Bodacious Creations by Robert Baune

Q.  What type of wood is used for these raised planter boxes?

A. Western Red Cedar.  I use regular rough cut cedar fence boards.

 

Q.  What is the life expectancy of these planter boxes?

A.  It depends.  They are made of regular fence boards.  They will last as long as a fence does which could be 7-10 years…it depends on how well you take care of it and maintain it. All of my boxes are footed.  Meaning they are designed to sit off the ground for minimal wood rotting.

 

Q. Do I have to line the box before I plant anything in it?

A.  No. There is no need for lining the cedar boxes.  Cedar is a natural porous material.  The water will cause the wood to swell, the plants will draw the moisture back out.  Water is smart…it will escape through the slats of the boxes and via the natural “knot holes” in the wood.

But keep in mind that the wood will not rot if it does not come in contact with the soil.  If you wish to line your boxes, we recommend using a weed barrier cloth/material for the bottom and some kind of heavy plastic like  house wrap for the interior sides.  This will allow the excess water to escape from the bottom and protect the sides from the dirt.  This should extend the life of the boxes to the 10 year expectancy.

 

Q.  Do I have to coat the outside to protect it from the weather?

A.  No.  These boxes  will age (weather) gracefully and nicely just as does a regular cedar fence.  If you do coat it, we recommend Thompson’s Water Seal and then do be sure to line your box so that any potential toxins do not get absorbed into the veggies that you plant.

 

Q.  How do I get the beautiful vines imprinted onto the wood?

A.  Well, now… that’s a proprietary secret.

 

Q.  How deep are these planter boxes?

A.   Most boxes are 2 fence boards deep which would make them 11″ deep. A regular fence board is 5.5″ wide.  I round it up and tell people it is a foot deep!  * The baby box is only one board deep.  So, this will be only 5.5″ .  I round this up and tell people it is a half a foot deep!

 

Q.  How wide are the boxes?

A.  Please feel free to click on the link for each specific box to access the information on the interior box size (the actual amount of space for planting).  If you are wondering about the outside dimensions, these too are listed on each specific box’s page.  I also provided an explanation of the outside dimensions on the home page regarding the nice finished flat top lip (the top edge) of the planter boxes as this most assuredly will affect how wide/long the entire box actually measures and is important to know to help you determine if the box will fit in the area you are thinking about placing it.

Q. How much dirt can this box hold?

A. The bags of soil at the garden centers and nurseries are between 1.5 cubic feet and 3 cubic feet (maybe more, I don’t remember).   I did the math for you in the following chart. I’ll let you decide if you need a bunch of little bags of soil or some big bags of soil!
Box Size                                                 Cubic Feet of Dirt Needed
Baby box                                               .76 cft (round up to a 1 cft)
Regular 2ft long                                    2.55 cft
Regular 4ft long                                    5.21 cft
Regular 6 ft long                                   7.86 cft
4×4 (24” high)                                      16. cft
Tall 2ft long                                           3.35 cft
Tall 4ft long                                           6.85 cft
Tall 6ft long                                           10.36 cft

 

Q.  Why does some portions of the boxes have darker wood coloring?

A.  The center of a cedar tree has what is called “heart wood”  it is darker in color…sort of a “rosey” hue.. some of the fence boards we get are cut from the heart of the tree.  We like to use these darker rose-colored pieces to artistically accent the planter boxes.  Sometimes the heart wood will end up along the flat-topped rim (lip) of the box.  Sometimes it will be used as the decorative legs of the planter box.

 

Q. Why are some of these boxes looking like they have “defects” in them?

A.  I have to smile at these inquiries… A tree is Mother Nature’s creation. There are no defects. As the tree grows, it may have endured stress, trauma and damage. These “scars” will also show up in the wood grain. Not all the boards are uniform in color or density. These boards come with the natural knot holes, imperfections in the wood grain and the occasional discoloration of the heartwood shows up in some of the fence boards. I use the natural formation of the knot holes in the bottom of the planter boxes –as a natural watering drain hole whenever possible.

 

Q.  Do you guarantee that the deer won’t eat the plants I grow in this 32″ tall planter box?

A.   Well….  uhm….  No.  However, I can pretty much guess that for those of you that enjoy venison, your odds of filling your freezer with it will improve. On the other hand…slugs and gofers and moles will not be getting into your raised gardens.

 

Q.  While no one has specifically asked for all this detail, I thought it would be very interesting (even if for my own record keeping) to include this chart of our best sellers from year to year.

A.

		2014	2015	2016
Baby		21	49	114
2ft, 16″ high		10	23	19
4ft, 16″ high		14	13	16
6ft, 16″ high		4	9	17
4×4 sq, 24″ high		N/A	4	5
2ft, 32″ high		N/A	3	6
4ft, 32″ high		15	20	18
6ft, 32″ high		8	17	34
Potato box sets		3	1	6
Bungalow		N/A	N/A	10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: cedar planter boxes in Myrtle Creek Oregon
Filed under: Bodacious Creations