I wouldn't use perlite. It floats and would get nasty quickly. Plus being white, you would see it getting nasty quicker. I would use clay pots with the open end up and put a wire grid over them. The egg crate would work but i think it is too brittle/fragile. Drop one pot on it and you'll be replacing it. Clay pots will wick up moisture, they're cheap and easier to clean, and readily available. With the open ends pointed up, any air flow over the large surface area will boost humidity better, I suspect. I would use something cheap but durable for the walls, paint them with white marine epoxy paint, and affix some plastic coated hardware cloth or other type of wire grid over the panels. That will provide endless spots to hang mounts which you will undoubtedly, eventually, acquire in large numbers. You can also use the wire to hang additional lights or fans, or to hang pots higher up so they're closer to the lights, if needed. It will allow you to use your vertical space. Ventilation will be very important, especially if you have very cool and humid conditions, as most basements would. Sounds like a fun project. Post pics when applicable, please. -MB

If I were in your shoes, look at the whole project, the time and effort you would need to put into it vs the results you want. If you want to refinish yourself, you will need a heated area that needs to stay warm, dry and clean for the refinishing. (That is if my version of what February in CT looks like is correct.) You could say to yourself, hey- it's a lawnmower. I'll spot prime what has delaminated and shoot it w/ close enough. You can brush it on if you wish if you don't want to deal with the overspray and lessen the fumes. BTW, the Deere spray paint will appear lighter than what you have. When I do a deck repair, I make it clear that it isn't going to be a paint match when I touch up after welding/ reinforcing. I've never had anyone care. That being said, if you have an area that you don't mind turning into a spray booth that can provide a good environment for refinishing- I'm sure that you can do a satisfactory job. If I were to refinish it myself, I'd clean it, scrape it and use a chemical stripper on top, rip off what i could on the bottom w/ a wire wheel. As said above, a good refinish starts with a good prep. I've never had lasting finish underside anyways. I'm sure someone has a super finish for it though. Candy apple the top for that custom look. Pride of ownership! A decent powdercoat would be your best chance of a clean look for years to come. BTW, the bedliner decks I've seen have shrunk and started to chunk underneath.

Well, I guess I will add my two cents worth, though ha' penny's worth might be more accurate. I don't really like the terms that are used most often because of misconceptions people have. Many people think square foot gardening is little square plots with diverse things in it and the plots have to be arranged all in neat rows. It doesn't have to be that mundane. Several responses here have said that, and I have to add my "that's right!" to it. I prefer small space gardening as a term. I also like layer gardening rather than lasagna gardening because there is a misconception that lasagna gardening is a set method of preparation that requires a sort of recipe approach. That all being said, small space gardening is what it is. There are basic principles that make it work well. Combining it with layer gardening, however, is a little tricky. One of the problems you run into is your layers. Some of us who have started gardening from scratch have no green stuff to put into a garden layer. In a new house inside a new subdivision? Yeah, I am. No trees! Where am I going to get brown stuff to put into a garden layer? And, if you do find the ingredients, the layers are not bioavailable and do nothing but act as mulch for a year or two. The added difficulty is planting things in those layers, or through the layers to the untreated soil beneath (which is what you are really doing that first year). The truth is that this method takes way too much time anyway. If you want to start fast and then add greens and browns to keep going, here is a good way I have used again and again. And this method actually speeds things up and adds a wonderful treat to your garden. Step one: become a grass murderer! Sorry, but you have to. Kill the grass in the bed you want to make. Removal is best, but back breaking, and if you have that hated weed, Bermuda grass, you will just get invaded from anything you missed. For that reason, you want to put down something that will choke the grass out well enough not to leave any behind. I like using a combination of newspaper and cardboard in the winter. Next put up your bed walls to contain your bed, being sure that you have the walls a little smaller than your newspaper and cardboard prep. This is because one of the most annoying things is to build your bed walls first and have grass survive at the very inside edge of your bed, sending runners all through your bed in early spring. Next layer the bed. I use the following, but the trick is to come up with your own that works for you. You will notice that I use a little more wood much than you would expect, but wait for it! There is a good reason. Starting with the deepest layers: Composted humus and manure sand wood mulch composted humus and manure top soil wood mulch Now, this can be planted as soon as spring hits (or immediately if you are growing some cool season crops). Now you need to do something that will break down all that wood mulch (remember I used two layers). I like to use King Stropharia mushroom spawn and put it in the garden. Okay, I know that sounds crazy, but it will make sense in a minute. King Stropharia is an edible mushroom and decomposer that works wonders. As it breaks down the wood, it releases nutrients to the soil and attracts earthworms. It also preys on nematodes. After your first season of gardening, you can cut all the dead stuff and put it in the garden. Throw in some more wood chips or wood mulch (hardwood works best in my experience) and the mushrooms will keep digesting and composting the soil. You then plant again the next year, leaving the layer of debris and mulch from the previous year on top and harvesting your mushrooms. The result is that you now have an active, living compost pile right in your garden that you can layer things on to your heart is content. If where you live is warm enough to grow the mushroom, I definitely say you should try it. I have heard that phoenix oyster mushrooms work equally well for setting up a space saving garden with layering.

Hmmmmm....been there, done that and the results were not happy ones :-( The vines and climbers were not the primary problems. Trellises, etc. were rather easily removed and the vines just kind of piled on top of themselves. Was a bit of a mess to get untangled and straightened out after the painting work finished but doable. It was the other, smaller plantings that suffered, mostly from ladders and feet. In my very heavily planted garden, it was difficult to protect everything and the painters obviously did not place the same value on smaller, delicate plants that I did. My suggestion would be to do as much of the removal of vines, etc. yourself. That way you can ensure the minimum amount of damage is done and that the replacement will be a smooth operation. Provide some sort of temporary protection for smaller plants - stakes or wire fencing around them, for example - so that feet do not necessarily land right in the middle. And if at all possible, be there when they set up to make sure drop cloths are used and placed carefully and that all debris is cleaned up properly and hauled away when thay are finished. And restrict their clean up area to a specific location. Even with a high grade exterior latex paint, the mess of clean up can be extensive and takes time to disappear. The good news is that not all painting contractors are created equally and some are very conscientious, others are not. While I checked in with the foreman everyday before I left for work and gave specific instructions, he did not stay on the job site all day either (checking in on other jobs) and the crew just kind of did their own thing. Paint job was great, though!