Grow Your Own Magazine

My hubby has just come home with a huge 5ft wooden container on legs, which looks like a coffin!! (thought my days were numbered!) anyway, we are gonna put holes in it and layer in some black plastic bags, paint it and then plant something in it, but i dont know what??

He is gonna get me a couple more, its pretty deep, can i ask your expert advice and find out what isnt too deep rooted, is Chard and Kale deep and could i plant them in it?

Thanks Grapes

One other thing, i have two grape vines that i moved from my last house and are in huge containers (acutally got small grapes last year), would they be ok in one??

SS

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
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SS, Are we talking 6 inches or 2 feet deep? Either way if it's more than 5" you can plant lots of things e.g. I grow mini carrots for stir-fries in window boxes (though I don't actually put them in the window... . But there is a "but" which is that containers and roots are more exposed to frost and you seem to be primarily thinking in terms of winter veg - if it's a harsh winter they could freeze solid, roots an' all. Kale and chard are both pretty tough so should be OK with a bit of root protection but last year I think it was Wellie (apologies if I've got that wrong) who wrote about a "summer salad bar" (i..e. all salad crops in one set of containers in a convenient spot) and one of your boxes might be suitable for that neat idea. bb.
ps the legs will need to be pretty strong.... a box full of soaking wet earth when it's raining hard will weigh a lot....

Sounds like an ideal Strawberry table to me, not only keep the strawbs free(ish) from slugs, but also eay to pick!

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Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 5th November2008 - new piccies!

thanks
the legs are really sturdy, so will hold well, it carried printing press parts from Germany, v expensive, so the boxes are really really strong.

I like the salad bar idea, that would be cool and then i would have room in my plot for the chard etc.....

Mrs D, i have strawberries in pots at the mo and they are going great, i have runners coming from them, if i used this box, could i then use the runners to get more plants?? and how would i actually achieve this as they are not in the ground?

Hope you understand what i mean!!

THanks for your help - i may be able to fit one in the greenhouse once the toms etc are finished for winter.

SS

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

Just peg the runners so that they are in soil and let them be for a while, once they've rooted up just cut off the runner part from the parent plant and they should be fine!

__________________
Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 5th November2008 - new piccies!

SS, Nearly every evening there's one thread on GYO that gets into my brain and won't go away... and tonight it's your coffins..... There tends to be more questions than answers at this stage , like dimensions (any chance of a photo?) and are they tannalised (ie weather-proofed coz even though you're lining them the damp will get into joints and fixings so they may not last beyond one or two seasons); weatherproofing stain isn't as effective as tannalised (which is injected under pressure) but might be a worthwhile step. Also where are they to be located? - you mention a greenhouse which is probably ideal, is that in garden or allotment? (coz e.g. at home just outside the back door might suggest herbs etc). In the greenhouse they could also act as staging for, e.g., growbags, pots, modules etc. Another question: WHY are you using them, is it just because they offer additional growing space or perhaps you like the idea of a raised bed that's easy to work - in which case something that requires more rather than less tendering would make best sense and Mrs D's strawberry bed or many of the cooking herbs or seedlings/propagation perhaps would be ideal. Although you'd probably get some results I think kale and chard should slip down the list of priorities a bit if you've traditional space for them elsewhere as they're both fairly hefty and tend to like firm soil whereas you want to be thinking of low-growing plants. If you're particularly keen to grow winter crops in them - partic in the greenhouse - there's a big range of stuff like wild rocket, japanese onions, all year lettuce, purslane, lamb's lettuce, corn salad, land cress etc etc even spring onion and even at a pinch carrots that will survive and even grow a bit during a winter in Bedforshire.

I think it's a good venture and wish you well with it. Pleased to hear the legs are sturdy and that you'll remain squashysu rather than squashedsu bb.

