Simple Bench Seat Protector Tutorial

When I started on the mud room I debated painting the bench a different color than the trim.  The trim is Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace, which is basically white.  I knew this bench will see a lot of traffic, which may leave traces of dirt.  In the end I decided to paint it white to keep the space light, and I would create a bench seat protector to add color.  It's a lot easier to change than paint, and it will keep the bench from showing signs of wear and tear.  

I didn't like the idea of a cushion.  I wanted the surface to be stable for things like grocery bags.  The most cost effect and reusable idea was to utilize materials I already had on hand.  

Materials

Piece of cardboard - large enough to fit the space you are trying to cover.  

Fabric - large enough to cover the size of the cut cardboard plus 1-2 inches.  

Tape measure

Pencil

Hot Glue Gun

Glue Sticks

Box Cutter (or any knife type object that will safely cut through cardboard)

Scissors

Cutting Mat or other pliable surface 

Optional: yard stick or other straight edge

++A note about the supplies.  The goal of the 4(for) green acres life is to be creative in your living by finding and using objects and materials that may otherwise be discarded.  In most cases these things still have a function and don't need to end up in the landfill.  The cardboard I used for this project came from the gather sign that is hanging in my kitchen.  The fabric and cutting mat both came from an estate sale.  The fabric is a bed sheet.  For this project, avoid purchasing new items.  Need a piece of card board large enough to fit your space?  Ask around.  Friends, grocery stores, appliance centers will usually give you their old boxes. ++



1.  Measure the space using a tape measure.  For a snug fit, try to make your measurements as accurate as possible.  Lay the cardboard on a pliable surface.  Either a cutting mat, or your yard will do the trick.  Don't try to cut your cardboard on your floor or concrete.  With the pencil, mark the dimensions of your space on the cardboard.  Since mine was rectangular I measured out the four corners and then used the yardstick to connect the dots with a straight line.  Once you have the cardboard marked, cut it with the box cutter.  Error on the side of cutting it too large.  You can always cut more off.

Once the piece is cut, take it back to the area and make sure it fits the space.  Adjust it as necessary.  Don't worry about the edges being rough or slightly uneven.  You are going to cover it with fabric.   

2.  Once the cardboard is cut and tested for fit you are ready to measure out the fabric.  Lay the fabric out flat and mark the dimensions of the cardboard adding an extra 1-2 inches to fold over.  I was not worried about lining up my pattern, but if you are pay special attention on how you cut the fabric.  Be sure to cut your fabric on a cutting mat.  Again, don't worry about straight lines.  The edge of the fabric will be on the bottom side. 

To make the corners easier to lay flat cut two diagonal slits in the fabric on each side of the corner. 

3.  For the final step, lay the fabric top side down on a table.  Lay the cardboard bottom side up on top of the fabric.  The only part of the fabric you should see is the border that is going to be folded over.  Using the glue gun, start to fold over the fabric and glue as you go.  Be careful not to pull too tight.  When you get to the corner, glue the center section down first and then fold and glue each of the side pieces last like in the photo above.  Once you've finished gluing all sides down allow the glue to dry. 

You're finished!  Lay your completed piece in place and start using it. 

Simple Kitchen Herb Garden

 Have a great weekend!

Backyard Garden: Planning

Last week I showed you how to construct boxes and fill them with good soil.  Now it's time to take the next step and think about what you want to plant and when to plant it.  The first thing to take into consideration is when your anticipated last frost will be.  The Old Farmer's Almanac website has a great chart to determine the date for your area.  Find a notebook that is used just for your garden.  As you progress, you'll want to use it to take loads of notes.  I found the one above at an estate sale for $0.25.  I like that it already has a grid pattern.

What to Plant
What you decide to plant is up to you and your tastes as well as the space you have.  Unfortunately I only have a enough room for two boxes in my yard and there are two of us.  Each person needs 2-3 boxes in order to plant everything.  Since I don't have the space, I made a list of all my favorites.  Then I made a list of what is available (including price) at my farmers market. From there I determined what to plant and what will be supplemented from the market. 

