Lately the hubs and I have gotten into a urban homesteading way of life….it started with me wanting chickens and a cow so I could have lots of eggs and butter without going to the store. Unfortunately, cows are “outlaws” here. So, we decided to create some garden boxes. Garden boxes are necessary where I live; due to poor quality soil and the giant tortoises in my yard. If you have good soil where you’re at, you could probably just ignore this post. 😉
I decided to try my hand(s) at lasagna gardening; where you layer assorted biodegradable materials (cardboard, leaves,lawn clippings, kitchen scraps,etc) in a box. (the “lasagna pan”)
My husband did the assembly- not that I can’t use a drill, he just jumps at the chance to use power tools. Ah! His “man toys”.
We secured the boards together using “L” brackets.
Depending on how deep you want your boxes, you may need to use more. This is an 8″ deep box.
After we made two of these, I decided we needed a bigger one.
This one is/was huge. Good thing I have watermelons growing in it now. 😉
After the big ones were made, “someone” wanted their own. Which was great… mainly because random seeds were being planted with my veggies. Now we have a cute little flower bed/random veggie box.
I need to take more updated pictures for y’all. Now there’s more greenery.
The cost of these is very reasonable. Depending on the size (and how many) you want and materials you chose to fill it with it will cost between $8-35. I filled mine using the lasagna gardening method, which takes time to build up and decompose down into compost. You’ll need to add some vermiculite to the compost once it’s broken down, to aerate the soil and assist in drainage. If you don’t want to invest the time in the lasagna method, you can also fill it with a soil mix. Mel Bartholomew author of Square Foot Gardening suggests 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 compost matter. From what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty decent mixture.
