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Build Your Own Propagation Beds

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Geoffrey Mehl Add to Journal

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Four Propagation Boxes
Photo Credit: © Pennystone Gardens
We fit a group of four propagation boxes into one 20-foot-square area next to a service path. (The fifth box is one on the opposite side).
When we demolished an old deck as part of an entry makeover, we were left with a big pile of 2x6-foot pressure-treated lumber. Once flooring, the 12-foot-long boards were good candidates for a landfill. Instead, we filled them with land.

Now, you may have heard reports that pressurized wood should not be used in food-crop beds, due to the leaching of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) into the soil. (And if you haven’t heard those reports, you know about them now.) Note that my recycled deck lumber is being used for propagating ornamental plants – not edibles – as well as for occasional short-term storage of a purchased plant (pot and all). If you plan to make a propagation (or raised) bed for food-producing plants, do not use pressurized wood. You would do better to go with redwood or cedar, just to be on the safe side. (Food-producing beds are also likely to be set up in more visible locations in the garden and become part of the landscape display, so you’d want nicer materials for that anyway.)

But in my case, one look at our old decking was all it took to launch a one-day project with big results. We decided the old floor would be great for building propagation or storage beds – basically giant flats back behind our shed. In addition to growing plants, the beds make terrific temporary housing for plants just in from a garden center but not yet in their final location, or for storing uprooted plants for when our flower beds are being serviced. The boxes are also great for young plants that momentarily have no other place to grow.

Warnings
  • If you want to build raised beds for food-producing plants, never use pressure-treated wood! Pressure-treated lumber can leach chemicals – including arsenic – into your garden soil. The plants the author grows in his beds are not edible. Visit the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Website for more information on the EPA’s official take on this issue.
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Tips
  • Most weed-barrier fabric is sold in 4-foot rolls and is fairly thin. If you’re friendly with a landscaping company, see if you can buy some professional-grade weed fabric. It costs a bit more, but the fabric is more durable and comes in wider widths.
Tools
  • You’ll need a good supply of coarse sand – usually sold as “crusher run” or septic sand. It’s handy for all kinds of garden projects, from improving soil drainage to making paths. (You can get it from any gravel supply vendor and some home improvement centers.)
 
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