Hi, I'm currently an A level design student looking at how I can encourage teenagers to grow more of their own food. I gathered a lot of information earlier in the year and I hope that this may help.
How can I make a raised planter more comfortable to use?
Planters/raised beds are easier to cultivate if they can be made high enough to reduce bending. Long and narrow works best for raised beds, so you can reach all parts of it without leaning too far forward.
How can I encourage a range of plants to grow alongside each other in the same planter?/ how could I make it easiest for a teenager to do this?
I think a combination of plants would be best for them - things that the teenager gardener likes to eat and preferably things that grow fairly quickly to keep their interest, or at least some that grow quickly and some slower should work.plant things which like the same growing conditions and preferably grow things which provide benefits to each other. If you look up companion planting there will be a lot more knowledgeable folk and information available than I can give you.
What materials are raised planters usually made from, types of wood ect, and what is preferred by most users?
Could be made from upcycling other materials - Anything you can build with is OK for building raised beds, or a raised surface on which to stand smaller containers. For growing food plants, it's best to avoid old railway sleepers as they will have been treated with a toxic preservative. Obviously, the environment benefits if you can use recycled materials and avoid new plastic.
How can I make a planter safe / safer for a teenagers to use?
Since most teenagers behave as though they are indestructible, it's difficult to make anything safer for them. I suppose if your raised bed is built of wood you can sand it to reduce the risk of splinters, and if it's recycled wood, make sure there are no rusty old nails sticking out. If you've used other materials, make sure there are no sharp edges.
What kind of tools would be needed to maintain a planter?
It depends on how big the planter is but some hand tools such as a fork and trowel should be enough to get them started. A watering can be needed if they don't have access to a garden hose and the weather is dry but they could improvise with alternatives either (eg a jug)
How would these tools be stored?How large would the space need to be?
They would need to be stored somewhere dry and secure but wouldn't take much space. A full sized spade and fork are longer and so would need somewhere tall enough to hold them but still not be overly bulky for storing. Whatever. Shed or garage if you have one, a disused coal bunker, kitchen cupboard.
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I'm currently an A level design student looking at how I can encourage teenagers to grow more of their own food. I gathered a lot of information earlier in the year and I hope that this may help.
How can I make a raised planter more comfortable to use?
Planters/raised beds are easier to cultivate if they can be made high enough to reduce bending. Long and narrow works best for raised beds, so you can reach all parts of it without leaning too far forward.
How can I encourage a range of plants to grow alongside each other in the same planter?/ how could I make it easiest for a teenager to do this?
I think a combination of plants would be best for them - things that the teenager gardener likes to eat and preferably things that grow fairly quickly to keep their interest, or at least some that grow quickly and some slower should work.plant things which like the same growing conditions and preferably grow things which provide benefits to each other. If you look up companion planting there will be a lot more knowledgeable folk and information available than I can give you.
What materials are raised planters usually made from, types of wood ect, and what is preferred by most users?
Could be made from upcycling other materials - Anything you can build with is OK for building raised beds, or a raised surface on which to stand smaller containers. For growing food plants, it's best to avoid old railway sleepers as they will have been treated with a toxic preservative. Obviously, the environment benefits if you can use recycled materials and avoid new plastic.
How can I make a planter safe / safer for a teenagers to use?
Since most teenagers behave as though they are indestructible, it's difficult to make anything safer for them. I suppose if your raised bed is built of wood you can sand it to reduce the risk of splinters, and if it's recycled wood, make sure there are no rusty old nails sticking out. If you've used other materials, make sure there are no sharp edges.
What kind of tools would be needed to maintain a planter?
It depends on how big the planter is but some hand tools such as a fork and trowel should be enough to get them started. A watering can be needed if they don't have access to a garden hose and the weather is dry but they could improvise with alternatives either (eg a jug)
How would these tools be stored?How large would the space need to be?
They would need to be stored somewhere dry and secure but wouldn't take much space. A full sized spade and fork are longer and so would need somewhere tall enough to hold them but still not be overly bulky for storing. Whatever. Shed or garage if you have one, a disused coal bunker, kitchen cupboard.
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/comment/2106526#Comment_2106526