Boxes can be made from any type wood.  The best is free wood that is found at a construction site.  Just ask the foreman of the project if you can have the scrap 2”x4”’s or 2”x6”.  Boxes can be made from cedar or redwood to reduce the wood rot problem.  If you decide to treat or paint the wood, be careful not to paint inside the boxes where the Mel's Mix comes into contact with the wood, so that nothing harmful leaches into the soil.  We do not recommend using pretreated wood for this same reason.

If there are any weeds or plant growth there, it is best to remove that before filling the boxes with Mel’s Mix.  If you are putting the box on grass, first dig out the grass and sod and put it upside down in your compost pile.  It is best to provide a weed barrier in the bottom of the boxes.  You can do this by using commercial landscape/weed barrier cloth.  This blocks the weeds and yet still allows any excess water to drain.  You can also use a layer of cardboard or a thick layer of newspaper as a weed barrier.  Be sure to wet down the newspaper or cardboard before adding the soil.  The cardboard or newspaper will break down in time, but by then the weeds should be gone.