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.