KTTT wrote:


I was thinking about using 2x untreated pine lumber and cover the inside
with may be two layers of heavy plastic. The paint section in Lowes or
Home Depot has these plastic sheets in various thickness.

I thought about that, but you still have to have drain holes through
both the plastic and the wood and that would allow water to seep
between the plastic and the wood, eventually causing rot.

I went to Lowe's yesterday to look for copper napthenate
preservatives, but apparently manufacturers are not required to list
ingredients on the cans. I called the 800 number for Thompson's and
they couldn't advise on toxicity, but did say their water sealer is
not suitable for ground-contact, which would include the inside of the
planter box.

So, I dropped that idea. My current plan is to buy plastic tubs used
to mix mortar. They are fairly large, deep, and cheap ($4.37 for the
one's at Lowe's). I plan to build a frame with legs and no bottom. I
can then just drop in the mortar box with the lip resting on the edge
of the frame. I can drill drain holes in the box, but with no bottom
in the wood frame that won't affect the wood. I can then paint the
frame any way I want because it won't contact the dirt.


Well, I abandoned the wooden container idea. It's just too much work to
build two dozens or so 2'x2' containers for me. I ended up with some
cheap plastic planters.

Yes, I'm using a lot of the cheap black nursery pots. They work fine
for one plant/one container plants like tomatoes, cabbage, head
lettuce etc. I also have a lot of plastic pails that originally
contained forty pounds of cat litter. A couple of drainage holes, and
they work fine too.

Now I need some long trays to plant seed crops like carrots and
onions.

I bought a child's wading pool at Wal-Mart: three feet in diameter, a
foot deep. Cost $10. That's going to be my strawberry patch.

I've already spent way more than I can possibly justify by any
vegetables I might harvest, but I figure this year I'm getting the
bugs out of the process and next year will be much cheaper.