CasaSugar

Best of 2008: DIY

CasaSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:15:35 -0800

This year, I shared dozens of DIY projects with you, ranging from easy and quick to more time-consuming and intensive enterprises. You were taken by the garden box I built in my backyard to grow my own crop of vegetables and inspired to build your own. Although, one of you pointed out that actually growing a garden might be the hard part! Check out the DIY here.

Cool Idea: Gardening With Rice Wattles

CasaSugar — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:30:54 -0700

Last week, when I volunteered at the SF Victory Garden, I was intrigued by the rice straw wattles that were used to form the garden beds. Rice straw wattles are essentially rice straw, an agricultural bi-product that is enclosed in a netted tube. Both lightweight and malleable, rice straw wattles are often used for erosion control in landscaping, but also work well for garden beds.

I definitely think rice straw wattles are a good option for first-time gardeners who aren't that handy with woodworking tools. By simply connecting a few wattles together, you can create a garden space in a fraction of the time it would take to build a garden box. They also would work well in a space, such as a rooftop garden, where weight is a consideration. I also love the organic, circular shapes that are easily created with wattles.

If you're interested in trying these for your garden, check out Earth Savers' wattles.

Before and After: Don't Fence Me In

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:15:42 -0700

These tired-looking redwood boards were left over after my friends replaced a section of their backyard fencing. While they were full of rusty screws and were only half an inch thick, I saw potential.

Curious about what I did with this old redwood fence? Find out what happened to it when you read more.

I made another garden box out of them! Because I was concerned about the relative thinness of the boards, I doubled them up for each side, and then added a single board halfway down the doubled sides. I also used four-by-four redwood posts for the corners, which were left over from another garden-box project.

The most time-intensive part of this project was turning the soil, which was really impacted from years of use as a lawn. Then, I had to sink the four-by-four corner posts into the soil, and level the entire box. After filling the box with some rich soil, I planted strawberries, artichoke, and other seedlings that I'd already started. I'm pretty pleased with the results, and also happy that I was able to reuse wood that might've ended up in a garbage dump somewhere.

DIY: Build Your Own Garden Box

CasaSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:45:47 -0700

This weekend, I decided to expand my vegetable garden space by building another garden box. If you know how to operate a power drill, you can build this box, too. Here are some tips to make it easier: If you're a first-time builder, go to a small hardware or lumber store with a friendly clerk who can help you work out the details. Also, have the hardware store folks cut all of your lumber to the correct lengths; this will save you loads of time and headaches. Finally, remember: This is going to get filled with soil, so it doesn't have to look perfect! Tune in tomorrow, when I tell you how to securely place, fill, and plant your box.

Here's What You Need

4 longer pieces of redwood, cut to specified length (I used 8 ft lengths)
4 shorter pieces of wood for the ends, cut to specified length (I used 3 ft lengths)
4 4-x-4-inch square pieces of redwood cut to match the height of 2 boards (in my case it was 12 inches). You can also opt to cut your 4-x-4s to a slightly longer length (such as 2 inches longer). This way, you can use the longer length of the 4-x-4s to anchor your box when you have to dig it into the ground.
Galvanized 4 inch-long screws (galvanized screws will resist rust)
Power drill (preferably with other battery pack charged)
Flat, large surface for working, such as a patio, deck, or garage
A willing helper, who can hold ends of lumber and fetch tools as needed

To find out how to build this garden box, just read more.

Take two of your 4-x-4s and place them beneath each end of your long pieces of lumber. Line them up so the ends are flush.

Drill 2 screws into each end of the board, keeping the screw straight and screwing smoothly through both the longer piece of lumber and the 4-x-4 piece of lumber. As you can see from this photo, I had my 4-x-4s cut to a slightly longer length, which will help to anchor your garden box in the ground. However, if you do this, make sure to keep the longer ends of the 4-x-4s on the same side!

Repeat the prior step with the other 2 long boards.

Now, take your 2 long sides with the 4-x-4s screwed into them. Have your helper take one end, and you take the other. Now, turn each side on end, as if it was the wall of the garden box. If you have had your 4-x-4s cut so they are an inch or two longer than your other boards, have the longer end of the 4-x-4s sticking up in the air

With your helper, space the long ends so that they're about the same width as your short boards.

Have your helper lightly hold up the bottom corner of the boards, with the end of the short board and the long board flush in her or his palm. Screw the short board into the 4-x-4. Make sure to alternate your placement of the screw, so the screws won't overlap with the ones in your long board.

Repeat this process on the other corner. Then, stack your second short board on top of the first one use your power drill to screw it in. This is what it should look like.

Secure the other short boards on the opposite end.
You're done! Check in tomorrow when I tell you how to anchor, level, and plant your new container box.

Open House: What Was Your Biggest DIY?

CasaSugar — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:30:00 -0800

I'm feeling a surge of DIY spirit lately, so I think I'm going to begin tackling building my own headboard this weekend - stay tuned! It should be one of the bigger DIYs I've completed, seeing that it's a piece of furniture! But still, not very complicated. The hard part is picking up all the supplies. Some of my most time-intensive projects have been my garden box, and I suppose some of my sewing projects like my panel curtains and my bound-edge cloth napkins, but even those I completed in a day. How about you? What was the biggest thing you've built? What was your most time-intensive DIY project? Have you ever built or made something that's taken weeks or even months? A deck? A quilt? Tell me by commenting below!

