New Garden Box

Today was the day to start my new garden box. At the end of each growing season I empty the garden boxes of growing soil and pile it in an out of the way place, then move the garden boxes to a location where they will not get damaged during the winter. Left in place they could get damaged by the heavy snow or run into by the snow thrower or tractor. Last year when I emptied the boxes I noted that two of the three were starting to deteriorate and wouldn't keep the critters out with the next use.

This is the bottom of the box which will be put together soon. Since the bottom of the box holds moisture from the soil in which the plants grow I put a liberal coat of Thompson's Wood Sealer on them. By doing it now it will soak into the wood and be fully dry come planting season. I plan to use "L" brackets on the corners to hold the pieces together. For the first two years I will not plant any seeds close to the treated wood.

Next will be to staple 1/2" hardware cloth on the bottom to keep any rodents from burrowing under the box and getting in to the tender plants. Then install the posts in each corner and brace those and cover all four sides with more hardware cloth. Then make the top or use  the old box's top and it will be done. Add hinges and wait for the growing season to begin. It will be placed out of the way outside to allow the sealer to diminish.

I will photo the box as I progress so anyone interested can see how it is made. Here in the mountains if you want to grow vegetables outside you need something like this to keep all the squirrels, chipmunks, pack rats, mice and voles out.