An update from our second season is long overdue. With the big move and all that
chasing a dream required, a garden post never made it to the top of the priority list, but that's what vacations are for, right?!?!
I was honored to see my first garden featured in fabulous places like
Pinterest, Remodelista, Fennel & Fern, but let me tell you the truth sweet readers:
I'm no master gardener! I'm just a girl who loves fresh food and wanted to grow a little of my own. After procrastinating for years, I finally
put the books down and just went for it! That's the best way to do it, my friends. Don't be afraid to fail. Even if only one thing grows, you'll feel so proud when you put it on a plate and eat it!
I still have a lot to learn about gardening, but I do have a few tips to share about the wine boxes. I still get lots of questions about these, so here's all I know:
1. I started over with new boxes this year because the last ones really deteriorated. I did nothing to protect my boxes from moisture last year, and it showed. Here are last year's boxes after only a few weeks:
Water damage. It got a lot worse.
2. To create a moisture barrier, I coated this year's boxes with two coats of Danish Oil. I found this idea in one of my garden books,
Garden Anywhere.
I brushed it on with a cheap brush and let the boxes sit a couple weeks before planting. I'm sure only a day or two is needed, but life was busy. {Note: you don't want to use anything super toxic like polyurethane for an edible garden. Danish Oil doesn't smell super natural to me, but I went with what was in the book and let it soak in fully before adding dirt and plants.}
I learned that Danish Oil isn't a perfect moisture barrier, but my boxes looked a lot better than last year. I think adding a liner of some sort {see tip #4} and brackets {see tip #5} would be ideal.
3. My husband drilled holes in the bottom of each box for drainage. Just like last year.
And this year, we added a single layer of lightweight lava rocks to the bottom for drainage purposes. {The key being
lightweight so your boxes don't weigh a ton. Hmm...maybe you could use cut up wine cork pieces?} Not sure if this step is needed, but my husband insisted it would help with drainage, so I went with it!
4. I lined one box with plastic as a test. I wanted to see what difference this added moisture barrier would make. Next time, I'll line all my boxes. {I used a heavy-duty black trash bag because that's what I had. I cut slits in the bottom for drainage.}
Lined, but not coated. Needs brackets.
I didn't actually coat this box in Danish Oil {testing liner vs. oil}, but I think the combination of both a liner and Danish Oil would've been great. In fact, if you're going to line the boxes with something sturdy, maybe you can use poly after all since it won't be touching the food.
And to keep the sides from pulling apart, here's something I should've done....
5. Add brackets to support the corners. Stainless would be ideal so they don't rust, but they're more expensive. Which means you definitely want to invest the time in preparing your boxes well (Danish Oil and plastic liner} so that you don't waste your money on boxes that are going to rot.
6. Cut wine corks in half to create "feet" at the corners of your wine boxes. Just another way to assist with water drainage. It's all about preventing that soggy, unsightly wood rot!
So all in all, year two's boxes held up better than year one. I've concluded that the ideal wine box preparation includes three things:
protective seal + liner + brackets on the corners.
A salad garden is my favorite way to use the wine boxes.
I added climbing Malabar spinach to the side beds this year.
Laura Finley loves to garden. This girl can make anything grow!
"The Girls" are always part of the action around here.
Laura Finley's ladybugs from Insect Lore. Natural pest control.
The wine box garden sat on a table just off the back porch.
One last look.
Unfortunately, I had to leave my wine box garden with
our Houston home, but I've got great memories and can't wait to give a larger garden a try somewhere on our eight acres in Franklin! {It may have to wait until Spring. We've got our hands full with repairs, adjusting to a new town, soon a new school...not to mention the upcoming Christmas card season!}
I hope this post will inspire you to grow a little of your own food even if all you have is a very small space. We didn't have much of a backyard in Houston {more like a courtyard}, so container gardening was the perfect solution. And wine boxes were the look I wanted.
Where to get the boxes? Try anywhere that wine is sold. We're regular wine buyers, so each time we made a purchase, we just asked if they had a spare box. When we had enough, we stopped asking. Some of the larger wine shops will sell their boxes. Fruit crates would also look great.
Happy gardening!
