider cloth, and have it wrap up the front an back 1' or so, go right ahead. Adding the netting: Cut a number of approximately 4 pieces of the garden Velcro. Staple one to the top of each leg. Staple three to each face, one near each leg and one in the middle. Unroll the deer netting a bit and stretch it over the structure. Start at the stretcher on one end, up over the legs, across to the opposite legs, and down to the stretcher. Pull slightly taught. Trim to length allowing 2" - 4" of overlap at each end. It should already overlap at each side. Secure it in place by threading the Velcro through a couple of squares and bending it back on itself. Fold the excess netting on the corners in like folding the corner of a bed sheet. (Don't leave the excess sticking out, it could accidentally trap birds.) Once you are happy with everything, tighten the staples by tapping them with the hammer. Take a break: Now look at what you have done. Your upside down table now has a fabric covered platform to hold your pots. The bottom 2' is surrounded by wire to keep out critters. The rest is protected by deer netting. Inside you have a 36" by 89" space, about 45" high. You can get good access to any part of the inside by loosening a Velcro strip or two, and folding back the netting. Plants inside are protected from birds, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs and deer. Bees, for pollination, can get inside easily, but the netting does hinder large winged butterflies and moths a bit. Placing the planter: Pick a spot that gets at least 8 hours a day of sun. You want one of the long sides to face roughly south. South is the direction of the sun at 12:00 noon standard time, or 1:00 pm daylight savings time. Put your nine pavers on the ground spaced to hold the intersections of the three bottom boards and studs. Drag the planter over and stand it on the pavers. Use scrap pieces of wood or stone to fill in any gaps between the planter and the pavers, so that the planter stands firmly without rocking. If you want to level it, go right ahead. The pavers are important since they keep the planter up off the damp ground. This greatly extends the life of the structure no-matter what wood you use. My Ingredients: * 2 long (75"+) oak pallets * 4 short (45"+) oak/softwood pallets (All pallets have been disassembled into studs and laths. See prior article for details.) * A 6'x6' bunny run, made of seven 6' x 2' panels, made of 2" x 2" struts in a rectangular figure-8 already covered in wire. * Various fencing wire remnants left over from bunny hutch building. * Various chunks of scrap cedar/pine left over from deconstructing some closets. * A copious supply of deck screws. * 9/16" wire staples. * A roll of Garden Tie Velcro. * A 7' by 100' roll of plastic deer netting. * A 50' roll of 3' wide black garden cloth. * Various chunks of paving stones left by my home's prior occupants. My Planters: So far, I built two planters about 75" long, one 30" wide and the other 36" wide. The legs were 45" and 51" respectively. The 75" length was because of the 6' x 6' bunny run I already had. The leg length was simply the length of the studs on the pallets that I scavenged. The legs on mine have the long face running parallel to the studs instead of at right angles to them -- more of a kitchen table than a trestle table. Once again, this was because I was piecing it together with remnants. Both my planters used found oak studs. The studs were only 1-1/4" thick, so I had to substitute 2" deck screws in some places, to prevent screw points protruding. I substituted the scavenged lath for the cedar boards. I simply laid it over the three studs with the splintered ends hanging over. Then, when I had them all screwed down, I trimmed off all the excess with a cross-cut saw. This was faster than measuring and cutting the lath first. Although I visually inspected the wood I scavenged, I was wary of woodworm, so no piece of it has been allowed in my home or workshop. I did everything in the garden, and I did not bother using any power tools except my battery-operated Makita drill-driver. My neighbors are in shock. They did not even know that I owned a hand saw. Using your planter: Depending on your pot size, each of these planters will hold 2-3 rows of pots. Put the shorter plants nearer the sun and the taller plants at the back. I currently have 5 huge 16" pots of tomatoes and/or cucumbers and ten small pots of carrots in my smaller planter and still have room to spare. The larger planter will get loads of tomatoes soon, if it ever stops raining. Remember to keep the grass trimmed around the base of the planter. Long grass makes a highway for ground crawling bugs. Size issues: The dictating factor for size is the 7' wide deer netting. The length of the planter is negotiable. You can make it much shorter or longer. The one I described simply made use of the 8' lengths available at the lumber yard. The length of mine was decided by the 72" bunny run sections I already