Pardon the hack craftsmanship and dungeonous cellar.
The frame is scrap 1x3" from a friend; around 3-1/2' x 3-1/2' (101cm x 101cm). Glued and screwed.
The 1/4" panel cost about $5
The galvanized metal mesh (hardware fabric apparently) was $20
Used silicone caulking liberally on all seams. Impasto!
Duct tape used to pad the pointy edges of the screen. Definitely would have shredded the tent.
Painted with black oil paint. Probably unnecessary. Hopefully not harmful? Hides the hackery.
I wanted to make something so the plants could sit level while the runoff could still be directed to one spot to be hoovered up. Didn't quite nail it on this go around. Spawned plenty of ideas for a redo at some point.
The frame/screen sit -almost- level while the panel below the screen curves and slopes to one end. I made the slope too steep at the start, so it levels out a bit early. As a result the back was shimmed up about 5/8"(1.6cm) to compensate...
I used screws sort of like brackets to support the ends of the dowels. Dab of wood glue as well.
The screen was stapled around the edges of the frame; tried keeping as much tension as possible, but ended up with some slack. It holds up decently, it's just that the clearance is pretty slim toward the back (where the higher area of the slope approaches the screen). Pots placed there wouldn't be resting in water, but they might press into the panel. Still thinking on the cheapest/simplest way to gain a touch more clearance and rigidity there. I'm in a conceptual block thinking all the world's problems can be solved with dowels.
There's also an access hole in the screen for a wet-vac hose. Starting to wonder if I could work a pump into this thing.
As it stands now: Spent around $45; already had some of the materials. Only lose about 2" in height (with sag); very happy with that. It can hold around 9G/34L of water.....for about 20 minutes.....once....so far.
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