Thursday, May 27, 2010

CHEAP PLANT SHELF

With summer and the rainy season fast approaching it was high time to figure out a way to protect my small pots of plants. These are the plants that have been started from seed mostly and need some sun exposure and time to mature some before going out in the garden. They are mostly plants in the intermediate stages and need hardening off before enduring the full elements that South Florida dishes out.

After some careful cogitating as to what would work best for me and with nature I decided to construct a plant shelf.

First step was to establish what I wished to accomplish. This included placing the plants where they would get medium direct sun exposure. Getting the pots up off the ground to protect them from heavy rain, my dogs and the summer bugs. Giving the plants good air flow and allowing them to drain unhindered.


Perma-culture principles for consideration included placing the shelf where I would see the plants everyday. Some where that would not be in my way and would be easy to work with the pots of plants.



Other considerations in line with my 2010 challenge to myself included reusing materials that were on hand to make the project.



After watching the sun for several weeks I concluded that the front of my screened enclosure got the direct sun from around 1 pm till dark or maybe a half day which would work out about right. It is right in front of my back porch so I could see the plants and would be out of everyone's way. Location established.


I found some old wooden shelf supports that were saved from a past demolition taking up space in my laundry room. Also some scrap small pieces of pine wood saved from past projects. They all would be recycled into the shelf.

I purchased six 1x2x8 pine strips and some waterproof Gorilla Glue for the rest of the materials.

The assembly was easy. I sawed some 4 inch divider pieces from the strips ends.

Set the strips on their edges and glued the divider pieces between each strip. This gave it a latticed shelf so the pots would drain properly and the water from rain would not puddle and rot the shelf. The strips standing on their sides also gives the shelf more mechanical strength against warping besides just looking cool.
To add to the gestalt of the shelf I added some front and back rails . Same method glue and clamp. Next day remove the clamp them glue and clamp again until its all done.
Finally screwed in the shelf supports after some trimming and screwed the shelf on top of the supports.
After a few coats of leftover paint this simple shelf blended right in.
It is strong and now has 13 pots on it with room for a couple more.
The shelve fits all my design and perma-culture criteria while uncluttering the ground of 13 pots. Plus my wife likes it, the real gauge of a successful project.
--SANDDUNE--

9 comments:

  1. Very nice, it looks as though it was always meant to be there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That does look good ... as AA mentioned above, it looks like it's always been there!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gillian,
    It was always meant to be there. It was just me that was slow in figuring that out. Im glad that you like it, Thanks.

    Bernie,
    Thanks for the compliment. It was a simple fun project that now serves many functions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great idea and it really looks nice. It always makes you feel good when you take items laying around and put them to good use once again. Nice way to keep track of your plants also.

    Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  5. The cheap shelf certainly doesn't look cheap. It looks great and blends beautifully with the rest of your porch. I love the railing and spindles on your porch.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That not only is a GREAT idea but it looks fabulous, too. I can just see a row of ornamental sweet potato vines overflowing from their pots. How clever you are!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Flowerlady,
    I save lots of odds and ends up and most times they can be used again in future projects. The shelf if where it is seen everyday so the plants on it do not get neglected. Thanks for the kind words.

    NanaK,
    That's the best part it is cheap price wise but sturdy and functional otherwise. It was painted with some leftover paint that had been used originally for the enclosure which made it to blend right in with it.

    Susan,
    Glad you like it and thanks for the the thumbs up.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It looks great, I agree with the others it looks like it was always there,

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rusty,
    Glad you like it. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

