I just saw Ryan’s video on urban yamadori. Making grow boxes isn’t that hard but still takes up time. If you live in an area with a Total Wine Store they sell used wine boxes for five bucks that are always of very light construction and in minutes can be converted into very serviceable grow boxes. Anything to save time.
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Hmmm, interesting. Do you have any pics?
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Boxes come shallower and or wider. Depends on what you want. Five bucks a box. Making boxes is a simple job but it takes a lot more than five dollars of my time.
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It takes way more than $5 in material these days too. That box looks awesome. I can always cut the size down using my table saw if need be. Thanks for the pics.
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I don’t know why, but I was expecting a plastic box or something. Those look like they would totally work well.
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I work in the restaurant business and I frequently bring home wooden wine boxes to use as pre-bonsai material containers. More often than not to use for urban yamadori or nursery stock material that needs soil replacement but is not ready for root work. I build boxes for sensitive and more valuable yamadori to insure the wood is not treated.
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So far no issues with them. They show no eveidence of being treated wood. My intuition tells me that cheaply constructed single use boxes used only for shipping bottles of wine would not bear the extra expense of being treated.
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Yeah, that’s been my assessment that too. I do have one very nice little sierra juniper I collected last year in a wine box and a Santa Cruz cypress that are both doing well. The boxes do warp a bit at the corners over time, so I’ve added corner braces to my most recent endeavors.
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I’ve used wine boxes before and the only problem that I’ve had is the construction at the corners. They are typically tongue and groove joints at the corners to look nice but when the wood gets wet and swells, the corners tend to breakdown. I now take a piece of galvanized wire and wrap it around the box and then tighten by twisting the ends until the wire starts to cut into the wood. It’s good for a season or two but if you plan on a longer time in the box, then making one may be better.
I am curious on how long they last? Will they survive for 3-4 years before they fall appart?
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I have one in my garden that has had a tree developing in it for 3yrs and I can still move it without it falling apart. That being said, I don’t move it often.