how to use planter bench

TrailGaiter · 12-29-2011, 02:54 PM

My son and his grandfather built this for me. It came towards the end of summer, so I didn't plant anything in it this year, but I'm itching to do so in the spring! I want to make this last as long as I can...it's made with treated wood, but I still want to protect those boxes somehow. I know I could put pots in them, but I would much rather plant within the boxes, I just think it would look nicer (round pot in a square hole? Nah...)

Is there anything I can coat the inside with? My hubby wondered about tar (like we've used to seal water tanks with...roofing tar...but would need to drill drainage holes) or I also wondered about that spray-in bedliner stuff for trucks. Or just leave it...or add a second wall of plywood...I don't know.

Hoped someone here would have some suggestions! I love this thing, and want to take care of it, but still USE it!

TrailGaiter · 12-29-2011, 02:56 PM

BTW, I fully intend to plant something "tropical looking" in there. It will stay on by deck, and my basjoos will be planted next to the deck as well. I did put a pot with some caladiums in it last summer....which is when I knew I didn't like the pot idea.

I am thinking persian shield...since I love that stuff, but it may grow too big, like it did for me last summer...

Richard · 12-29-2011, 03:03 PM

Check out Watco Danish Oil, not the stains but the "natural" finish. I'd apply it inside and out.

Dalmatiansoap · 12-29-2011, 03:08 PM

I would use square pots
Preusmjeri Obavijest
plant a palm or something that will grow tall so it will not affect on sitting area

TrailGaiter · 12-29-2011, 03:21 PM

Thanks for the fast replies! Richard, I will check out that stuff! Have not heard of it.

Dalmatian, thanks for your suggestion. I've not seen any square pots around here (well, not ones that are big enough to fill in the area, but that I would consider! Palms! I'll have you know I'm totally obsessed with palms, but don't have one. Do they not get a big root system? My love for palms is the reason I got bananas, because I knew in WI, I'd have better luck with them. But a potted palm...suppose that could go out in the nice months, and winter inside during the cold ones. My mom recently picked up some (gawdy) flamingo/palm tree lights....I'll have to use them on my neck next year.

I was considering getting a palm next year, not sure what kind, but a potted one that could sit in the corner of my deck throughout the nice part of the year. But you have me thinking..... !!!

Richard · 12-29-2011, 03:52 PM

I like the idea of planting something tall so that people can sit there. Another choice is something low, like perennial herbs or even strawberries.

hortdoc · 12-29-2011, 04:01 PM

The Watco is a great idea for protecting/beautifying the exterior, and giving it SOME protection, temporarily, against moisture. But any place that water stays in contact with wood will be problematic in the long run. I like the square pot idea, but I'd use saucers under them, or eventually, the bottom will rot out. You could use round pots and disguise them with either Spanish moss, a rock mulch, or a vining plant like sweet potato vines or a trailing petunia or such.

Richard · 12-29-2011, 04:32 PM

Out here in southern CA, saucers under pots will provide an environment for all kinds of native pests and mold in the root zone of the plant -- unless the saucer is drained regularly.

Dalmatiansoap · 12-29-2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrailGaiter

Thanks for the fast replies! Richard, I will check out that stuff! Have not heard of it.

Dalmatian, thanks for your suggestion. I've not seen any square pots around here (well, not ones that are big enough to fill in the area, but that I would consider! Palms! I'll have you know I'm totally obsessed with palms, but don't have one. Do they not get a big root system? My love for palms is the reason I got bananas, because I knew in WI, I'd have better luck with them. But a potted palm...suppose that could go out in the nice months, and winter inside during the cold ones. My mom recently picked up some (gawdy) flamingo/palm tree lights....I'll have to use them on my neck next year.

I was considering getting a palm next year, not sure what kind, but a potted one that could sit in the corner of my deck throughout the nice part of the year. But you have me thinking..... !!!

My general idea there is to create an "umbrella" effect with palms in tall sqare pots. Yes most palms have huge root sys but there are also numbers of pot friendly species, specially if U use tall pots.