Hi ya BB,

Sorry i had an early night, but your post did make me giggle, so i have taken photos of my "coffins"

as you can see they are quite long about 2ft or a bit more and about 50cm wide and the depth of the actual body is 30 cms (you can see from the ruler), therefore i think they are useful, too useful to waste, the material they are make from looks like layers of ply glued together and they are quite thick (see the third photo), we are definately going to treat them with some good stuff and then line them with this black bags, i love the idea of strawberries, so i may just put some in.

I am gonna use them outside at the mo, because I only have a small plot in my garden, not lucky enough to have an allotment, but i think carrots will grow well and even spinach and lettuces.

One other question, Mrs Dobby says about pegging my runners on my straws, they are in large pots, so shall i peg them in the pots as they arent close enough to the ground to peg, hope that makes sense!! obviously a root forms from the end of the runner to make a new plant, anything is worth a go as straws are great fresh and i begrudge paying loads for them! and they never that good!

SS
enjoy the pics - i could even fit my twin kids in the coffins, thats how big they are ha ha (they are 7!)

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

Hi SS,
You could sink your existing pots of strawberries into the compost-filled 'coffins' up to rim level, then as the runners grow out, they will be at soil level level. Once the runners have their own roots and are established the mother plant can then be lifted out again pot and all.

thanks Becki

BUT the pots i have used for my strawberries are ones i used for flowers in the past and are so so so heavy and wide and they wont fit! they are really really heavy, so i think i may just have to try and plug the runner into an adjoining pot, if you know what i mean! I will give it a go and see how we get on.

thanks though x

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

What about herb boxes?

And remember, it's not the coughin that carries you off, it's the coffin they carry you off in.

Or something like that!

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Minor update - 10th November

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Hello Folks,

I know it's a bit early to ask but I want to grow something in by baskets over winter, any ideas?

Thanks
Danny


**** Sorry, I meant to raise this as a new item ****

OMG - this reminds of what my dad would say to my daughter...often!!! Oh dear Wayne!

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i got lots of herbs in a raised bed that is near the kitchen window - my garden slopes down so at the bottom is a great raised bed with a nice wall and some lettuce and herbs in it!

By the way i not speaking to you wayne since the "special shoes" comment lol!!

SS

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

wow! i'm really jealous- they look great! we're always on the lookout for "rubbish" that we can use for planting. how about filling them with herbs- i've got a couple of half barrels just by my kitchen door so convenient?

i got lots of herbs, i think i am gonna go for a salad bar and then next year onion sets etc.....

herbs are great though, thanks for all your help, i hope BB comes back and sees the pics i put on here for him.

SS

__________________
Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

Great pix, SS - sorry for delay in responding, bit late this evening, delayed by a footie match (no no, I wasn't playing but it's nice to dream...). In the wacky world of containers and coffins - about which I know nowt but that much is probably obvious - these are TROUGHS.... and G..r..r..r..r..e..a..t Troughs at that, I'm sure everybody wants a couple! But what's the little umbrella logo mean, "waterproof" or "protect from rain"? I fear the latter in which case if left outside damp, surface water + ice etc are going to get into the layers and prize them apart; then insects take up residence and they' re doomed, we're all doomed.... After waterproofing as best you can, could you seal the edges and joints with bitumen or fibreglass or some thick waterproof goo that adheres and sets and doesn't disfigure too much - perhaps a builders'-yard-type-outlet could suggest something? Or could you even get them "dipped" at reasonable cost? I'll be seeing some builders tomorrow (er, today), I'll print your pix off and ask 'em.
bb.
ps - missed the shoes joke but HW showing his age eh, it happens to us all... I'll let you into a secret, actually I DID score the winning penalty tonight -- trouble was in so doing I ricked my back and couldn't get off the sofa....

'Morning SS - even better, asked a joiner who makes front doors and windows.... His advice was if it's not marine ply to see if your local timber merchant has facilities to pressure dip or of that's not pos or you prefer to DIY then i) preservative ("be slap happy with it") and then ii) several coats (4 or 5) of stain. The very exposed edges you could help seal with an annual coat of gloss paint. He thought that with regular maintenance they'd last a reasonable time. You're probably keen to get planting but his advice was to be over-thorough at this stage as it's the only chance you'll have of fully treating the raw wood and joints..... To avoid advertising I'll PM the particular makes he recommended. We look forward to the pix, part 2, could even become a series! bb.

