Aww, I'm sorry.
Jennifer
Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps
- Thread starter Nifty-Chicken
- Start date
Aww, I'm sorry.
Jennifer
Build a durable planting bed cover
By Charles Sanders
When I decided to build a planting bed cover, I had a few things in mind. First, it needed to be durable. That is, I wanted it to last for many growing seasons. Second, I wanted it to be portable, to be able to be moved as needed. Third, I wanted it to be easy to build. Ultimately, I wanted it to be useful for getting seeds going early and for keeping growing plants bearing and useful late into the season. The cover I came up with filled the bill on all of those counts. Below is a description of the cover and how I built it.
First, decide the size of your frame. I used the full length of an 8-foot 2x6 for the long side of the frame. I could have cut the remaining 2x6 into two pieces making the bed four feet wide; however, I decided that was a little wide to easily reach across once the plants got going. So, I made the bed three feet wide instead.
I used 3-inch deck screws to put the frame together, putting three to a corner. In addition, I added some simple flat right-angle braces to the corners, top, and bottom. I used a carpenter's square to true the corners and added the flat braces. This was done to provide extra reinforcement against warping and the pulling apart of the corners as they weather. Although the screws hold things together pretty well, the braces added strength and rigidity.
I roughly calculated the length of the PVC pipe that would be needed to go corner to corner in a bow-shaped fashion. From a standard 10-foot joint of pipe, that left a couple of feet of pipe — perfect for the short legs needed for the corners. Look at the attached illustrations and you can see how those short legs were attached to the inside corners of the wooden frame. I simply drilled two pairs of holes and screwed the piece to the frame, so that two went into the end piece and two went into the side piece at a right angle to the first two. Each leg was left protruding about an inch and a half or so above the wooden frame. That allowed for the next attachment. On each leg, I dry-fitted one of the PVC angle fittings. They projected at nearly the perfect angle to accommodate the long PVC hoops that were next.
The long pieces of PVC pipe were dry-fitted into the angle fittings. First, the end of one piece was placed into one of the fittings. I then ran it over to the opposite far corner and made a pencil mark at the point where it would be in the opposite fitting. A quick cut with the hacksaw and I put the piece in place. The second was done in a minute and the frame was ready to cover. None of the PVC joints were glued, rather simply dry-fitted in place.
The plastic covering I chose to use was some strong, woven greenhouse covering I had left over from re-covering our greenhouse a few years ago. It is very strong woven poly and has a UV-resistant coating that helps make it very durable. I have written about this material before and can't brag on it enough. It is available from Northern Greenhouse Sales at www.northerngreenhouse.com. You can also use lighter plastic sheeting available at nearly any good hardware store. For a small job like this one, some heavy Visqueen clear plastic film will perhaps be more readily available.
I measured off a length of the covering, leaving plenty to reach down past each end and allow for tucking under the frame. Cut the piece wide enough to reach all the way to the floor on either side. We will be doing some tucking and folding later with the excess. Remember it's always easier to trim a bit extra off than try to come up with some extra if you cut the piece too small!
Attached the plastic to the side of the frame by lining up an 8-foot lath strip (or furring strip) along the edge of the plastic, equidistant from each end. Next, roll the plastic once or twice around the strip. Position the strip at the upper edge of the frame's side and secure it with aluminum roofing nails spaced every foot or so. Now, turn the frame up so that the side with the plastic attached is on the floor. Stretch the plastic a bit to where it gives the arched frame a good shape. Repeat the rolling of the lath strip and secure it as you did on the other side. Don't secure the ends yet.
After we nailed the plastic covering in place along the sides of the frame, my son and I carried it to the garden and put it in place over a prepared seed bed of lettuce and spinach. I scuffed a bit of soil up around the bottom of the frame to help close it from drafts.
A plant bed cover like this is simple to build. It's a good way to spend an afternoon in the workshop. As with other projects I have described in other writings, use what you have or can get easily. Make your place your own.
With this bed cover, we now have a jump start on the season and plan to soon be enjoying some early lettuce and spinach, even though snow is on the ground as I write.
By Charles Sanders
When I decided to build a planting bed cover, I had a few things in mind. First, it needed to be durable. That is, I wanted it to last for many growing seasons. Second, I wanted it to be portable, to be able to be moved as needed. Third, I wanted it to be easy to build. Ultimately, I wanted it to be useful for getting seeds going early and for keeping growing plants bearing and useful late into the season. The cover I came up with filled the bill on all of those counts. Below is a description of the cover and how I built it.
First, decide the size of your frame. I used the full length of an 8-foot 2x6 for the long side of the frame. I could have cut the remaining 2x6 into two pieces making the bed four feet wide; however, I decided that was a little wide to easily reach across once the plants got going. So, I made the bed three feet wide instead.