CTPalm · 12-29-2011, 05:27 PM

I bought some plastic square pots at Home Depot - very inexpensive too!
I'd still protect it though. Good luck!
Paul

sunfish · 12-29-2011, 07:42 PM

18 in. Plastic Veranda Pot-5701889 at The Home Depot

Olafhenny · 12-29-2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrailGaiter

My son and his grandfather built this for me. It came towards the end of summer, so I didn't plant anything in it this year, but I'm itching to do so in the spring! I want to make this last as long as I can...it's made with treated wood, but I still want to protect those boxes somehow. I know I could put pots in them, but I would much rather plant within the boxes, I just think it would look nicer (round pot in a square hole? Nah...)

Is there anything I can coat the inside with? My hubby wondered about tar (like we've used to seal water tanks with...roofing tar...but would need to drill drainage holes) or I also wondered about that spray-in bedliner stuff for trucks. Or just leave it...or add a second wall of plywood...I don't know.

Hoped someone here would have some suggestions! I love this thing, and want to take care of it, but still USE it!

Hi Angie,

that is a beautiful piece of work and well worth preserving and for that reason ruining it with tar is out.
(With apologies to your husband)

Square pots are hard to find (I know, because I am looking all over for them) and if you do find them as
Paul suggested, you would have to be awfully lucky to find them in the right size.

Here is what I would do:

Buy a quart of Flecto Varathane Clear Satin and paint the inside of the planter boxes. Three coats
and the wood will be protected for good. It will alter the colouration of the wood only minimally. After you
have done that, you may chose to paint the rest of the bench too.

Oh yes, for best results you should apply the next coat within 24 hrs before the previous one. That will
allow the coats to fuse together. I usually do these coats in the evening,- next morning - next evening.
You can probably also do it within 4 to 6 hrs., so long as the previous coat is dry to light touch.

However, there is the other problem of wood shrinkage, as it dries out and the gaps between the vertical
boards will widen. Accordingly you will have to provide some form of stripping or lining to cover the
gap. For the bottom I would suggest a sheet of fly screen on top of a few rocks, to provide positive drainage.
The rising joints you can cover with strips of fly screen or plastic or stuff them with any kind of caulking
material, including old rags or fiber glass insulation or whatever you have handy, and which can be
squeezed in there.

Good Luck,
Olaf

TrailGaiter · 12-29-2011, 08:37 PM

I appreciate all of the replies, thank you! I have always wanted one of these, and to have my 9 year old son and my step dad MAKE it for me, it makes it worth more to me for sure! I want to use it, but don't want to cause it premature damage...

I will check out the Home Depot pots, thank you! By the time I got this, garden centers were pretty much selling out of their stuff, so I can either spend the winter looking to order a couple, or get to these places right when they get their stuff out, to get some of my own! I like the idea of using round, if I have to, and covering the gaps with spanish moss or something similar.

I just LOVE this bench...and am a bit afraid to use it! lol.

sunfish · 12-29-2011, 08:41 PM

Landscape fabric for the gaps in the boards

How to Waterproof a Wooden Planter Box - YouTube

scottu · 12-29-2011, 09:13 PM

You can get copper panning which is just flat sheets of varying thickness of copper. It's what they use for flashing around chimneys etc, when they are visible. You can then bend it, or have it bent, to fit your square hole and solder or have it soldered at the corners, drill holes in the bottom for drainage. Fill it with soil and plant. It's basically a liner and can be removed and replaced at will. It will last a long time.

Olafhenny · 12-29-2011, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunfish

Landscape fabric for the gaps in the boards

How to Waterproof a Wooden Planter Box - YouTube

Good point!
I wished, that I'd have thought of that.

Thanks,
Olaf

raygrogan · 12-29-2011, 10:27 PM

Wow, beautiful boxes and lots of good ideas.

In Iowa I had some wooden boxes that only got used in the growing season, to hold in compost around plants, sort of a raised garden effect. Only lasted about 2 seasons.

A system that can take the water away from the wood is an "earthbox", basically two pots nested, with a drain hose in the lower one. The normal reason people use them is the water that is stored gets roots in it, and you don't have to water as often. For you the advantage would be running the water completely away from the wood.

raygrogan · 12-30-2011, 08:45 AM

Another thought, just one option to ponder long before you jump on it.

Wood rotting is funny business, there are times to keep it dry, times to keep it 100% wet (on a wooden boat it is the water line, the inbetween air and water, that rots), time to let it dry out vs sealing the water inside, etc. And ice and all its effects.