Labels

. BLACK FLAMINGO PLANT (1) 2010 CHALLENGE (4) 2011 CHALLENGE (1) AECHMEA GAMSEPALA (2) ALOE VERA (2) AMARYLLIS (2) AMERICAN BEAUTYBERRY (4) ANGEL TRUMPET (2) ANHINGA (1) ANNA KOLB NATURE CENTER (1) ARENAL VOLCANO (1) ATTRACTING BIRDS (1) AUGUST DIVIDENDS (1) AVACADO'S (2) AVOCADO CANNONBALL (1) BALSAM APPLE (1) BAMBOO TOMATO STAKES (1) BEAST PROJECT (1) BEGONIA (2) BELL PEPPER (1) BELL PEPPER SEEDS (1) BEST BLOG AWARD (1) BIG BOY TOMATO (2) BIRD AREA (1) BIRD FEEDER (2) BIRD OF PARIDISE (1) BISCAYNE BAY (1) BLANKET FLOWER (3) BLUEJAY (1) BOUGAINVILLEA (3) BRASSAVOLA ORCHID (1) BRAZILIAN PLUME PINK FLAMINGO (1) BRICK PLANTERS (1) BROMELIAD PUPS (2) BROMELIADS BLOOM (1) BRUGSMANIA (1) BUG JUICE (1) BUTTERFLY BUSH (1) BUTTERFLY HOST PLANTS (1) BUTTERFLY UNK (1) CARDINAL AIR PLANT (4) CARDINAL CLIMBER VINE (1) CELEBRITY TOMATO (3) CEMENT BLOCK PLANTERS (2) CHEAP PLANT SHELF (1) CHENILLE PLANT (1) CHIEN XEN PEARLY ORCHID (3) CHIHULY GLASS SCULPTURES (1) CHRISMAS CACTUS (1) CHRISTMAS CACTUS (5) CHRISTMAS CASSIA (1) CLOUDS (1) COCONUT PALM (1) COFFEE GROUNDS (1) COMFREY (1) COMPOST (1) COMPOST MATERIAL (1) CONTAINER FIVE GALLON BUCKETS (4) COSTA RICA (3) CROSSANDRA BLOOM (1) CROSSANDRA SEEDS (1) CROTON (4) CUBAN BUTTERCUPS (2) CUCUMBER (2) CUTTINGS (2) DAMAGED LEAVES (1) DENDROBIUM ORCHID (4) DENDROBIUM ORCHIDS (1) DESERT ROSE PLANT (3) DESERT ROSE SEEDPODS (1) DOVES (2) DWARF BOLERO MARIGOLD (1) EARTH DAY (1) EL JEFFE ROHO GRANDE (1) EL NINO. BLACK FLAMINGO PLANT (1) ELKHORN (1) EPOXY (1) EPSOM SALTS (1) ETHANOL IN YOUR GAS (1) EVERGLADES TOMATO (5) EVIL EYE (1) FERTILIZER FOR TOMATO (1) FIRST TOMATO (1) FLORIDA NATIVES (1) FOUROCLOCK PLANTS (2) FREE (1) FREE IDEAS THAT WORK (1) FREE ORCHIDS (2) FREECYCLE (2) FRUGAL GARDENING (2) FUNGICIDE (1) GARDEN RULES FOR 2010 (1) GARDENIA (1) GARDENING OMENS (1) GERANIUM (1) GIANT BAMBOO (1) GOING ORGANIC (1) GOOD OMEN (1) GRAMPA OTT MORNING GLORY (5) GRAND DOG (1) GUATEMALA (2) GULF FRITILLARY BUTTERFLY (2) HALF CUT LAWN (1) HANGING BASKET (2) HANOVER SHOTGUN (1) HELICONIA (1) HILLBILLY ORCHID (3) HOMEMADE HANGING BASKET (1) HOT THAI PEPPER SPROUT (1) HOYA COMPACTA (1) HURRICANE SEASON (1) IGUANA (1) INDIAN BLANKET FLOWER (1) INDIAN ROPE PLANT (1) JAMAICA.SPANISH BRIDGE (1) JUBILEE TOMATO (2) KALACHOES (1) KNOTHEAD (1) LANTANA BLOOM (3) LANTANA BUSH (4) LAWN CLIPPINGS RECYCLED (1) LAWN GRUBS (1) LAWN MOWER REPAIRS (1) LAWN STORKS (1) LIZARD (1) LIZARD EGGS (1) LONG PRIDE FANCY ORCHID (1) MAKING IT LAST (2) MAKING WIRE CAGES (1) MANDEVILLA BLOOM (2) MANDEVILLA VINE (3) MANGROVE (1) MANURE TEA (1) Marigolds (2) MATCHSTICK BROMELIAD (1) MEXICAN SUNFLOWER (1) MILKWEED (1) MIMOSA TREE (3) MONARCH BUTTERFLY (1) MOONFLOWER FREEZE DAMAGE (1) MOONFLOWER SEEDS (3) MORNING GLORY (1) MOWER MAKEOVER (1) MUD BARRIER (2) MUTANT MARIGOLD (1) MY GOALS (1) MYSTERY YELLOW BUSH SPROUT (1) nashturtiums (1) NASTURTIUM (3) NEEM TREE (2) NEMATODES (1) NEWSPAPER MULCH (2) Newspaper seed starter pot (1) NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (1) ORGANIC BUG CONTROL EXPERIMENT (1) PARK"S PEARL CUCUMBERS (1) PASSION VINE (4) PERCEPTION POLL (1) PERMACULTURE IDEAS (1) PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID (4) PINEAPPPLE BROMELIADS (1) PLANT CAGES (1) PLANT MARKERS (1) PLANT PARLAY (1) PLANT PROTECTION (1) PLANTING MOONFLOWER SEED (1) PLANTING OUT SPROUTS (1) PLASTIC GREENHOUSE (1) PLUMOSA VINE (1) POLECATS (1) POOR MAN'S COMPOST BIN (2) POTTED CUTTINGS (1) PRIMER COAT (1) PVC SEED COLLARS (1) RAIN WATER SAVER (1) RAINWATER (2) RAISED BED GARDEN (1) RAISED BED PLANTER (1) RECYCLED (1) REPAIRING LAWNMOWER (1) REUSING MATERIALS (1) RINGNECK DOVES (1) RUELLA (1) RUSSIAN COMFREY (2) RUSTIC GARDEN FENCE (1) SAVING SEEDS (1) SEA GRAPE (2) SEAWEED (1) SEED STARTER MIX (1) SETTING GOALS (1) SHADE PLANT (1) SHADE TREE RING OF DEATH (1) SHIBUMI (1) SHRIMP PLANT (4) Southern Collards (3) SPIDER LILLY (1) STAINING FOR EFFECT (1) STARTING SEEDS (2) STOWAWAY PLANTS (1) STUMP ART (1) SUMMER SQUASH (1) SUNFLOWER (2) SUNFLOWER SEEDS (1) SWAMP BUSH (3) TABACON RESORT (1) tactful correction (1) TEMPATURE GUAGE (1) THAI HOT PEPPER (1) THERMAL HOT SPRINGS (2) THINKING FORWARD (1) TILLANDSIA FASCICULATA (1) TIRODS (1) TODAY AND TOMORROW PLANT (1) TOMATO PLANTS (1) Tomato seedlings (1) TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK (1) TULIP SPROUTS (1) TULIPS (2) VANDA ORCHID (1) VANDA PAKCHONG BLUE ORCHID (1) VETERANS DAY (1) WATER MELON (2) WATER STORAGE (1) WESTLAKE PARK (1) WHAT IS IT CONTEST (1) WHITE PEACOCK BUTTERFLY (3) WHITE RIVER (1) WOODEN HANGING BASKET (1) wormhole (1) YESTERDAY (1) YOGURT CUPS (3) YORKSHIRE TERRIER (1) ZEBRA LONGWING (3) ZEN OF GARDENING (1) ZINNIAS (2)

statcounter