Making a wooden basket

[Nancy]

Hi. I would like to put my Cattleya Walkeriana in a basket along with some quick draining medium. My husband would like to make the basket. Is there a site where I can download instructions and also get specifications on the type of wood recommended as well as what is the the best way to hold the pieces of wood together? Thanks so much for your help.

[mayres]

I know you wish to make them - but they are so cheap they are hardly worth the problem unless you need something to do? Note link - less than $2 for small ones.......http://www.orchid-supplies.com/orchid_woodbaskets.html. Cedar would be a good choice if you make your own - many other types would probably work as well. Here is a 2nd more expensive site that sells both cedar and teak http://www.tindaraorchids.com/index_...ts.htm~rbottom

[Nancy]

I know they're cheap. My husband really wants to make this thing. Will pine do? Can you hold it together with a glue gun? I don't have high hopes for this. I was hoping to get some recommendations so that I can at least give him a little instruction. The first try was a disaster. Thanks for the help.

[mdomingz]

May i say something about these baskets...

I've bought some of these baskets (the octogonal ones, i think they are nicer looking) from a big box store, here in Panama. They seem to be the exact same ones i buy because of their shape and the way the wire hooks look. They are made in china, and even if they are made of hardwood, the wood used is not a very strong one. In my weather, that is, very humid, they seem to break down rather fast. Think about replacing them every two to three years tops. The wood gets somewhat soft and is very susceptible to mold. Oh, and by the way, roots in most of my plants, dont seem to like the wood too much, they stick to it and then basically just get dry.

Another thing is that i haven't seen any serious orchid grower here, using them directly on any of their plants. They sure look nice (better that plastic). What i have done now is to have a clear plastic pot or basket and just put it inside. Works perfectly and look great.

If you have the chance go teakwood, expensive but basically dont have to worry about it. Or plastic, roots won't stick to it, which is vital when repotting (no root damage). There was a lot of root damage when i was taking them out of this kind of wood basket (don't feel sorry when looking at it, just move fast, they'll grow back again).

Anyway, it's still cheaper (in time and money) to buy them than to go through the trouble of making them.

manuel
panama

[mdomingz]

Nancy

maybe, someone here will guide you about the pine. I think the resin in the wood might be a bit of an issue. It's better if you drill tiny holes and put together with wire rather than nails or glue gun.

manuel
panama

[Orchidflowerchild]

Any untreated hardwood will work, but make sure it is cured (thoroughly dry and free of resins). The best way for holding it together is to drill small holes in the ends of all the pieces and then run a wire up through each corner of the stacked wood pieces and then make a loop on top and a bend on the bottom to hold it all together. You can also attach a hook with which to hang the basket to the loops of wire on top.

I also recommend just buying them, unless you have a lot of plants to basket up. Also, if you just have the wood and tools lying around, that's fine, but really for one basket, it seems a lot of effort...

Better to put DH to work building a GH, if he's so inclined toward woodworking, I think. LOL!

-Cj

[Nancy]

I'm just going to have to convince him to buy one. I love the little basket bought for a dollar that my Cattleya aclandiae is in. It seems to really like the basket, too. Husbands can make things difficult sometimes. I rent, so no greenhouse. I can't wait to hear about your breeding program. I'd love to order some babies and watch them grow up.

[benaged]

Nancy, there is several types of wood to make baskets out of, the best being white oak, and it requires "stripping" the small peals of the log, and once you get started it peals fairly easy.You can cut wild grape vines, and make wicker type baskets.A good source for the ideas is the "fox fire" books, maybe in your library.Mike

[orchid_girl]

Question about the baskets: Can you use willow tree wood? I got three trees so the wood is plentiful but can it be used?

[evagentry]

wow, what a neat idea, a basket made of grape vines, I grow grapes here but how long would a basket last? does grape vine rot easy? The gypsies here sell willow baskets and I use them for everything from the garden to feeding sheep, they dont last longer than three of four years though.

[flowerchild]

Originally Posted by Nancy

I'm just going to have to convince him to buy one. I love the little basket bought for a dollar that my Cattleya aclandiae is in. It seems to really like the basket, too. Husbands can make things difficult sometimes. I rent, so no greenhouse. I can't wait to hear about your breeding program. I'd love to order some babies and watch them grow up.

