I see you have a couple of planters/garden beds on legs. How do you like those? I'm contemplating building some next to my chicken run, but I'm not sure about the logistics of having them on leg like that
I have 3 of those planters. They are elevated sub-irrigated planters. There is a pond liner on the inside to make a waterproof reservoir on the bottom. These planters have 4 inch perforated drain lines in the bottom, and an overflow hole drilled into the planter at 3 inches. That leaves a minimum of a 1 inch air gap in the planter between the water level and the potting soil. I have a fill tube at the end of the planter....
... and I just stick in a strip of pool swimming noodle as a water level indicator cut down to size to fit into the tube. That lets me know at a glance how much water is in the reservoir and if I need to refill it. As the plants drink up the water, the swimming noodle indicator in the tube drops. When the indicator is level with the top of the fill tube, it's time to refill the planter.
I have had my best success with these planters. Last summer, we had a terrible drought and no rainfall all summer. I don't have running water in my main garden, and all my "normal" raised beds dried out and the plants died. I had a couple hügelkultur raised beds in the main garden and they produced some food, but not like a normal year. Anyway, it was a credit to the hügelkultur method that anything grew.
Meanwhile, my elevated sub-irrigated planter on my deck was full of produce...
The water reservoir in these planters holds about 15 gallons when full. In a normal summer with average rainfall, I only refill the planter maybe once a month. Last summer, with no rainfall, I had to refill the planter every week. But just look at all that produce (beans) whereas I was growing dust in the main garden.
Since I was at first thinking of making all these planters for the deck, I wanted them on legs. But the same sub-irrigated planter idea would work on a planter sitting on the ground without any legs.
I built these elevated sub-irrigated planters prior to COVID-19 and the sky high lumber prices, yet, it still cost me about $50 in pine wood 5 years ago. Add to that, you would need to buy a liner to hold the water and some perforated drain pipes. That would add maybe another $50 to the project. That build cost me probably just under $100.
Of course, today I might make that same planter using pallet wood and save money there.
Although the elevated sub-irrigated planters are my best producing planters, they are the most expensive planters I have built. Which is why I am now building pallet wood raised beds for my new garden plots and filling them up with the hügelkultur method to hold the water. I have been building all my new hügelkultur raised beds in my backyard where I can run out a hose and hit the beds with a sprinkler whenever I want. In other words, it's not such a big deal to have a built in water reservoir in a planter out there. It's not needed if you have running water.
You really can't move these elevated planters once filled with potting soil and water. They are just too heavy. If I have to move those planters, I have to remove all the potting soil and water first. The planters are 2X4 feet each, and too heavy for me to carry by myself, even when the planters are empty.
The legs worked great on my wood deck, but out in the backyard, the legs are digging into the soil and I noticed that the planters are no longer level. I should have put down some cement pavers first, and then put the planters on the pavers. Next year I might have to empty those 2 planters and reset them on pavers.
For bang for the buck, I am building my pallet wood hügelkultur raised beds out in the backyard...
...Filled with hügelkultur wood to act as a giant water sponge...
...Added a layer of organics on top of the logs and branches...
Next spring, I will top everything off with chicken run compost and top soil mixed 1:1. That will be the topsoil mix for 6-8 inches in each bed. The top boards on the corners will come off as they were only needed to keep everything square while I moved the raised beds to the back yard.
Instead of spending about $100 in new wood at the big box store, I am making these raised beds out of pallet wood and reclaimed lumber for free. Well, pocket hole screws and nails cost about $5.00 per raised bed. It has been one of my favorite pallet projects because I know how much food I can grow in them next summer.
I tried keeping up with the "What Did You Do In The Garden Today" thread, but it was impossible for me read that many posts every day and still have a life outside of BYC forums.
Hope you find some inspiration in these pages. I know I have.
It was a challenge to figure out what I could do with the small amount of lumber I had. I didn't really have a plan - I just figured it out as i went.
Well, that stand looks like it was made by a professional! Planned or not, it ended up great.