owned. However, the width is important. You want the inside dimension to be a multiple of the smaller pots you are using. I made one of mine to hold three 10" pots, and the other to hold three 12" pots. Even if one side of the planter is against a fence or wall, you can easily reach across a 36" wide planter. The leg height is important too. Measure from the top of the wire stretcher, up to the top of a leg, across to the other leg and down to the stretcher again. This distance must be less than 80". Why? Because the deer netting is 84" (7') wide, and you want some overlap. The next freely available size of netting is 14' wide -- using it expensive and creates tons of waste. However, if the legs are too short, less than say 42", you won't have enough height for a tomato cage inside. The height of the wire section is important too. About 2' is perfect. It is easy for you to bend over and tend your plants, but higher than a rabbit will normally try to jump. (Actually, a rabbit can clear 3' in an emergency. Remember, I have pet rabbits so I know. :) If you want to use 18" wire instead, it will probably do, but don't go any narrower/lower. Small people: If you are small, or have children involved in the gardening, the 2' sides may be a problem. You could use 18" wire instead. You could use a plastic kitchen step to stand on You could also make the front and/or back removable. For example, in my design, instead of screwing on the bunny run sidepiece, I could have glued/stapled Velcro to the bunny run section and the legs. Then I could just pull the whole piece off when needed. The landscape fabric: I placed the black cloth flat at the front and back, but raised it 1' at each side. I figured that raising it to about the height of the pots would provide a warmer, wind sheltered spot, and help stop the lawn mower from spraying the pots with junk. Using a different width cloth so that the front and back can be raised too is an option. It would create a well of warmth around the roots, and help prevent junk and crawling insects getting in. Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes love heat, so a warmer enclosure will probably be fine here in New Jersey -- zone 6a. If I were growing different plants, or living somewhere warmer, this hot zone may be too much during the summer months. Covering the black cloth with newspaper, or using white row-cover instead of the black cloth may be a viable option. Snakes, Scorpions, Spiders etc: If you live in an area where poisonous snakes are common, you should cover the outside of the base with wire right down to the ground, to prevent snakes taking advantage of the shade. Since snakes don't usually chew through stuff, I suppose garden cloth would be a cheaper, more easily accomplished option, but be sure to inspect it often. Since scorpions and spiders are not aggressive to humans and eat bugs, I suppose they should be considered welcome guests. You might want to think twice before sticking unprotected hands underneath. Raccoons, Rats and Mice: Raccoons and rodents have not, touch wood, been a problem for me. If rodents were a consideration, then you should use 1/4" hardware cloth instead of chicken wire. You should also put a layer of the hardware cloth over the top of the studs, beneath the upper layer of lath/boards. The critters can still, obviously, climb up the wire and chew through the deer netting, but they do not like being so vulnerable. With plenty to eat elsewhere, they will probably leave your stuff alone. Try not to get into a battle of wits with a raccoon. You will lose. If your problem is bears... Hmmm... Have you considered welding classes? Other Guests: Last year, a beautiful eastern cottontail rabbit made his home under my first planter. Since he could not get inside, and nothing I cared about was outside, he was a welcome guest. After a while, he got used to my presence and would graze a few feet from me as I gardened. It was nice to have such a pleasant companion. I have not seen him since last fall. I do hope he comes back. Wire and Netting: No, you can't use only the plastic netting. You need wire on the bottom two feet. Bunnies and groundhogs will bite through the plastic netting in the blink of an eye. For some reason deer won't -- I don't know why. Nails and Screws: You need to use long screws for the stretchers and legs for strength. However, you could save a few bucks by using galvanized nails to attach the laths. Since I am using various pieces of scrap, I expect these to age unevenly. I used screws so that I could replace pieces easily, when needed. After deconstructing the pallets, I did not want to think about pulling any more nails. If you don't feel comfortable drilling through the wide studs to attach the leg stretchers, you can get metal plates to join them at any hardware store. See more construction options, and how to convert planters into greenhouses in Chapter 3. Bye for now... * * *  |
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