planter box lining

[Electric Comet]

looking for the favorite planter box liner

or maybe i will just make drain holes

pond liner seems too stiff but seems to be the right stuff

[DerbyDad03]

Liners keep water in.

Drain holes let water out.

Perhaps you should decide what you are trying to accomplish before choosing a solution.

[hubops]

Yep. True that ... and if you really don't know what you want -

Ta-Da ! liners that hold in the water AND drain !

John T.

[Larry Kraus]

Dad made window boxes using plastic wallpaper trays, similar to this:

He sized the wood box to hold the tray, drilled drain holes through the tray. The bottom of the box was not solid, just several supports with gaps in the vicinity of the drain holes. Mom liked them because the whole tray was removable for re-planting. I think Dad liked the idea of getting the wallpaper tools away from Mom.

[Puckdropper]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news:edb43224-2487-4113-adfe- [e-mail]:

You want both water separation and drainage. If you let the wood constantly get soaked, it'll rot. If you let the plants stay soaked, they'll rot. So a liner that keeps the water away from the wood and allows the water to drain is what you really want.

As to what to use for a liner, that depends on how deep you want to go. A pond liner could work very nicely as long as you've got a way for the wood to stay dry. One of the advantages to pond liners is that repair kits are available at just about any pond supply store.

I use poly sheeting for ice rinks, and wouldn't consider it a good option for a planter box. It just won't hold up to exposure for more than 5-6 months.

Puckdropper

[DerbyDad03]

I know what you want, the question is: Does EC?

What I really want is for EC to post like a human being, but we all know that that's asking for way too much.

[bnwelch]

Just went thru this exercise. Built 9 planters, all dovetailed corners, fro m PT lumber, sealed inside and out with 2 coats of clear Cabot waterproofin g. Put 1/4" galv hardware cloth in the bottom, covered by weed blocking fab ric. Lined the planter with 6 mil poly letting it hang/drape over the top e dge, with the bottom scored so as to direct water to the bottom where it ca n drain. Using Plastic J molding (think vinyl siding accessory) capped the planter top and trimmed off the excess poly. Exterior of planter/capping wa s coated with exterior solid stain. Plants are doing great, will not know t ill next spring if/how well the planters themselves hold up...

[hubops]

.. and it just takes-a-little-getting-used-to .. the faint chemical taste in the tomatoes :-) John T.

[bnwelch]

Hmmm, which? The Poly, the Cabots or the PT lumber??? Pairs well with Drano on ice :) These are just flowers, nothing for human consumption.

[Dr. Deb]

You really have two choices, you can either let the wood of the planter box get wet, or you keep it dry.

Assuming the planter is sitting outside, its going to get wet when it rains anyhow. So you need breathing room around the liner to allow the planter to dry after a rain and you need a drain (or drains) in the liner that pass through the planter and allow the excess water to drain out of the soil an d yet not keep the bottom of the planter soaked.

The construction is simple, battens on the bottom of the planter for the li ner to rest on and on the sides to keep the give the wood room to breathe. Then in the bottom of the liner, seal in one, or more, drain tubes and ha ve them extend down through the bottom of the planter.

[hubops]

Ha ! I would like to see a pic though - especially the dove-tails - large hand-cut ? ... a lot of PT sawdust if machine cut ? John T.

[bnwelch]

Used a Keller Jig, worked outside, fresh air...Used PT fence boards,

[Electric Comet]

this is interesting sounds good but may be bordering on too complicated

have to think it over and am collecting ideas

[Electric Comet]

never heard of galv hardware cloth will have to look at it

too ambitious for me though

[bnwelch]

ox get wet, or you keep it dry.

ns anyhow. So you need breathing room around the liner to allow the plante r to dry after a rain and you need a drain (or drains) in the liner that pa ss through the planter and allow the excess water to drain out of the soil and yet not keep the bottom of the planter soaked.

liner to rest on and on the sides to keep the give the wood room to breathe . Then in the bottom of the liner, seal in one, or more, drain tubes and have them extend down through the bottom of the planter.

Your concept is spot on...Maybe the liner solution lies in a piece of drain age board, used for basement/foundation water control... such as this:

cB

Probably find some cut-offs at a residential or commercial construction sit e

[Electric Comet]

this is an idea i had not thought about

having them removalbe is a good idea so now i rethink things a little to do that

much easier to replant if they can be taken out

[Electric Comet]

uh yeah that is the point here

did you buy your planter boxes

maybe post a link to some and we can decide if we think it is a good price

[Scott Lurndal]

Does anyone else feel that these planter boxes are being overengineered?

I just use some old redwood fence boards, drill a couple holes in the bottom, and add some dirt (hardware cloth over the holes to keep the dirt in is optional - a thin layer of stones at the bottom generally suffices).

It will eventually[*] rot, in which case I take another old fenceboard and build a new one.

[*] decade, decade and a half around here.

[Leon]

+1 Build it simple and just replace when it has reached it's end of life cycle.