Specialty Gardening: Dollar store "self watering" containers, 1 by Jaywhacker

Jaywhacker wrote:
Calling all carpenters!! Before ya'll get all carried away buying that decking lumber, which is very expensive, difficult to work with and has a tendency to warp if not firmly screwed (not nailed) together, check locally for cedar or treated lumber fence boards. Fence boards are great for small projects. I have even built 6 inch high raised beds from them that have lasted for 5 years now. In our area a fence board that is 1/2 inch thick by 6 inch wide by 6 foot long cost about $2.00. One lumber yard is selling what is called "imported" fence boards for about $2.75 each that are 3/4 inch's thick. I had my whole privacy fence made from the 3/4 inch stuff as it has less tendency to warp as it ages. But for smaller projects, the cheaper 1/2 inch fence boards are great. I used them for raised beds that are 6 foot long by 3 foot wide. That took 3 boards at about 2 bucks each for a total of 6 bucks per bed. Its slightly thinner wood so you just put good strong cleats in each corner and if you wont to you can strengthen it with a divider across the middle of the bed. The boards may tend to bow out a little if you fill the beds with heavy dirt, which is a no-no nohow. And then there is the mighty stob, the gardeners best friend. Just drive stobs into the ground to strengthen the side boards of a raised bed. I am attaching a photo of one end of my greenhouse/workshop enclosed with fence board type archetecture. My son did this and I refer to him as a "make do" carpenter. He ran out of full length fence boards so he decided to "make do" with some short pieces which left a few gaping holes along the side and roof line. We will replace those areas but of course we will save those shorter pieces for some other "make do" project. Our motto is, "never buy expensive lumber when you can "make do" with a fence board."

This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 2:27 PM