Nancy, do you have a home depot near you? My husband made me a cedar basket for about $6.00. You can buy 4ft- 1inch cedar pieces and then just have you husband cut them down to whatever size basket you want. I think my hubby cut them down to 7inches and then we just played with the looks of it and when we found a look we wanted he nailed them together, voila a vanda basket!!!! Hope this helps!!! Cindy aka flowerchild

[Nancy]

My husband put a five inch basket together. He went back to the Home Depot and bought some hardwood. He put it together with glue and wire. I hope it holds up. He made the slats close together on the bottom so that I could use some bark with the plant. It seems to dry rapidly but the medium doesn't fall right out. It's looking really good. I think I may have a winner!

[Nancy]

What is a good material to put in a basket that will drain quickly but will not fall through the slats. The bark falls out everytime I water the plant. I have a piece of tree fern that I can cut into chunks that would probably serve the purpose. Do you think that tree fern will hold too much water to drain quickly?

[slippery_biscuit]

Nancy, shredded coconut mats (those you buy for spring flower hanging baskets) can be cut up and pulled apart. You can reform this fiber as thin as you would like to use as a liner. I've done this a few times and it works great. jeff

[WIB]

I have used large chunks of charcoal (from CalWest), which are too big to fall through the slats. I've also put a little bit of NZ sphagnum at the bottom to form a mat (maybe a bad idea). I wonder whether green moss, the sort that comes in bags at the garden centers would be okay. It's a standard item for lining hanging planters. -- Bill

[Nancy]

Right now I have pieces of bark in it. When I water it, I hold it by the sides so none of the medium washes out. The plant is looking good and I hate to mess with it anymore. Still it's a pain in the neck to water, sigh.

[WIB]

I keep rainwater in a bucket and just dunk the baskets, although not every day, as many days I'll just give them a good misting. -- Bill

[Orchidflowerchild]

I didn't even think to mention it earlier, but you can just line a basket with hardwre cloth or plastic mesh. Sorry about that.

-Cj

[Nancy]

I'm doing okay with it as of now. I'm tryong to figure out a way to hang my baskets up. The hardware is not the problem. I'm afraid they won't get the temperature differential because heat rises. I guess zI could just use a deflector at night over the heating vent. I'll probably need to reposition the light that supplements the window light as well. My kingdom for a greenhouse!

[Fallan]

Hi everyone, over 10 years ago I made several cedar shim baskets that are still 100% intact, no rotting and good drainage.

I bought a pack of cedar shims used by carpenters at Home Depot, about $2.00 for 100 or so shims. I bought a four wire twisted hook designed for hagning baskets....with a hook at one end, and 12-20 inch straight wires, four of them. I simple cut the shims to length, stacked them alternating, and when I found a set up that looked good, I drilled holes in each corner, fed the wire through and turned the end with round nosed pliers.

I took extra shims and slid them between the bottom two slats to make a bottom for the basket...you can adjust the width between them.

like I said, this was over 10 years ago and they still look and work great.

[Nancy]

I'll have to see how it actually does when it touches the basket. So far it's like the plant is potted in a very open pot and all roots are confined to the bark within. It does dry out quite quickly, so if nothing out I have achieved that. I was wondering what you all thought of using wine corks as medium for the basket. It's the holidays and we do a lot of visiting. I would bet I can pick up plenty of them. Just a thought.

[Orchidflowerchild]

Just make sure they are solid corks and not aggregate corks. The ones that are aggregate are made of bits of cork glued together and will eventually disintegrate under exposure to water and fertilizer and such. The glue breaks down, after a while.

-Cj

[Nancy]

I did not know that. Is it hard to tell a solid cork from an agregate one?

[Orchidflowerchild]

Well, the very tippety-top new growth that has a little 1" leaf has a bud down inside, so I guess I made it happy. Looks like a couple other growths are going to be the little secondary floral leads, because they aren't develping a leaf. I'm so excited, because I'm the first to ever see these flowers and also it is a big reinforcement of my efforts to make the plants happy.

-Cj

[Nancy]

Congratulations!!!!! I'm so impressed. Have you been feeding your plant at all? I've been withholdindin feritlizer since I gotther plant in September. i'mm so excited for you! When it blooms can se do the Walkeriana Ballet together?