26-02-2003, 07:27 PM
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Long-lasting wooden containers for balcony garden
In article ,
(Gabriel) wrote:
I have been using some plastic and some terra-cota containers, and I
am thinking of building my own containers out of wood, which is
cheaper, looks more attractive and allows modular designs that are
harder to get with other materials. My main concern is about treating
the wood against decay:
1- Potting soil versus garden soil: I have been using garden soil with
remarkable success, using organic techniques that avoid hardening.
However, would garden soil make the container decay faster ?
2- Painting the container: Which paint is non-toxic for the plants and
does not accumulate toxins in the plants ? Should I paint the
container from the inside as well ?
Start with cedar or white cypress which is rot resistant, & if you have a
choice of wood taken from the center of logs, that's more resistant still
(avoid at least knotty boards which are less rot resistant). Don't paint
the outsides, an oil based stain looks nicer, stains manufactured for use
in barns are best at preserving against fungus or bacterial attack of the
wood, but mainly the outside oughtn't be the problem even if not painted
at all, except the outside bottom which should undergo the same treatment
as the inside of the container.
For the inside use a thick marine paint that practically makes it
plasticized, or a rubberizing coating such as has replaced roofing tar.
Marine paint is easiest, but the best of all possibilities is to
fiberglass the inside. You can even just coat it with fiberglass resin
without bothering with the fiberglass cloth, though the fiberglass mat
would help "knit" the seams together & permit a thicker coating of resin.
There are fiberglass resin dyes so you can even choose the color, though
only a little rim above the dirt level would ever show.
Fiberglassing is so easy it takes no skill at all, or rather, it takes no
skill to fiberglass the inside of a planter where it hardly matters if it
comes out amateur looking.
-paghat
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/
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