Until this point the yard beside our house dropped fairly severely to the street. The ground underneath the overhang of the house on that side wouldn't grow grass or much else due to the shade and dirt quality (or lack thereof). So we decided to extend the ground from the base of that wall out at level about 14 feet for the entire length of the wall (30 feet). We did a sunlight test with our Plantsmart soil and sunlight measurement tool thingy. We made sure to design the planter so that the leading edge was well into the area the sunlight analysis thingy said would foster veggie growth.
The guys that we got to do the work did just excellent work in reinforcing the wall substantially more than was required, with tube steel and concrete anchors. But better safe than sorry.
We raised the sprinkler system up into the box with enough heads to give a full watering in a short 5-10 minutes. On the far side metal stair frames were built and filled with gravel.
The steps are now topped with decomposed granite (that orang-y mashed up rock you see at hipster-centric, yet lovely indoor-outdoor xeriscaped restaurants). The finished box has layers of gravel, sand and vegi-mix soil at the top. Today we planted marigolds and sweet potato vine at the front for color and bug repellent, tomatoes, basil, chives, bell peppers, strawberries, carrots, and different lettuces for eating, rosemary, lavender, hyssop and borage for more bug control, eating and complimenting each other.
The box will quickly oxidize leaving a beautiful orange-red rust all over. Should be gorgeous when that process completes.
The flora should fill in quickly as the Spring continues and we'll see what type of production we get from the veggies. Last year we got five ("5") cherry tomatoes...but that was a lifetime ago! NOW WE ARE ARMED WITH KNOWLEDGE FROM THE LITTLE COMPUTER FLOWER THAT TOLD US IT WAS TOTALLY COOL TO PLANT OUR TOMATOES RIGHT HERE!!!!!
We raised the sprinkler system up into the box with enough heads to give a full watering in a short 5-10 minutes. On the far side metal stair frames were built and filled with gravel.
The steps are now topped with decomposed granite (that orang-y mashed up rock you see at hipster-centric, yet lovely indoor-outdoor xeriscaped restaurants). The finished box has layers of gravel, sand and vegi-mix soil at the top. Today we planted marigolds and sweet potato vine at the front for color and bug repellent, tomatoes, basil, chives, bell peppers, strawberries, carrots, and different lettuces for eating, rosemary, lavender, hyssop and borage for more bug control, eating and complimenting each other.
The box will quickly oxidize leaving a beautiful orange-red rust all over. Should be gorgeous when that process completes.The flora should fill in quickly as the Spring continues and we'll see what type of production we get from the veggies. Last year we got five ("5") cherry tomatoes...but that was a lifetime ago! NOW WE ARE ARMED WITH KNOWLEDGE FROM THE LITTLE COMPUTER FLOWER THAT TOLD US IT WAS TOTALLY COOL TO PLANT OUR TOMATOES RIGHT HERE!!!!!
Looks great! I look forward to hearing how it turns out. I agree the reinforcement is way more than necessary. Hope they gave you a good deal.
ReplyDeleteIs that a layer of sand beneath the topsoil in the box? Is that typical subsoil in your area, or did you have a drainage problem to alleviate?
Thanks Ben. We have pretty dense subsoil and we put the sand in just to be sure that we had good drainage since veggies were the ultimate goal. It drains almost too well! Anyway, the veggies are starting to take and we planted a number of plants from seed and they have already sprouted and are about 1" or so: carrots, lettuces, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the thickness of the steel plate you used? 1/4″? 1/2″? And did you treat or paint any of the plate before installation? I’m considering a similar design but some people have warned me about rust from the bottom up, especially on the soil side of the wall/plate.
ReplyDeleteSorry for not responding sooner Jeff. I don't get on here much. Probably one or two posts a year. It's 1/4" I believe with reinforced tubing backing it. That tubing is then welded to more tubing which is secured in concrete. We planted a garden so we used no treatment on the inside of it due to chemical leaching. We did apply a plastic liner. The rust is certainly a risk. Time will tell. I certainly won't be thrilled if it takes no time to rust through.
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