It’s not very big, maybe about three inches deep and six inches wide. There’s a brand stamped into its sides. “Absolutely Boneless // Windsor // Georges Codfish.” At one time, codfish fillets were sold in little wooden boxes. The boxes were either thrown away or used for storing small items like nails or pennies.
The last time I visited Silver Fox Salvage in downtown Albany, I found one of those codfish boxes. It was only a few dollars, and I thought I might turn it into an art piece, similar to what I did with the Shamrock Tobacco box. So I bought it.
But since nobody’s painting “Windsor Georges Codfish” ghost signs in our area – or even “Albany Beef” sturgeon advertisements – that idea when out the window. Instead, all I could come up with was plans to store something in the box. Nails or pennies. Meh.
What about plants? Maybe I could use the codfish box for a planter, put a few leafy greens in there and see what happens. Although I should let you know that my skills as a gardener are kinda weak. How do I tell plants from weeds? Rip everything out of the ground, and whatever grows back – that’s a weed.
I don’t know enough about gardening to make this a successful project. However, I do know someone who DOES understand gardening.
My girlfriend Nicole.
The other day, I showed her the wooden codfish box and asked her what would be the best way to turn this into a decorative planter. She said it would be easy, and she would show me how.
Last Sunday, during a trip to a garden center, we purchased several small impatiens annuals. After lining the base of the codfish box with styrofoam peanuts, and filling the box to its halfway point with potting soil, we planted some impatiens in the box. A little more potting soil, some watering…
And here’s the final product.
What do you think? Personally, I think Nicole did a great job helping me out with this little project. Plus, it was fun working together with her to complete this.
I know it sounds like a simple thing – heck, throw some dirt in a box and add some plants – but, as far as I’m concerned, it came out great. Both the collaboration – and the final project.
Chuck The Writer 
Attractive arrangement but the combination of soil and water pretty much guarantees that box will not be around next year.
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What Snapdragon said, plus codfish was preserved with copius amounts of salt which pretty much permanently permeates the wooden box. It could wind up being fatal to the plants. My dad, who saved everything, would not use a codfish box to store nails, etc., because they were guaranteed to rust almost immediately. He threw codfish boxes out.
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I had the same concern 😦 Maybe starting over, but first line the box with something to protect the plants/soil from the residual salt? It does look great though!
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Might be as simple as taking the plants out temporarily, sealing the box inside and out with a few coats of polyeurathane, and then repotting.
Or, just let it ride and see what happens. Who cares if it doesn’t last long? Looks nice now…
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