Friday, June 10, 2022

THE CHEAPSKATE RURAL GARDENER: Project Greenhouse - The Finale


The garden center/nursery/conservatory...whatever you want to call it...is complete. The last step was to build a potting bench. If we're going to go whole hog and build a greenhouse, a potting bench is a logical next step. It'll make working on our plants much easier than just sitting on a patch of ground with some potting mix and a pot.


So, now my job is to take these four boards and make a potting bench out of them.


Before I started, I took the plywood boards and painted them with polyurethane to weatherproof them. I also painted an orchid on the board that would be the backsplash. It's an orchid that is named after my wife's grandfather (Catteleya Melecio Huerta 'señor perfecto').


Next, I had my wife stand at a few counters in our house and tell me which is the perfect height for her. 35 inches is what we determined so I laid out a couple of 4x4's...which would be the back legs of the bench...and measured 35 inches from the where the surface of the bench would be.


I cut my lumber using my miter saw, then positioned the back legs and backsplash to the proper position. I secured the backsplash to the 4x4s using 2 inch wood screws, then attached an "L" bracket to the 4x4s, which will be used to hold the larger plywood board that will make the surface of the bench.


I attach the bigger board to the brackets with 5/8 inch wood screws, put on the front legs (which I sink two 2 inch wood screws into each corner to the 4x4s), then put two more "L" brackets on the front legs and the plywood.


The last step is to put a bead of caulk where the two pieces of plywood meet, to keep it waterproof, and screw a big hook into the side where I can hang a watering can.


Put it up against the back fence, next to the greenhouse, and it's all done. Now, the only thing left to do is start using it. 

Darryl Musick
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