I have a small yard bordered by a couple garage walls and I was trying to come
up with creative ways to grow flowers, fruits or small vegetables with the
limited amount of space available. One idea I had in mind was to construct
some wooden planter boxes that could be bolted or set against the garage walls,
big enough to grow strawberries, small carrots, etc.

I realize that if such a pre-manufactured box exists, they would probably be
expensive due to size. The other alternative would be to build the boxes. Is
there a type of wood that would be well-suited for this sort of thing? I know
that construction pallets are made out of some kind of cheap, flexible wood
that seems resistant to warping and rotting, which might also seem like a good
material to use for this sort of project. Anyone know what this is, or where I
can obtain old crates made of similar material?

Another creative garden solution in regards to what to do about limited space
and having to look at the neighbor's blank garage wall would be to construct a
trellis or some sort of scaffolding-type structure against the wall and grow a
vine (grapes, roses or some other type of flower) or even hang some planters
from it. Would any gardening centers have a kit for something along these
lines, or again, is this something I would probably have to make myself? I
can't bolt anything to the side of the neighbor's garage because it's vinyl
siding, so I'll have to use some innovation, here.

Growing plants of any kind against a surface such as the side of a garage is
difficult because of the heat factor. The sun dehydrates the plants rapidly.
I had this experience once. If your at home all the time its ok, you can
water several times a day or if your not at home you will need some sort of
drip arrangement for those hot summer days.


"Timothy" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 23 Apr 2003 21:25:35 +0000, OhSojourner wrote:

I have a small yard bordered by a couple garage walls and I was trying
to
come up with creative ways to grow flowers, fruits or small vegetables
with the limited amount of space available. One idea I had in mind was
to
construct some wooden planter boxes that could be bolted or set against
the garage walls, big enough to grow strawberries, small carrots, etc.

I realize that if such a pre-manufactured box exists, they would
probably
be expensive due to size. The other alternative would be to build the
boxes. Is there a type of wood that would be well-suited for this sort
of
thing? I know that construction pallets are made out of some kind of
cheap, flexible wood that seems resistant to warping and rotting, which
might also seem like a good material to use for this sort of project.
Anyone know what this is, or where I can obtain old crates made of
similar
material?

Another creative garden solution in regards to what to do about limited
space and having to look at the neighbor's blank garage wall would be to
construct a trellis or some sort of scaffolding-type structure against
the
wall and grow a vine (grapes, roses or some other type of flower) or
even
hang some planters from it. Would any gardening centers have a kit for
something along these lines, or again, is this something I would
probably
have to make myself? I can't bolt anything to the side of the
neighbor's
garage because it's vinyl siding, so I'll have to use some innovation,
here.

One planter that I've seen was a set of stairs that was salvaged from the
dump. They were put up against wall and boxes were built right on top of
the stairs. You could make your own planter rather easily. You should be
able to purchase stair risers (think that's what their called) at most any
lumber store. If you could afford cedar to build the boxes out of great,
but you could make them out of pine and still get 8+ years out of them.
I'd say 3 risers, 13 2x8x12 pine/cedar boards, a pound of nails and a
strong wall would make a good planter. That would make four 6 foot
planters. You'll need more lumber if you wish to make it free standing.

--
http://yard-works.netfirms.com

On 23 Apr 2003 21:25:35 GMT, (OhSojourner) wrote:

I have a small yard bordered by a couple garage walls and I was trying to come
up with creative ways to grow flowers, fruits or small vegetables with the
limited amount of space available. One idea I had in mind was to construct
some wooden planter boxes that could be bolted or set against the garage walls,
big enough to grow strawberries, small carrots, etc.

I realize that if such a pre-manufactured box exists, they would probably be
expensive due to size. The other alternative would be to build the boxes. Is
there a type of wood that would be well-suited for this sort of thing? I know
that construction pallets are made out of some kind of cheap, flexible wood
that seems resistant to warping and rotting, which might also seem like a good
material to use for this sort of project. Anyone know what this is, or where I
can obtain old crates made of similar material?

