Help! What do I do with this raised wooden planter?
Hi everyone!
I just joined the community and I'm excited to dive in :)
I just bought two of these raised box planters for my apartment terrace. They're lined with plastic and the wood is larchwood. They measure about 39"x23"x12" deep.
My first question is about soil - After I purchased them, I read that some soils may be too heavy for these kinds of containers and the bottom may break if the soil becomes waterlogged. Other than making sure there are holes for drainage in the plastic, is there anything else I can do? I read that some people layer with mulch/bark but I'm not sure that would be wise for this? Any types of soil I should avoid? The only thing I have right now is a general "organic vegetable soil" but it doesn't list what's it made of. I'm also open to switching out the plastic lining with something else.
Second question is about the veggies I grow. I have seeds for spinach, kale, tomatoes, zucchini, chard, pumpkin, arugula and strawberries that survived from last year. I was thinking I'd use the boxes for the tomatoes and leafy greens and use large, separate pots for the zucchini and pumpkin since they're space hogs. My main concern is light. I'll be growing these on my terrace that only gets direct sunlight for 6 hours for about 3 months. Before/after that, only a small area receives direct sunlight for maybe an hour. The rest of the year, it receives bright in direct sunlight on the days the sun is actually out (winters are pretty grey where I live).
I'd love to use this planter year-round but I'm not sure that's realistic considering how different the conditions are in winter.
Sorry for all the questions... especially if they've been answered before! I did a bit of Googling before ending up here but couldn't find much info specific to this.
Comments (8)
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Emilie H
4 years agoEmilie H
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoEmilie H
4 years ago
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)