Thursday, June 13, 2013
Seedling Flats (Making It: Radical Home-Ec)
(as recommended by John Jeavons in How to
Grow More Vegetables)
Side pieces: use scrap pieces of 2x4 or 2x6 lumber. Any kind of wood is fine, as long as it's not chemically treated or painted. Ballpark measurements for a flat made with 2x4 lumber would be 16x24 inches, and one made of 2x6 lumber would be 12x12 inches.
Bottom boards: Use bender board (landscape edging), paneling, or slats liberated from a shipping pallet. Thinner wood on the bottom reduces the weight of the boxes and looks nicer.
Saw
Electric drill or hammer
3 1/3 inch-long wood screws or nails, marked suitable for outdoor use
chicken wire
Cut the Side pieces of the box to length and use two nails or screws to secure each corner. Then measure the dimensions of the assembled frame. Cut the bottom boards to match the bottom of the box. The bottom slats can run lengthwise or crosswise, whichever you prefer. Place them as close to one another as you can and attach them to the frame using one nail or screw at both ends of each slat. Pre drill your lumber to prevent splitting, especially when working with thinner wood.
For general purposes, a box constructed from 2x4s is plenty deep for seedlings. Sometimes, though, gardeners like to let seedlings mature a bit more in their flats prior to transplanting. A box constructed out of 2x6s allows for the additional root room plants need if they stay in the flat for more than 4 weeks. Once filled with wet soil, these boxes get heavy, so don't make the standard flats larger than 18z24 inches and limit the ones made with 2z6 lumber to about a foot square.
Don't pain, stain, or seal your finished boxes. They're best left as raw wood so that the wood can breathe and the seedling aren't exposed to any chemicals to keep birds and squirrels out of your seedlings. Tack down the wire if the critters seem ambitious.
Side pieces: use scrap pieces of 2x4 or 2x6 lumber. Any kind of wood is fine, as long as it's not chemically treated or painted. Ballpark measurements for a flat made with 2x4 lumber would be 16x24 inches, and one made of 2x6 lumber would be 12x12 inches.
Bottom boards: Use bender board (landscape edging), paneling, or slats liberated from a shipping pallet. Thinner wood on the bottom reduces the weight of the boxes and looks nicer.
Saw
Electric drill or hammer
3 1/3 inch-long wood screws or nails, marked suitable for outdoor use
chicken wire
Cut the Side pieces of the box to length and use two nails or screws to secure each corner. Then measure the dimensions of the assembled frame. Cut the bottom boards to match the bottom of the box. The bottom slats can run lengthwise or crosswise, whichever you prefer. Place them as close to one another as you can and attach them to the frame using one nail or screw at both ends of each slat. Pre drill your lumber to prevent splitting, especially when working with thinner wood.
For general purposes, a box constructed from 2x4s is plenty deep for seedlings. Sometimes, though, gardeners like to let seedlings mature a bit more in their flats prior to transplanting. A box constructed out of 2x6s allows for the additional root room plants need if they stay in the flat for more than 4 weeks. Once filled with wet soil, these boxes get heavy, so don't make the standard flats larger than 18z24 inches and limit the ones made with 2z6 lumber to about a foot square.
Don't pain, stain, or seal your finished boxes. They're best left as raw wood so that the wood can breathe and the seedling aren't exposed to any chemicals to keep birds and squirrels out of your seedlings. Tack down the wire if the critters seem ambitious.
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