If you are thinking more about letting it dry out inbetween wets, and you don't mind kinda funky colors, here is the option:

Woodlast ( Allied Building Products: Cements & Coatings - ATCO 1423 WOODLAST 2C )

The color part is green wood. Woodlast is sorta like a green stain, like treated lumber meant to be fence posts.

It is water soluble = easy application and clean up, but there are a few tricky areas. It comes in 5 gal, probably way more than you need. I like to thin it down with water (I have huge decks to spray, it keeps the algae / mildew / slippery situation under control great, and thinner spreads it out and makes it not as easy to see where I did and did not spray) but if you do that means you have to use all you thinned out instantly, or the solution will come apart (hard stuff will settle out of the liquid). So if you don't use up all the mixed / thinned solution, at least get it out of your sprayer. I use my regular garden sprayer, which is a tad less precise than an air gun. So more coats of thinner spray look better, but no matter how skillful you are the appearance will lean towards the functional end of your aesthetic meter. But the function is excellent; I've had wooden decks in a Hawaiian rainforest last 3 decades.

The place will reek for a day or so after you spray. The active ingredient is copper, not arsenic like in early formulas. It takes some chemistry to make copper into a liquid. The overspray will spatter and stain anything it hits. Can be rinsed off if you are quick. Doesn't seem to kill plants but don't bet on it. I would not sit on a freshly sprayed bench in white pants, but I think a week or so later it would be OK.

You may be able to order it at your hardware store. If you have a specialty roofing store they are the most likely to have it in stock. The Bobsey brother of Woodlast (green) is Shakelast (red) which looks like you splashed red clay from Georgia or Wahiawa all over your wood. Great for cedar shake roofs.

Olafhenny · 12-30-2011, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raygrogan

Another thought, just one option to ponder long before you jump on it.

Wood rotting is funny business, there are times to keep it dry, times to keep it 100% wet (on a wooden boat it is the water line, the inbetween air and water, that rots), time to let it dry out vs sealing the water inside, etc. And ice and all its effects.

If you are thinking more about letting it dry out inbetween wets, and you don't mind kinda funky colors, here is the option:

Woodlast ( Allied Building Products: Cements & Coatings - ATCO 1423 WOODLAST 2C )

The difference is, that a wood preservative like the one you suggested prevents the wood from
decomposing, when getting wet.

Varathane prevents the wood from getting wet. I have used it on many things: An antique dining room
table in the 1980s which we have use daily since then, and which does not yet have a scratch. I used 5
coats for that one, because I gave it a hand-rub finish, which gives fine old furniture that particular sheen
and on the shades of the lanterns in our gazebo. There I gave it only 3 coats. They were out in the
wind and rain for 5 years, before I had to replace them, because mildew had settled around the edges near
the frames. The “shades” were simple parchment paper on which I had photocopied weeds after
spray-painting them black.

I also used 3 coats of Varathane for the catch trays for planters described here: Water Catcher for Large Pots.

Of course I use wood preservatives on my deck and on the wood work of the gazebo in the above pictures,
but for the inside of the containers of the bench I would prefer Varathane.

vincentmolino · 04-26-2012, 01:19 PM

damn that looks nice, im gonna build one just like it

12-29-2011, 02:54 PM	#1 (permalink)
TrailGaiter Angie Location: Madison, Wisconsin Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Angie Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 127 BananaBucks : 111,234 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 115 Times Was Thanked 117 Times in 64 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	how to use planter bench My son and his grandfather built this for me. It came towards the end of summer, so I didn't plant anything in it this year, but I'm itching to do so in the spring! I want to make this last as long as I can...it's made with treated wood, but I still want to protect those boxes somehow. I know I could put pots in them, but I would much rather plant within the boxes, I just think it would look nicer (round pot in a square hole? Nah...) Is there anything I can coat the inside with? My hubby wondered about tar (like we've used to seal water tanks with...roofing tar...but would need to drill drainage holes) or I also wondered about that spray-in bedliner stuff for trucks. Or just leave it...or add a second wall of plywood...I don't know. Hoped someone here would have some suggestions! I love this thing, and want to take care of it, but still USE it!

