hi inkognito and dave, thanks for your help. i am working with a lanscaper - but as your know - i need to be informed myself for the best results. i am waitning for the landscaper to put together skecthches/pricing. i sounds as if i should go with a wood deck and suck it up and maintain it with sealer every year! my pool has a trex deck - it may be the less expensive trex - but its ugly and i would not put it on my house. i'll look up issues with mold..... ps - my dad said the same as you - that a raised patio will be a fortune if it is done correctly... i'll check back with you when i have nore info.... thanks again, nancy

Thanks for your reply , greenhouser2. My raised are watered till the water can be seen dripping below. I want the shade structure so that I can hybridize with my daylilies. Daylilies will not set seed if temperature is above 80 degrees. Every day since May we have had temperatures in the low to mid 90's. With water restrictions I can only water one day a week either before 6 am or after 7pm Therefore even with all the water I could give them , the sun has done a number on the foliage drying it out till it just crumbles when I touch it. I lost a lot of plants in the late Feb freeze we had and I am trying to get the survivors some protection so I can at least attempt to pollinate and produce seeds this coming spring.

4x4 is a great amount of space to work with. But I would suggest a couple changes to your plan. If I'm reading this right you probably have much more depth then you need. SFG generally says to start with 6 inches of dirt unless you are putting in something like carrots. My beds are made of 8 inch pine boards with dirt going up just over 6 inches. As long as you can support the tomato it should be fine in a raised bed. I would actually be more concerned with the melon--melons like to spread and travel. It could take over the whole patio unless you can direct it out of the way. Last, treated wood can be a contentious topic--some kinds of treated wood is made with chemicals that the EPA says should not be in contact with food crops. I would suggest saving your money and using untreated wood. Especially since this will be raised and on a patio you may be surprised with how well the wood holds up. Good luck and have fun! :)

Hi George - the box is made from sawmill-cut cedar, that is a full 1" x 8".The 2x4's at the top of each trellis is what I intend to attach my slings to - for supporting the heavy items.This way,I can literally hang probably 100 lbs of produce items from each one.The wire mesh is very small,but will only be supporting the vines.And....thank you for the compliment on the design.As you can tell,it was not a copy from anyone else.I only looked at what other people were using,and tried to improve on their ideas.Some people think that i'm kinda weird -or different, and hardly post messages to my threads.I have obsessive compulsive personality disorder, which makes me a perfectionist- and everything has to be a certain way -with failure never being an option.( I have already planted my garden, and have redrawn it over 30 times,because it's still not perfect in my mind).If that gives you any idea what I go through with everything.But, feel free to ask any question - because I can build anything from a sandbox to a space shuttle.I have degrees in air conditioning/refrigeration,industrial electricity,industrial hydraulics,carpentry,and industrial maintenance.Hope everything works out.