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The Windowbox Allotment

Useful tips on how to grow & enjoy fruit & veg. from your windowsill !

hammer_nails

Phew! You’ve got your planks, now to metamorphosise them into a lovely windowbox..

What you’ll need: 1.2m length of 2” x 2” wood
  (if you come across a discarded estate agent's sign this is ideal!)
5cm Screws & nails
  (unless you've managed to save sufficient from the pallet dismantling)
  Drill

I'm sorry this next bit sounds a bit confusing, but in time I will have pictures here to make it a lot easier!

The Process:
1.First of all, measure the length and width of the windowsill and decide how high you want your windowbox to stand, so that you will have an adequate depth of soil. (Think about ideally having at least 20cm of height, depending on the width of your pallet planks). Bear in mind that when the plants grow (depending on what you grow) they may restrict some of the light coming into your house, so don't make the windowbox too high in the first place.

2. Cut the required number of planks to the measured length, to form the front and back of the windowbox.

3. Cut 4 pieces of 2” x 2” wood to the combined width of your planks (ie. what will be the depth of your windowbox)

4. Measure the depth of your planks and attach the 2" x 2" lengths with screws (best to drill guide holes first) , that distance in from the end of your cut planks (From Step 2)

5. Now cut the sides of your trough. These will be your measured width (Step 1) minus the plank depth x 2

6. Attach these with screws to the 2" x 2"s attached to your plank lengths to effectively form a bottomless box
(MAKE SURE YOU PUT IN THE SCREWS AT A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LEVEL TO THOSE OF THE LONG PLANKS)

7. Cut additional planks to the length of the box and nail/ screw to the base of it. Try not to leave too big a gap in between your planks or else water and soil will leach out too easily. Drill in additional holes if necessary.

8. Use 4 small offcuts to provide feet for the box (attach with nails). These will allow air to get underneath your windowbox and reduce the chances of it rotting so quickly.

9. Lastly sand the whole thing down to get rid of splinters and rough edges.

Making a cheap windowbox (Part 2: Assembling your box)

Preserving your windowbox

Being made from wood, your windowbox is clearly not going to last forever, but you can prolong it's life by giving the inside and out a good couple of coats of wood stain after assembly, which will also disguise any faults in your wood (and to a certain extent any splits that came about from trying to get the planks in the first place!).

You can also of course choose the woodstain colour to fit in with that of your house to make it a more attractive feature (and not looking quite so much like dismantled and reassembled pallet wood!).

It's worth repainting the outside of the box on a yearly basis to keep it looking good, although inevitably the windowbox will rot from the inside out over several years which you can't do too much about.

completedtrough

Now look to creating ideal growing conditions for your plants..

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