12-29-2011, 02:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
TrailGaiter Angie Location: Madison, Wisconsin Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Angie Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 127 BananaBucks : 111,234 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 115 Times Was Thanked 117 Times in 64 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Re: how to use planter bench BTW, I fully intend to plant something "tropical looking" in there. It will stay on by deck, and my basjoos will be planted next to the deck as well. I did put a pot with some caladiums in it last summer....which is when I knew I didn't like the pot idea. I am thinking persian shield...since I love that stuff, but it may grow too big, like it did for me last summer...

12-29-2011, 03:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 901,200 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,537 Times in 4,719 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: how to use planter bench Check out Watco Danish Oil, not the stains but the "natural" finish. I'd apply it inside and out. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

12-29-2011, 03:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
Dalmatiansoap Let there be light Dalmatiansoap's Photo Gallery Location: Makarska, Croatia Find me on the map! Zone: 9 Name: Ante Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 9,161 BananaBucks : 713,567 Feedback: 10 / 100% Said "Thanks" 6,508 Times Was Thanked 8,384 Times in 3,032 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 720 Times	Re: how to use planter bench I would use square pots Preusmjeri Obavijest plant a palm or something that will grow tall so it will not affect on sitting area __________________ https://abnb.me/AXJty518xib Last edited by Dalmatiansoap : 12-29-2011 at 03:12 PM.

12-29-2011, 03:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
TrailGaiter Angie Location: Madison, Wisconsin Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Angie Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 127 BananaBucks : 111,234 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 115 Times Was Thanked 117 Times in 64 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Re: how to use planter bench Thanks for the fast replies! Richard, I will check out that stuff! Have not heard of it. Dalmatian, thanks for your suggestion. I've not seen any square pots around here (well, not ones that are big enough to fill in the area, but that I would consider! Palms! I'll have you know I'm totally obsessed with palms, but don't have one. Do they not get a big root system? My love for palms is the reason I got bananas, because I knew in WI, I'd have better luck with them. But a potted palm...suppose that could go out in the nice months, and winter inside during the cold ones. My mom recently picked up some (gawdy) flamingo/palm tree lights....I'll have to use them on my neck next year. I was considering getting a palm next year, not sure what kind, but a potted one that could sit in the corner of my deck throughout the nice part of the year. But you have me thinking..... !!!

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12-29-2011, 03:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 901,200 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,537 Times in 4,719 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: how to use planter bench I like the idea of planting something tall so that people can sit there. Another choice is something low, like perennial herbs or even strawberries. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

12-29-2011, 04:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
hortdoc Junior Member hortdoc's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 18 BananaBucks : 15,738 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 22 Times Was Thanked 15 Times in 10 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: how to use planter bench The Watco is a great idea for protecting/beautifying the exterior, and giving it SOME protection, temporarily, against moisture. But any place that water stays in contact with wood will be problematic in the long run. I like the square pot idea, but I'd use saucers under them, or eventually, the bottom will rot out. You could use round pots and disguise them with either Spanish moss, a rock mulch, or a vining plant like sweet potato vines or a trailing petunia or such.

12-29-2011, 04:32 PM	#8 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 901,200 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,537 Times in 4,719 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: how to use planter bench Out here in southern CA, saucers under pots will provide an environment for all kinds of native pests and mold in the root zone of the plant -- unless the saucer is drained regularly. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

12-29-2011, 05:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
CTPalm CTPalm's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Zone: 6 Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 93 BananaBucks : 20,003 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 399 Times Was Thanked 108 Times in 49 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 192 Times	Re: how to use planter bench I bought some plastic square pots at Home Depot - very inexpensive too! I'd still protect it though. Good luck! Paul

12-29-2011, 07:42 PM	#11 (permalink)
sunfish Banned sunfish's Photo Gallery Location: San Diego Find me on the map! Zone: 9-11 Name: Tony Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 18,429 BananaBucks : 1,476,411 Feedback: 8 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,210 Times Was Thanked 20,593 Times in 7,760 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2,716 Times	Re: how to use planter bench 18 in. Plastic Veranda Pot-5701889 at The Home Depot

12-29-2011, 08:37 PM	#13 (permalink)
TrailGaiter Angie Location: Madison, Wisconsin Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Angie Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 127 BananaBucks : 111,234 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 115 Times Was Thanked 117 Times in 64 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2 Times	Re: how to use planter bench I appreciate all of the replies, thank you! I have always wanted one of these, and to have my 9 year old son and my step dad MAKE it for me, it makes it worth more to me for sure! I want to use it, but don't want to cause it premature damage... I will check out the Home Depot pots, thank you! By the time I got this, garden centers were pretty much selling out of their stuff, so I can either spend the winter looking to order a couple, or get to these places right when they get their stuff out, to get some of my own! I like the idea of using round, if I have to, and covering the gaps with spanish moss or something similar. I just LOVE this bench...and am a bit afraid to use it! lol.