Seeds and Seed Starting
Once you've determined what to plant in your garden it's time to purchase seeds and seedlings.  Growing your own seedlings is an option, however, I am not a fan of seed starting.  It requires a lot of time and space to get them all going.  I don't start my own seeds because honestly, I just don't like all the fuss.  Local feed stores and garden supply places will do a lot of this work for you in their greenhouses.  I like to support their business and so I buy seedlings for the plants that are harder or take longer to grow from seed such as tomatoes and onions.  If you wanted, you could start your entire garden with seedlings you've purchased, but it can get expensive. 

You can purchase seeds almost anywhere, but it's important to remember you get what you pay for.  For good, quality seeds that haven't been modified, go for organic or heirloom varieties or those from reputable seed companies.  One of my favorite heirloom seed distributors is Seed Savers Exchange and for organic is Seeds of Change.  Also try to google any local seed companies.  They will most likely carry seeds that are adapted to your area for maximum growth potential.  Here in Texas we have Willhite Seed.  I also like Burpee Seeds because they are readily available.  You don't have to order them through a catalog because they are sold at local retailers.  Overwhelmed yet?

Seed catalogs are so beautiful and can be very stressful for a beginner because of all the varieties they offer.  There is an alternative to picking your own.  Gardener's Supply Company offers a great kitchen garden planner.  It provides a basic layout of pre-planned gardens with instructions.  It's a great tool. 

Layout

Since the boxes are laid out with a grid pattern like the one above, it will make planting easy.  No two types of seeds are in the same square.  The problem I ran into was determining how many seeds to put in each square.  I know that cabbage and tomatoes are large plants and they would most likely have their own space, but I knew I could fit more than one bunch of lettuce in a square.  I clipped the ad above from the Gardener's Supply Company catalog and knew they could offer some help.  Not only can you get a pre-planned garden layout, you can also plug the seeds you want to grow into their planner and they will give you a layout of your personal garden with instructions, including how many plants to have in each square.  I didn't have to draw out my plan because I could print the layout from their website.  I scanned in one of my pages.  That's dirt on the page near the spinach.

Keep in mind that taller plants should be planted on the north side of your boxes so they don't shade out your smaller plants.  This also inclueds any vine type of plant.  If you choose to plant peas they typically do best growing up a trellis of some kind. Any vine type of plant can be woven in a trellis leaving more room around your boxes but you don't want them taking all the sun from your other plants.  Remember this when you are laying out your garden plan. 

When To Plant
Now that you've determined your last frost date, and what you are going to plant and where, it's time to talk about when to plant.  Because determining when to plant is so regional the best advice I can give you is to find planting charts for your area.  I used Mel Bartholomew's charts from the Square Foot Gardening book.  I was able to plug in dates based on my last frost date to determine planting times.  I marked these dates in my calendar. 

I want produce all summer long so staggering my planting times are important.  I plant lettuce, for example, every two weeks (information I gathered from Mel's charts) so that when I harvest one crop I'll have another ready to go in the following week.  The boxes will not look the same through the seasons and so it's important to have a good plan up front.  When it gets warmer here I will no longer be able to plant spinach so it will be replaced with plants that can tolerate more heat.  Then again in the fall, I'll go through another cycle as the temps begin to cool again.  Planting charts should be your most valuable resource for planning.

As I said with boxes, don't overthink it.  There are plenty of books and websites avaialable to do the thinking for you.  I would love to see your plans.  Let me know in the comments or leave me a link. 

**I was not endorsed or offered products from any of the above mentioned companies.  I'm simply a happy customer.**

Backyard Garden: Box Construction

As I mentioned yesterday, I said I would be back to show you the construction of my garden boxes. Between building the boxes, and filling them with dirt it took less than 2 hours. There are many variations to these boxes. My goal was quick and easy and not necessarily pretty or well built. These instructions reflect that as this is what has worked for me. Feel free to get creative and come up with your own variation. Gardener's Supply Company carries a line of prefabricated boxes that require minimal assembly. You really can't go wrong with these boxes.

The number of boxes you build is up to you and how much food you need. 1 box = enough food for 1 person by producing just the basics. For a full range of produce count on 2-3 boxes a person if you have the space.

SUPPLIES FOR 1 BOX:

Boxes: 4 - 1”x12” pieces of untreated wood cut in 4’ lengths
12 eyelet screws
50+ feet of string
4-8 corner brackets
Nails or deck screws
Weed barrier – 4’ width

Soil: ~3 cubic feet peat moss (usually 1 large bag)
~3 cubic feet compost (2-3 bags of variety)
~3 cubic feet expanded shale (1 40lb. bag)

Tools: Hammer or cordless screw driver (depends on use of nails or screws)
Staples & staple gun (if you have one)
Ruler or yard stick
Optional: work gloves, shovel, tarp

Notes about the supplies:

1. If you don’t have a saw the 4’ lengths can typically be sawed in the store OR in some cases, may be sold in that length already.