Hi Squashysu,

We are big fans of packing cases. I took photos but was unable to compress them far enough to post. We have 4 3x1ft "troughs" made from cases and stained; 2 planted with herbs (Mint, chives,thyme, parsley, coriander and sage) and 2 with strawberries (Alice and Sarian), 1 2x2ft planted with strawberry mignonette. We have just aquired a 4x4ft case which husband sawed the legs off last night to use on its side as a log store just outside the patio doors. Hopefully this will keep the wood dryer and tidier next winter. He has also used pallet wood to create a screen, arch and gate, steps into the greenhouses and a raised bed. He rescued some dexion from the scrap bin at work and made 16ft long staging with a pallet wood top in the greenhouse he created from 2 6x8 greenhouses we were given in return for dismantling and removal. They also gave us the slabs they stood on. Old shelves and scaffolding planks hold the soil in the borders. In the 6x8 greenhouse, he made a heatsink out of house bricks and pallet wood, but we haven't solved the problem of the circulation fan yet, watch this space. We have made water butts and planters out of the ubiquitous blue and green drums. Companies very often give them away as they are charged to dispose of them. Always worth asking but be careful about what they have had in them. When we had a combi boiler in the house, I painted the redundant water tanks using white matt emulsion mixed with some green kids powder paint to create the illusion of verdigris with just a smear of copper coloured acrylic paint round the top to complete the effect and planted them up for the front garden. When we had a new bathroom we used the old loo as a planter until it got broken. It was quite a talking point! We also had a chimney pot planter until husband reversed into it! Hey ho. It all went to improve drainage in the next one. We have used old tent poles for plant supports, fruit and veg cages and clothes line props. The latest experiment is the drum out of our defunct tumble dryer. We have turned it on its side and it already has predrilled holes in what now is the bottom. It is raised on bricks and planted with potatoes. We know Bob Flowerdew has been doing this for years but there is often something where if you look at it in a slightly different way you can get a second life out of and with a bit of artistic licence, you don't have to live somewhere that feels like a scrapyard!

thanks to everyone,

i am excited about using my "toughs" - though i like the thought of calling them "coffins" ha ha !

i will defo get them dipped or really stained and preserved well, as i intend to use them a lot.

I think the umbrella is more for the contents than the box, as this carried so rather precious printing press parts, which are far from cheap.

Well done on the goal BB, shame about the back, and a big shame your opponent slipped over!! oops.......as for the shoes, HW is a saucy sod and was taking the mic out of my fav comfy shoes, so i thought i would get him!! lol.

And Trebell (sorry i cant type your whole name as cant spell it all without looking every two letters lol) well done on your recycling, it sounds great, a few years ago i used to scorn at the word "recycling" and how i have grown up and changed, i would even "recycle" the old man, if someone wanted him ha ha - oops better not say the he will be preserving my troughs lol!

Thanks again for all your help and when they are looking pretty with lots of things growing in them, i will post a pic of part two!

SS

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

SS,

Trebell is fine, I found it difficult to come up with something no one else had used!

Good luck with the "coffins". I forgot to say that ours were used for delivering engineering products so are similar to yours in construction and strength. They have been planted up for two years now and could probably do with a cosmetic re-stain but otherwise they are still sound.

Look forward to the photos

Well here it is, ready and running, my salad "coffin", its working out great and in it i have:

Rocket, Cut & come again and some Mizuna (which tastes lovely already)

When this lot is finished i am gonna try some more strawbs as they are delicious!

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__________________
Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

mmmmm i like the idea of having coffins in my front garden ..... my neighbours already think i'm weird because i like black flowers ...... i'm currently looking out for a skeleton too, to have him doing the gardening ..... now a skeleton digging in a coffin sounds even more cool ...... maybe i have too much time on my hands lol

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