Saw Milling a Flower Box

[grweldon]

Mixed sawdust or 1 species?

Whatever I was sawing 5 or 6 years ago, mostly standing dead pine. You do not want to use fresh sawdust. In the process of composting, it absorbs large quantities of nitrogen, thus requiring the addition of commercial fertilizer. Wait until it rots, notice I said rotten sawdust from the bottom of the pile..

In my case, since there are no nutrients in my medium anyway, chemical fertilizers are a must.  The sand/sawdust mixture gets a specified amount of nitrogen mixed in before using then in addition, every week the crops get fertilized with a custom mixture which is mostly 19-19-19.  Most of my sawdust was from last year but it wasn't really what I would call rotted yet.

[grweldon]

I have been considering doing some composting my pine dust as well.  I would think pine would be acidic which would be great for blueberries but maybe need some limestone for general use?    Will monitor PH for sure.  My wife found some guy in Oregon who composts only bark mulch by growing mushrooms on it to help speed it along.  He also adds "stone dust" for the minerals.  Supposedly a 3-4 year process but the best compost in the world, or so he says.

The method I'm using (The Mittleider gardening method) says that you can use any species of sawdust except walnut and it can be fresh or old.  The custom fertilizer they specify also contains trace elements (stone dust)...

[drobertson]

I had this short red oak come it a while back, not sure what too do with it, I decided to give the box a go.
It does seem to be a hot item with the lady folks.,  thanks for the idea!


 

[backwoods sawyer]

This log had been sitting at the back of the deck, was to short, had to much crook, along with the deep fluting. The customer is preping (restaing the log house, expanding the landscaping ect.ect) for a wedding next month, and they seemed to be the gardening type so when he mentiond it was his wife b-day the log became a planter, she liked it so much she said it will not be a flower planter until after the wedding at witch time it will be the beverage cooler.
Since it had so much sweep to it I flattered the bottom to 12" so the guide would clear. .
Big thanks to Poston ;) 


 

[prittgers]

One of my good friends is a Baptist missionary.  He's going to be out looking for BIG trees to make a baptismal log!  VERY nice work!

[caveman]

I know this is an old post and it took me a little while to find it but Friday afternoon, I decided to make my mother a log planter box to plant herbs in.  I intended to have it filled with plants on Mother's Day.  She has been in the hospital since last Monday and we did not expect her to be home until Sunday or Monday but she came home yesterday, which was great since she is progressing better than we expected.  I had the planter finished but did not install the rocks, landscape fabric or herbs until today.  Oh, well.  She was feeling well enough to help me select which herbs to plant (they were pulled out of her flower beds or cuttings that were made off of existing plants-they should take off and look better soon).

This one grew legs.  It is out of live oak and is about all I care to lift solo.

  

  I expect that the bark will sluff off but that will be okay.

[samandothers]

Very nice.  Pretty cool to see the different variations on the flower boxes.

[pineywoods]

I have made a bunch of these since poston made the original post. I give them to friends and neighbors. Never gave away one yet that didn't result in something nice in return.. cake, pecan pie, garden produce, you name it. I do the same thing with tomato and bean sticks with the same results.
Goat, you done good.. ;D

[larrydown60]

Great Idea I think I will try this soon a use it for my above ground garden for tomatoes and and other veggies and have a campfire in the fall thanks for the Idea

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Really nice Caveman and a great present for your Mom.
These log planters are fun to make and DO get attention.

[WLC]

To who ever pulled this thread back up to the first page, a BIG THANK YOU!!! (I think :D)  Showed my wife and she was all over it.  I'll be making her a couple of these when I get time.

[Darrel]

Vera is sitting beside me as I read this whole thread.  It looks as though I'll be making one from an old juniper log.  Being made from juniper, it'll last for many years.

[Kbeitz]

A few years ago I took an old ugly log chunk out of the woods
and opened it up the same way but I also kept the top. Then I
drilled a 2 inch hole in the side. I put my trail cam in the log.
I then put the log back out in the woods. This keep the camera
out of the rain and also keeps people from stealing the camera.
It looks like a natural old rotten log just laying in the woods.

[red]

The Original Flower Box Planter from 2014 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Heck - the goat copied it from the rest of us before we even thought about it. :D So now we know the source. Thanks for posting.