Another creative garden solution in regards to what to do about limited space
and having to look at the neighbor's blank garage wall would be to construct a
trellis or some sort of scaffolding-type structure against the wall and grow a
vine (grapes, roses or some other type of flower) or even hang some planters
from it. Would any gardening centers have a kit for something along these
lines, or again, is this something I would probably have to make myself? I
can't bolt anything to the side of the neighbor's garage because it's vinyl
siding, so I'll have to use some innovation, here.

What's the light situation? This will heavily influence what you can
grow in a small space between 2 buildings.

While your neighbor could very reasonably object to fixing some
trellis structure or boxes to his garage, he might not mind if you
(asked and) secured some string or plastic to the eaves for a
decorative vine (or beans) to climb on.

Are you familiar with the Square Foot Gardening books/method? This
promotes efficient use of small spaces, with construction advice
included.

Timothy wrote:

One planter that I've seen was a set of stairs that was salvaged from the
dump. They were put up against wall and boxes were built right on top of
the stairs. You could make your own planter rather easily. You should be
able to purchase stair risers (think that's what their called) at most any
lumber store. If you could afford cedar to build the boxes out of great,
but you could make them out of pine and still get 8+ years out of them.
I'd say 3 risers, 13 2x8x12 pine/cedar boards, a pound of nails and a
strong wall would make a good planter. That would make four 6 foot
planters. You'll need more lumber if you wish to make it free standing.

--
http://yard-works.netfirms.com

Thx -- FWIW I did a search on "wood pallets" to see if I could find out what
type of lumber they were made of, and if the wood was treated or not. I've
seen old ones dumped in forests and fields apparently not becoming
biodegradable too quickly -- leading me to wonder if the wood used is treated,
or just resistant to rot. If the latter, it might make a good material for
gardening use.

At any rate, what my search revealed was that there is apparently a big problem
with these things taking up space in landfills. If the wood is indeed of
durable quality, perhaps some enterprising person ought to consider taking
advantage of this opportunity and recycle them into rustic-looking garden boxes
and other useful items. (Sort of like what was done awhile back with old
tires).

http://www.conigliaro.com/recycling/pallets.cfm

On Fri, 25 Apr 2003 03:41:24 +0000, OhSojourner wrote:

Timothy wrote:

One planter that I've seen was a set of stairs that was salvaged from the
dump. They were put up against wall and boxes were built right on top of
the stairs. You could make your own planter rather easily. You should be
able to purchase stair risers (think that's what their called) at most
any lumber store. If you could afford cedar to build the boxes out of
great, but you could make them out of pine and still get 8+ years out of
them. I'd say 3 risers, 13 2x8x12 pine/cedar boards, a pound of nails and
a strong wall would make a good planter. That would make four 6 foot
planters. You'll need more lumber if you wish to make it free standing.

--
http://yard-works.netfirms.com

Thx -- FWIW I did a search on "wood pallets" to see if I could find out
what type of lumber they were made of, and if the wood was treated or not.
I've seen old ones dumped in forests and fields apparently not becoming
biodegradable too quickly -- leading me to wonder if the wood used is
treated, or just resistant to rot. If the latter, it might make a good
material for gardening use.

At any rate, what my search revealed was that there is apparently a big
problem with these things taking up space in landfills. If the wood is
indeed of durable quality, perhaps some enterprising person ought to
consider taking advantage of this opportunity and recycle them into
rustic-looking garden boxes and other useful items. (Sort of like what
was done awhile back with old tires).

http://www.conigliaro.com/recycling/pallets.cfm


From my understanding, lots of them are made from rain forest grown
hardwoods. I know of a man who collects pallets, takes them apart and
replanes them then makes clocks and boxes out of them. They look real
nice. He told me that theres lots of pallets made from oak and mahagony...
--
http://yard-works.netfirms.com