Building Planters and maybe a trellis

[morpheus83uk]

Hello,

I had some planters made by my other half's dad which have worked great however they were never treated (I was told they were) and they have started rotting after 2 years. I am looking at digging down in the area and treating with Gypsum since its all clay to soften the soil and then dig it over and put plenty of compost in there. I would then like to build one large planter with some slats in it to grow some veg.

What sort of wood is best for this purpose? I was thinking of decking but I don't want to have to keep giving it a coat of paint every year as it will be difficult to get at the back of the planter which is going to be next to the fence. I am thinking of making a large rectangle with some stakes to hammer into the soil and for it to be fairly grounded with lots of nutrients from the now crumbly clay and compost. Is there anything I should look out for?

For some of the berry's were looking at planing and already have I was thinking I could have a trellis around the centre for this purpose. Would this be easier to but or make? If make again what sort of wood?

Thanks

James

 

[London Mike 49]

Why not use green sleepers on the back of the planter on edge, you could screw wooden or steel stakes to the sleepers to stop them moving. As for the sides, decking boards should be ok and would be easy to treat being on the side.
A much more robust planter made of sleepers ( green ones ) would not need treating at all and be fuss free for the long term.
You can make trellis out of roofing laths that are widely available and cheap.

Good luck
Mike

 

[AronSearle]

copper organic pressure treated sleepers or oak sleepers (I don't know what 'green ones' are, some kind of monster tribe?).

Deck boards will not be treated to a level suitable for direct ground contact.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thanks!

I have had a look at the green sleepers and they are the eco-friendly and normal sleepers contain creosote as the treatment which kills the plants.

http://www.railwaysleepers.com/railway-sleepers/treat-railway-sleepers

I am currently awaiting some prices from a few timber yars to see what sort of price they can come up with and also if they are eco friendly since I don't fancy killing everything I put in the planters!

Thanks

James

 

[ladylola]

I don't know what 'green ones' are, some kind of monster tribe?).

I'm guessing the " green ones" might be a reference to their actual colour and are in fact tanilised?
Just to throw something else into the mix. A poster on another forum I use had formed planters by using concrete gravel boards and short lengths of posts so no problems whatsoever with rotting.

 

[AronSearle]

'eco friendly' is a bit of a vague term.

Preservatives are toxic (it is how they work), they won't kill your plants (would be too diluted), but you wouldn’t necessarily want to eat veg from a small planter made of treated timber (not that there are any confirmed health incidents from this).

Technically creosote is banned for domestic use, so anyone selling you sleepers for domestic planters is stepping into a legal grey area.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Ah right if that's the case what other wood which wouldn't rot would you suggest? I have had a quick look around and Ceder seems to have some good decay resistance. I am looking at not having to treat it and it just be weatherproof and look nice in the garden. What are peoples thoughts?

 

[morpheus83uk]

Someone did mention this stuff to me:

http://www.toolandfix.com/ronseal-i...rod_id=84022&gclid=CP2Y2Kua3skCFeoJwwodxyoIAw

They said coat it in this stuff and it dries like rubber which protects the inside, so I presume this could be the case for something like the sleepers on the outside and then treat with that on the inside? I dont know what effect it would have on the plants or soil though?

What are people's thoughts?

 

[AronSearle]

vegtable or flowerbed?

Flowerbed = just throw in pre pressure treated timber.

Vegtable = line it with DPC.

You are in danger of overthinking it.

 

[morpheus83uk]

It will be for veg. I have this morning got a response from my local timer yard who have said that tanalised wood is suitable and guaranteed for 15 years so apparently this is suitable. Is this what you were saying not to use AronSearle because its treated and wouldn't want to eat veg from this? I presume that using this wood and then putting the DPC around the inside with staples or something would be fine?

 

[morpheus83uk]

I spoke to a supplier near me for this treatment on any wood I wanted:

http://www.tanalisedtimber.co.uk/Tanalised-Timber/Tanatone-and-Tanalith-Extra

They said it would be perfectly fine for the plants and the veg and is guaranteed for 25 years which is a bonus. It would need to be Use Class 4 but hey it will be worth it in the end.

http://www.tanalisedtimber.co.uk/Using-Tanalised-Timber/Use-Class-Information

Now just to figure out what wood and what thickness... I am thinking some form of posts maybe 2 inch thick.

Thanks

James