I used 3-inch deck screws to put the frame together, putting three to a corner. In addition, I added some simple flat right-angle braces to the corners, top, and bottom. I used a carpenter's square to true the corners and added the flat braces. This was done to provide extra reinforcement against warping and the pulling apart of the corners as they weather. Although the screws hold things together pretty well, the braces added strength and rigidity.
Above: The completed and covered frame.
Below: Detail of plastic folded around a lath strip and nailed onto the wood frame.
Below: Detail of plastic folded around a lath strip and nailed onto the wood frame.
I roughly calculated the length of the PVC pipe that would be needed to go corner to corner in a bow-shaped fashion. From a standard 10-foot joint of pipe, that left a couple of feet of pipe — perfect for the short legs needed for the corners. Look at the attached illustrations and you can see how those short legs were attached to the inside corners of the wooden frame. I simply drilled two pairs of holes and screwed the piece to the frame, so that two went into the end piece and two went into the side piece at a right angle to the first two. Each leg was left protruding about an inch and a half or so above the wooden frame. That allowed for the next attachment. On each leg, I dry-fitted one of the PVC angle fittings. They projected at nearly the perfect angle to accommodate the long PVC hoops that were next.
The long pieces of PVC pipe were dry-fitted into the angle fittings. First, the end of one piece was placed into one of the fittings. I then ran it over to the opposite far corner and made a pencil mark at the point where it would be in the opposite fitting. A quick cut with the hacksaw and I put the piece in place. The second was done in a minute and the frame was ready to cover. None of the PVC joints were glued, rather simply dry-fitted in place.
The plastic covering I chose to use was some strong, woven greenhouse covering I had left over from re-covering our greenhouse a few years ago. It is very strong woven poly and has a UV-resistant coating that helps make it very durable. I have written about this material before and can't brag on it enough. It is available from Northern Greenhouse Sales at www.northerngreenhouse.com. You can also use lighter plastic sheeting available at nearly any good hardware store. For a small job like this one, some heavy Visqueen clear plastic film will perhaps be more readily available.
Above: The short PVC piece is attached to the corner with the 45-degree fitting pressed into place.
Below: The metal corner bracket that reinforces the corner joint.
Below: The metal corner bracket that reinforces the corner joint.
I measured off a length of the covering, leaving plenty to reach down past each end and allow for tucking under the frame. Cut the piece wide enough to reach all the way to the floor on either side. We will be doing some tucking and folding later with the excess. Remember it's always easier to trim a bit extra off than try to come up with some extra if you cut the piece too small!
Attached the plastic to the side of the frame by lining up an 8-foot lath strip (or furring strip) along the edge of the plastic, equidistant from each end. Next, roll the plastic once or twice around the strip. Position the strip at the upper edge of the frame's side and secure it with aluminum roofing nails spaced every foot or so. Now, turn the frame up so that the side with the plastic attached is on the floor. Stretch the plastic a bit to where it gives the arched frame a good shape. Repeat the rolling of the lath strip and secure it as you did on the other side. Don't secure the ends yet.
After we nailed the plastic covering in place along the sides of the frame, my son and I carried it to the garden and put it in place over a prepared seed bed of lettuce and spinach. I scuffed a bit of soil up around the bottom of the frame to help close it from drafts.
The completed frame, before being covered by plastic.
I deliberately chose not to secure the ends of the plastic cover at the ends of the frame. I reckoned that once it really started to warm up, I would need to be able to open the cover to allow heat to escape. At first, I simply tucked the plastic under the ends of the frame. However, that would require moving the frame to raise the plastic and check the progress of the seeds, then again when re-tucking the plastic. So I changed tactics and simply laid the plastic on the ground and placed a concrete block atop the loose end on the ground. That seems to work better and helps to anchor the cover against the wind.A plant bed cover like this is simple to build. It's a good way to spend an afternoon in the workshop. As with other projects I have described in other writings, use what you have or can get easily. Make your place your own.
With this bed cover, we now have a jump start on the season and plan to soon be enjoying some early lettuce and spinach, even though snow is on the ground as I write.
Quote: X2!
x3
Was somebody looking for Barred Rocks? I met a lady from Issaquah that breeds them. She also has RIR's. She has eggs in the incubator right now and some that are 6 weeks old and a some older than that.
I have her name and number if anyone is interested.
PM me.
I was...but I found some day olds at Seattle Farm Supply and will pick them up in a couple weeks (meaning...he'll get a shipment of day olds on the 12th). Thanks for letting me know!
x4. Sorry
Quote: X2!
x3x4. Sorry
Oh wow, that's horrible! So sorry.
Travis, did your work hours change? I noticed you're here more at night than you used to be.
hahaha. No, I am on vacation in Hawaii and have been sneaking on here in down time. Funny that you noticed me around.
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