Hey that's so cool....Great job.

That looks really spiffy! What salad goodies are you planting in it?

Really like that! Thanks for the link.

I planted Emerald Oak and Bronze Arrow lettuce, broccoli raab, Forest Green parsley, Genovese basil, and winter thyme. Same stuff we buy a lot of during summer. The seedlings should germinate in a few days.

It's my first "vegetable garden" and I am so excited.

Nice job. That size table should provide quite a supply of salad greens for you.

It would be so nice to have my garden at waist level. As I get older I think more and more about that idea.

Jim

Would strawberries work in one of these tables?

Our dinner conversation centered around this magnificent structure tonight. Thank you.

anney: just a hunch, but if you can grow strawberries in a so-called "strawberry jar", you can probably grow them in a table top container......though, I would want it to be as deep as you can manage.

My garden consists of four raised beds and lots of containers. One of my raised beds is a 4x4 box on wheels. I continue to be amazed at the produce I harvest out of that little box! My gut-feeling is, you could probably grow strawberries in a table-top setup based on the variety of produce that I have been able to grow over the past few years in my box on wheels.

John

About how deep is the soil in your box? Strawberries seem to do best with about 12 inches of soil, or at least that's how deep the roots go when the plants are healthy and productive, according to one site I saw. It's possible that if the planting soil is very nutritious, the roots wouldn't have to go that deep. But I'm sure you're right -- the deeper the soil for strawberries, the better.

I'd love to have a BIG garden of waist-high raised beds, all with good soil! But I guess you'd have to have steps to pick some of what you grew!

Thanks to all for the positive words! I first heard about this table in San Francisco Chronicle, "It takes a hammer to grow this salad."

The table was an inspiration of John Traunfeld at University of Maryland Cooperative Extension. He took his idea to schools and communities to demonstrate anyone could grow food near where they live. I think his instructions can be modified to adapt to different needs. Altogether, the pieces needed to put together this table cost $44 (in S.F. Bay Area).

anney: my box is just over 7 inches deep. BUT, if I was going to grow strawberries in that same box, I would set up a couple of tiers within the box so that the strawberries could cascade down and I could accommodate the extra soil depth that they most likely would thrive in. I'm talking, a box within a box within a box type of setup....

I pretty much dedicate my box on wheels to lettuces, spinach and beans these days.....some occasional radish and basil. But I have grown brassicas, carrots, spring onions and a few other assorted veggies in it over the past few years.

In fact, this weekend I am actually going to begin a little garden experiment and try my hand at Asian veggies. Wish me luck.

amysun: I think the concept of the salad box is fantastic! I know because I have grown most of my salad greens in a box over the last few years and actually prefer it over growing it in the ground.

Happy Gardening!

Love! this idea. But was wondering about the shallowness of it. It's very pleasing on the eye and it would be great on the back but how is it on the roots?

Val

Val:

It depends on what you are growing of course, but if you are growing lettuces, they don't need to root deep into the soil to thrive. Both {{gwi:50705}} and
{{gwi:50706}} show how you can grow some nice lettuces in a relatively shallow boxÂ..a little over 7 inches in this particular case. I now use the smaller box to grow seed. Once you find some varieties that you like, I encourage you to set a box aside just for seed saving.

I encourage anyone to try lettuce. It is probably one of the easiest veggies to grow!

The salad table is 4" deep. The instructions (see link in first post) list the following plants you can grow:

Broccoli family-arugula, kale, mustard greens, radish, cress, broccoli raab, mizuna, kyona, komatsuna

Beet family- spinach, chard, orach, beets

Lettuce family- lettuces, endive, escarole, chicory

(Note: âÂÂDeer TongueâÂÂ, âÂÂRed SailsâÂÂ, âÂÂBronze ArrowâÂÂ, âÂÂJerichoâÂÂ, and oak leaf types are more heat tolerant)

Parsley family- chervil, parsley, cilantro

Mint family- basil, thyme, anise hyssop

Other crops- leafy amaranth (callaloo), sorrel, purslane, claytonia (minerâÂÂs lettuce), corn salad (mache)

Thanks John and Amy. I downloaded the instructions and also took note of what Amy said about the straps underneath.

Val