12-29-2011, 09:13 PM	#15 (permalink)
scottu <div style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="font-weight: bold;">&lt;div style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt;di v style=&amp;quot;font-weight: bold;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&a mp;amp;lt;di v sty scottu 's Photo Gallery Location: Bethlehem,Pa. Find me on the map! Zone: 6 Name: scott Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,192 BananaBucks : 20,419 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,595 Times Was Thanked 857 Times in 368 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3,323 Times	Re: how to use planter bench You can get copper panning which is just flat sheets of varying thickness of copper. It's what they use for flashing around chimneys etc, when they are visible. You can then bend it, or have it bent, to fit your square hole and solder or have it soldered at the corners, drill holes in the bottom for drainage. Fill it with soil and plant. It's basically a liner and can be removed and replaced at will. It will last a long time. __________________ Viva La Banana

12-29-2011, 10:27 PM	#17 (permalink)
raygrogan raygrogan's Photo Gallery Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 250 BananaBucks : 12,186 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 125 Times Was Thanked 314 Times in 166 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 17 Times	Re: how to use planter bench Wow, beautiful boxes and lots of good ideas. In Iowa I had some wooden boxes that only got used in the growing season, to hold in compost around plants, sort of a raised garden effect. Only lasted about 2 seasons. A system that can take the water away from the wood is an "earthbox", basically two pots nested, with a drain hose in the lower one. The normal reason people use them is the water that is stored gets roots in it, and you don't have to water as often. For you the advantage would be running the water completely away from the wood.

12-30-2011, 08:45 AM	#18 (permalink)
raygrogan raygrogan's Photo Gallery Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 250 BananaBucks : 12,186 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 125 Times Was Thanked 314 Times in 166 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 17 Times	Re: how to use planter bench Another thought, just one option to ponder long before you jump on it. Wood rotting is funny business, there are times to keep it dry, times to keep it 100% wet (on a wooden boat it is the water line, the inbetween air and water, that rots), time to let it dry out vs sealing the water inside, etc. And ice and all its effects. If you are thinking more about letting it dry out inbetween wets, and you don't mind kinda funky colors, here is the option: Woodlast ( Allied Building Products: Cements & Coatings - ATCO 1423 WOODLAST 2C ) The color part is green wood. Woodlast is sorta like a green stain, like treated lumber meant to be fence posts. It is water soluble = easy application and clean up, but there are a few tricky areas. It comes in 5 gal, probably way more than you need. I like to thin it down with water (I have huge decks to spray, it keeps the algae / mildew / slippery situation under control great, and thinner spreads it out and makes it not as easy to see where I did and did not spray) but if you do that means you have to use all you thinned out instantly, or the solution will come apart (hard stuff will settle out of the liquid). So if you don't use up all the mixed / thinned solution, at least get it out of your sprayer. I use my regular garden sprayer, which is a tad less precise than an air gun. So more coats of thinner spray look better, but no matter how skillful you are the appearance will lean towards the functional end of your aesthetic meter. But the function is excellent; I've had wooden decks in a Hawaiian rainforest last 3 decades. The place will reek for a day or so after you spray. The active ingredient is copper, not arsenic like in early formulas. It takes some chemistry to make copper into a liquid. The overspray will spatter and stain anything it hits. Can be rinsed off if you are quick. Doesn't seem to kill plants but don't bet on it. I would not sit on a freshly sprayed bench in white pants, but I think a week or so later it would be OK. You may be able to order it at your hardware store. If you have a specialty roofing store they are the most likely to have it in stock. The Bobsey brother of Woodlast (green) is Shakelast (red) which looks like you splashed red clay from Georgia or Wahiawa all over your wood. Great for cedar shake roofs.

04-26-2012, 01:19 PM	#20 (permalink)
vincentmolino Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 18 BananaBucks : 16,397 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 4 Times Was Thanked 43 Times in 18 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 0 Times	Re: how to use planter bench damn that looks nice, im gonna build one just like it

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