How-To: Hanging a Window Box

CasaSugar — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:00:22 -0700

For all of you small-space gardeners out there, window boxes are a great way to maximize growing space. Find out how to hang one with this how-to, from the experts at This Old House. If you have basic carpentry skills (and know how to operate a level and a power drill) then you can decorate your house with gorgeous, flower-filled window boxes.

Depending on the type of windows your home has, you'll have to hang your window box at different heights. For a house with double-hung or sliding windows, measure down one inch from the bottom of the sill. Make a pencil mark. For a window that swings out, measure down 6 to 8 inches.
Now you're going to install the top screw on the bracket. To do so, hold the first bracket with its top on the pencil mark. Mark the bracket for the top screw hole. It should hit close to the first section of siding below the window.
Next, use a countersink bit to drill a pilot hole and counterbore into the bracket on your pencil mark. Fasten the bracket to the house with a 3-inch-long galvanized decking screw through the pilot hole.

For the rest of the directions, just read more.

Make sure that the bracket is level then install the second screw. Then check again that it's level. Bore a pilot hole and counterbore for the second screw through the bracket just above the horizontal leg, where it will be hidden by the window box. Then drive another 3-inch screw through the bracket.

Next, install the second bracket. Use the same technique as for the first bracket. Be careful though! You'll want to use your level to make sure that the second bracket is at the correct height.

Next, you'll want to make sure that the window box is centered. Do so by placing the window box on top of the brackets with the angled side of the box facing out.

After you've measured to ensure that it's centered, fasten the window box to the brackets. Drill and counterbore pilot holes into the upper rear edge of the box, directly in front of each bracket. Then drill a 2-1/2-inch-long galvanized decking screw through the box and into the upper end of each bracket.

Congratulations! You're done! Now fill the box with potting soil, and plant with gorgeous flowers, vining plants, and herbs.

Source and Source

DIY: Planting Your Garden Box

CasaSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:00:12 -0700

Did you read my post on building a redwood planter box? If so, you're already halfway done. You still need to anchor the box, level it, fill it with soil, and plant it. Read on for my list of suggestions on how to do it.

Move your box to the area you want to permanently place it. Since the area in my yard was on a slight incline, I had to dig the box in further on one side than on the other. In any case, you're going to want to dig a perimeter trench for the box, and then place it in the trench.
Use a level to make sure that your box is sitting evenly.
You can stand on the four corners and jump up and down a bit to make sure it's anchored well, too.
Now, break the soil that you dug out of the trenches and use it to stuff into the sides of the box to fill in any holes.
Then, use a pitchfork or shovel to dig up and turn over the grass and soil inside the box.

For the rest of the directions, just read more.

Spread a layer of black and white (not colored) newspaper over the clods of dirt. This will suppress weed growth, and the newspaper will naturally decompose and enrich the soil.
If you have any compost that's pretty thoroughly decomposed, use it to cover the newspaper.

Next, cover the newspaper and compost with gardening soil. We hauled in four bags of Local Hero blend soil from American Soil in Richmond, which specializes in different soil mixtures for gardening and landscaping. If you're not sure how much soil you'll need, here's an easy way to estimate.

Smooth and level the soil.

Now you're ready to plant! I used a mixture of seeds and seedlings, and planted everything from a row of carrots to a a row of zinnias. I planted trellising plants, such as squashes and cucumbers, against the edge of the box. This way I can anchor a trellis outside of the box, which will give me more room for growing plants.

Enjoy!

Garden Therapy: New Garden Boxes From Old Wood

CasaSugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:30:00 -0800

This Summer, I used part of a friend's redwood fence to build an additional garden box. Craftster member Emilyhell was lucky enough to try something similar thanks to some generous friends with a remodeling project. She writes, "My boyfriend and I got some old recycled redwood for free from some friends who were replacing their deck. We built these five-foot-square planter boxes and just today finished planting our fall/winter vegetable garden."

I love the kneeling/sitting area that Emily and her boyfriend built with the top, flat piece of decking. This will help them to lean over and brace themselves when they're harvesting all of their yummy veggies. What a smart, eco design. Nice work!

View 3 Photos ›

Source

Liberty of London Coming to Target!

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:00:35 -0800

Textile and luxury accessories company Liberty of London will introduce an exclusive collection of chic Spring home must-haves for Target on March 14. The designs will feature the British brand's iconic micro-floral prints on bedding, gardening tools, planters, piggy banks, lamps, candles, storage boxes, ceramic and melamine dishes, and even a bicycle! As always, the line will be an affordable one, with most accessories under $10 or $20, while a quilt rings up at $70 and a floral beach cruiser at $200. Liberty, which has an archive of more than 43,000 print designs, has reworked a selection of its signature floral prints into the collection. So if you've long been a follower of the label (which dates back to 1875), you may come across a few of your favorite patterns to bring home.

Take a look at a few more of the designs.

Steal of the Day: Fleur-de-Lys Window Boxes

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:15:32 -0700

I was just looking out my bedroom window the other morning and thinking about how a window box would improve the view. And since I'm also a fleur-de-lys fan, this Smith and Hawken window box offers me everything I could possibly want in a flower box - including a reduced price tag. These sturdy steel Fleur-de-Lys Window Boxes ($119-$159) would look great wherever they were placed, whether in a New Orleans Creole or a Cape Cod beach cottage. But wherever you put it, geographically, make sure to fill it with beautiful blooms.