2. Purchasing untreated wood is imperative. Treated wood will leach chemicals into the soil that will then end up in your produce.

3. The number of corner brackets varies. You want at least four for each corner if they are heavy duty or you can use eight smaller ones by utilizing two in each corner. There is not a particular bracket to use as long as it holds the boxes together. The boxes will not be moving once you put them in place so the main purpose is to keep the wood together so the dirt doesn’t fall out. Meaning: don’t over think it.

4. Creating a fresh soil bed is important because you want to provide a nutrient rich base as well as eliminate the possibility of weeds sprouting. The general rule of a green thumb when it comes to mixing your own soil is 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost, 1/3 expanded shale. This provides the best ratio of nutrients, fluffiness, and moisture retention. You can use premixed soil from a garden center, but I wouldn’t recommend it being your only ingredient. I actually used some in my mix because I needed the extra volume for plants such as tomatoes. I’ll talk more about the soil in the instructions section below.

5. Peat moss, expanded shale, and compost can be purchased from most garden centers. The key to buying compost is to get a variety. You don’t want it all from one source unless it’s your own. Check your local municipalities as well. Many times they have a compost/garden program and you can get these materials for free.

BASIC INSTRUCTIONS:



1. Find a flat surface to put your boxes together. It usually helps to have a second person when doing this. One person can concentrate on holding the bracket and using the tool, while the other person holds the wood in place. Hammer or screw your brackets by alternating each corner to ensure you end up with a square box. Placing the brackets on the inside or outside of the box is personal preference. Mine are on the inside.



2. Now that your boxes are together the next step is to secure the weed barrier to the bottom of the box. There is no right or wrong bottom so choose either side. Since you purchased the weed barrier with a 4’ width you won’t have to worry about layering it. It should fit nicely across the entire box. Cut the length to match the box. You can either staple this to the bottom of the box or use small wide-head nails. Be sure to pull it taut to minimize gapping.



3. Once your box is complete, move it to its end location. Be sure the location you choose has plenty of sunlight.


4. It’s time to mix the soil recipe. This can be done directly in the box (which is why it’s important to move it to the end location beforehand) or you can spread out a tarp to do the mixing. You want to fill the box at least half way up the 1”x12.” You should have purchased enough ingredients, however, if you feel you need more don’t hesitate to add more. Again, there is no right or wrong amount. If you plan on growing tomatoes, carrots, potatoes or any other vegetable that grows in size below the surface or has deep roots, you will want deeper soil. Remember, plants will not be able to root into the ground you’ve placed the box on because of the weed barrier. The purpose of the weed barrier is to obviously keep weeds and grass from growing in your box. So you have to create enough depth for the plants you want to grow. The key thing to remember is the ratio. You want a 1/3 of every ingredient. You may feel like you are using a lot (like the shale) but once you get it all mixed up it will be just right. Stick to the ratio. Once you have all the ingredients on the tarp or in the box mix them all together using a shovel or your hands. The peat moss has a tendency to be dusty. You can add a little water to help control this. If using the tarp, dump or shovel the new mix into your box.





5. Almost done. Now it’s time to lay out the grid for easy planting. I have seen wood slats used before but I went for a cheaper route (eyelets and string) that works just as well. Screw in three eyelets on the top of each side (see the picture above). The eyelets should be about 1 foot apart. Take the string and run it through each eyelet to create a 1’x1’ grid over the top of your box (see picture). Tie off each end.



Finished! Now it’s time to plan your garden so you can start planting. I’ll be back soon to show you how easy it is.

One final note. I have cats that love to be let out in the backyard. I also have rabbits in the neighborhood. I don't want either one to enjoy my boxes more than me. The easiest solution is a simple netting that can be purchased to cover the boxes. I picked up some netting used for fruit trees and cut it a few sizes larger than my boxes. I can water right over the top of it and it can be pulled back easily for planting. 

Resources:
Square Foot Gardening
Gardener's Supply Company


PDF instructions here



images: indigo 26