Nine boxes! That’s how many we ended up with.
Two of them are being used for potatoes. One more may become a potato container.
We’re still discussing what to do with the others. I want one of the larger ones for a raised bed for asparagus (like the big box on the left in this picture).
But Vince wants to take them apart to save the lumber for some future use (like he’s already done with the one on the right). But why take it apart and then have to build a raised bed when it’s already perfect for a raised bed without taking it apart? Does that make any sense to you?
We’ve lined the potato boxes up along a long edge of the garden, hoping to be an additional hindrance to the deer. In this picture, they’re upside down because he painted the bottoms to hopefully keep the boards from rotting.
Peggy says
Judy, those are nice boxes and will be nice for raising the potatoes. Now who is going up the ladder to dig the potatoes? Maybe the dirt you are using will stay soft enough to just pull the vine and potatoes our all at one time.
I think the boxes would work for melons also.
Your garden looks nice. One thing that we have done to keep the deer out of the garden is to put human hair in sheer stockings tied to the fence posts around the garden. This worked for the Kentucky deer, but did nothing for the tortise or racoons.
Judy L. says
The hair trick didn’t work for us. We have so many deer. It’s nothing for us to see 15 or 20 out in the back yard. They’re really not afraid of us too much. It’s amazing how close I can get to them.
eve in ga says
The boxes look great! And, with the cost of lumber today, it’s pretty smart of Vince to disassemble the ones you’re not going to be using. Just make sure you’ve already thought about just how many you’re going to need BEFORE he gets them torn down.
Just a dumb question—would it be feasible (or sensible) to put hinged, wired lids over the tops to keep the critters out? Eve
Judy L. says
I have chicken wire over the top of them now and I have 2 x 4’s laying on top to keep it down. The potatoes will grow taller than the sides and then I’ll have Vince nail some boards on the corners and I’ll just wrap chicken wire around the open areas. The deer won’t jump into the boxes because they’re way too narrow so I just have to keep them from being able to lean their heads over the edges and munch!
Carol says
Those hefty boxes should make good beds. This year our raised beds will be upgraded. Luckily we don’t have a deer problem but the squirrels can be a little destructive.
Judi says
your lucky to have such great boxes, my dh always told stories of his grandfather taking apart boxes/crates and saving the wood he even had the kids pound the nails straight and saved them. What will your garden look like when you get back from Paducah?
Judy D says
I think these are the perfect spud boxes. I wish I could find a source without having to go to the major city! I’ll have to find my detective cap!
Our friend built his shop out of pallets, maybe Vince is thinking of building a shop. 😉
karla says
What were those boxes originally? I think many of us are wishing we had those boxes….or at least I sure am!
JudyL says
Equipment was shipped in them. They’re simply shipping crates for very big pieces of machinery.
Liz says
On your question about taking apart good boxes, only to reconstruct them…. I think a bunch of guys would also ask us why we cut apart good fabric to sew it back together.
Of course, I usually throw the wood-cutting question back at them!
So, you have the raised bed and a protective wire top. What about watering? Gees, how about laying a soaker hose in the box, finding a knot hole to put the end through and then just run a longer hose out to the boxes, attach and let it soak in. If you go out of town, you could even get a water timer for the system.
Have you set up a compost bin? With all the straw and leaves around, you should be in good shape there!
Carol says
Thanks so much for using the wood analogy. My DH wants to know why I need so much fabric, magazines and books. I asked him why he needs so much wood, tools, trains, cameras (he collects 35mm ones), etc. His response was that it’s his “stuff”. My response was “Well, this is my stuff.”
Cindy says
I’m going to have to ask a dumb question (sorry). When I was growing up and we planted a garden each summer, we just planted our taters in the ground, no box. Why do you need to plant taters in boxes (sorry).
Cindy
JudyL says
We don’t “need” to plant the potatoes in boxes but planting them in a container using straw is the method I prefer for potatoes. I’ve planted them in the ground in the garden many times but like the boxes/straw method much better.
It’s like most everything . . there’s more than one way to do things and we can choose which way works best for us.
jolyn says
Have you ever tried strawberries in a raised bed – really raised – almost to the top? Beats bending over to pick them!