Building My Garden Box

I recently read "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew and was inspired by his very organized, mathematical approach to gardening. So I decided to give it a go. I'd heard from other sources how wonderful box gardening was and coincidentally, my friend Lauren, had just built one the other week. Of course, she had the help of her boyfriend who is a contractor. Okay, okay, before you roll your eyes at my total lack of carpentry skills that I'd need a contractor to build a BOX, you have to understand something: I'll do pictures on a wall, hanging curtains stresses me out, putting up shelves? Call an expert. But I was inspired, and I was going to build a box!

I think the most difficult part was the time I spent at home depot. Just finding everything was a pain. And there's the constant looks from the people who know what they're doing wondering what the hell this girl is doing (looking completely lost) in the lumber department. I must have looked pretty pathetic because I got a lot of offers of help but I just needed time to absorb all the products. I had to make sure I knew exactly what ALL my options were, which meant checking out EVERY piece of lumber in EVERY section. I didn't want to miss something, after all. Finally, I picked out my redwood pieces and had them cut. I also bought manure, vermiculite, peat moss, and compost to fill the box. After maybe two hours and two trips to the cash register, I was ready to roll.

My plan was to build two four foot by four foot boxes. Since each box would be six inches tall, I'd place one on top of another so I'd have a twelve inch deep box. When I got home, I realized I hadn't planned on how to actually connect the two boxes together. So back to home depot I went. In talking with the store employee, I learned 2x6's were in fact, about an inch and a half thick. What does the 2 in 2x6 stand for then? I asked. The employee tilted his head to one side and thought for a moment. He gave a rather lengthy explanation about production but I was just thinking how my measurements would be off by a half an inch on each side. I guess I could live with that.

With all my supplies in order, I set to work. Actually building the box was easier than I thought and within no time I was in business. I prepped the ground where it was going, filled it with my fancy materials, and made my grid lines (the most important thing!).



(above) This is the lucky piece of real estate. Here I am getting it ready. That's Woody's blue pool, by the way. Wet dog + dirt lawn = not so good. So the pool has been out of use for awhile, until now!



(above) After I tried to level the ground...who am I kidding, I didn't try that, I put down some trash bags because I was too cheap to buy weed cloth.



(above) The smaller box with the wire bottom was not my invention. It was built by whoever previously owned the house. It made a great sifter for when I backfilled the box with some of the existing dirt.