Planter Box Building & Care Instructions
This Monday, the Mora Creative Council, Mora County Extension Office, and various volunteers gathered to plant the planter boxes on Main Street. Suzanne DeVos-Cole, Mora County Extension Agent and MCC board member, created a master plan for the planters. These were funded by grants through Southwest Capital Bank, the Las Vegas Community Foundation, and the LANL Community Giving program. The planters have color schemes of purple and pink and orange and red alternating down Main Street. They are packed full of perennials and annuals, so we have some color to start and will have plants that return each spring for years to come.
Each planter has been adopted by individuals and families who will care for them throughout the summer. Some of the plants included are petunias, salvia, fountain grass, sedum, and ipomoea. We also hope to plant bulbs in the fall for early spring color and add winter interest by adding cut evergreen branches to the display. Below is the maintenance schedule for the planters, created by the Mora County Extension Office.
Maintenance Schedule
January-March – keep planters clean of debris; water as needed; prune tree as needed
March – cut back grasses
April –improve soil; plant spring annuals; start weekly watering
May – plant summer annuals; start more frequent watering
June – water as needed (every other day full watering can if very hot); deadheading
July – watering: deadheading
August – watering; deadheading; plant fall annuals
September – plant bulbs; less frequent watering; deadheading
October – weekly watering; pull annuals
Nov-Dec – water as needed; cut back all herbaceous plant material except grasses, add pine bows for decoration and insulation
We have had tons of inquiries about purchasing premade planter boxes. While we would love to provide these to the community, we do not have the staff or volunteer capacity to supply them right now. However, the plans for building the planters are available here. Supplies can be purchased from most hardware or home improvement stores. We hope these planters can bring beauty, joy, and a sense of community pride to Our Mora for years to come!
Additional tips to the plans:
Invest in impact screws, and use an impact screw gun. The cost is 88 ¢ vs 22 ¢ for the timber nails. The extra expense is well worth it vs the effort and time.
Two people are helpful to keep timbers level.
We put our bottom 4 levels from the top by adding 2 - 2" board screwed in and scrap lumber across with small gaps for drainage. This saves in the cost of good soil and the planter can still be more easily moved with a skid steer or tractor.
Happy Planting!