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DIY Garden Planter Box Tutorial

Anyone can make this DIY Garden Planter Box!

diy-planter-box-tutorial

I’m so excited to share my new planter box with you! This was sooooo easy to do! Honestly, anyone can make this planter AND you can do it in just a couple of hours! Maybe less if you don’t have 5 and 3 year old helpers 😉 
Last year we decided that we would build a new planter box this year because we were having a hard time growing veggies in our current planter boxes. They just weren’t deep enough! We have clay soil so once the roots hit the clay – well, let’s just say it isn’t pretty. A couple ideas were tossed around and we finally decided on the following design:

I am not an artist by any means but hopefully the illustration helps. The planter box is 8ft x 4ft and is built of redwood. You don’t HAVE to use redwood but it’s a great material to use for a planter box. The planter box requires the following materials:
(6) 2″x8″x8′
(2) 2″x8″x12′ – cut to 4 ft lengths, resulting in (6) 2″x8″x4′
(1) 4″x4″x8′ redwood posts
Screws – 3 1/2″ exterior, self-drilling, screws

We purchased the materials at Lowes and it came to just under $170 including tax which I think is a fair price for a planter box this large. Too big for your space?? Redwood too expensive? This design can easily be modified to any size planter you desire and you can use lumber that works for your budget. For example:

4 ft x 4 ft  planter would require a total of 48 linear feet of wood, 16 ft for each level
3ft x 6 ft planter would require a total of 54 linear feet of wood, 18 ft for each level
Go to your local home improvement store and price out the different lengths of lumber and do the math to make sure you aren’t wasting anything. Make sure you get your money’s worth!

We had the Lowes associate cut down our 12 ft board into (3) 4 ft lengths. They are not able to cut the 4×4 post so we used a circular saw at home to do that. We cut the 8 ft post in half, and then in half again so we had four equal lengths.

Next we began assembling the planter box. We started with a short end making sure that the pieces were squared up on both sides. We used two screw per board, per side. So four screws in each board.

Here is what the completed “short” side looks like with all three boards in place:

 

We repeated this process for the other short side and then moved the operation to the back yard. We could tell that we weren’t going to be able to easily move the entire planter to the backyard once it was completely built. We made Reece carry everything 😉

The next step definitely requires two or more people. It’s crucial that each corner is squared up at this point.

Holding up the two short sides, lay an 8 ft board across to create the long side of the planter. Making sure the first one is PERFECT makes the other two boards a breeze to install.

Here is the planter with three sides completed:

Flipping it over and onto the ground was when I realized how big this planter was – soooo exciting! This is a good view of the posts. You can see that they are a couple of inches longer than the height of the planter. These will go into the ground, stabilizing the planter box. Considering the size of this planter, it will be holding about 64 cubic feet of material. The planter isn’t going to move anywhere but it would be  a good idea for smaller boxes. 

 Next step – the final side!!

Now that the planter is done – we have to move the old one! Empty first…thanks Reece!

We removed the old planter and put the new one in it’s place. Our old planter was 3 ft x 6 ft so this one is much larger. We made sure that the planter was nice and level before we started filling with soil.

A week later we finally had it filled and started planting…

Building the planter only took a couple of hours and I think it’s just GORGEOUS! We chose not to stain, paint, or line it to eliminate those chemicals in our soil. We are just going au natural and I will enjoy this beautiful color while it lasts. We have been busy planting seeds and plants and I walk out everyday and enjoy my beautiful planter.
What do you think? Do you have planter boxes or do you garden right in the ground?

DIY Garden Planter Box Tutorial | MomOnTimeout.com

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Comments

  1. Nicole says

    Hi Trish,
    Can’t wait to give this a shot. Just wondering what type of wood you used? And do you know if it matters what type as far as it being healthy for the plants you are growing?
    Thank you!

    Reply

  3. Mama Ames says

    My 13 year old daughter and I found your tutorial this morning, went to Lowe’s and bought everything, came home and built it in less than 2 hours! Your directions were EXCELLENT! It looks perfect and we can’t wait to get planting!

    Reply

  4. geoffcg says

    Thank you for these simple instructions! I built a 3′ x 6′ version for my small space. Looking forward to spring!

    Reply

  5. NLSteve says

    I admire the sturdiness of your planter box design. You use “real” lumber and it will last for a long time.

    I have a design that has some of the same ideas, but is built to be freestanding with legs. Anybody interested can find it at http://www.PlanterPlan.com. Like “Mom on Time-Out’s,” it’s sturdy.

    Steve

    Reply

  6. Terrie@Basalite says

    Planter boxes are a great way to add garden elements where you might not have the best of soil conditions. wooden boxes are attractive, but you’re limited to square or rectangular boxes, and they take some time to put together. You can build a concrete planter box, like the ones shown on Yard Crashers, and make different sizes. The blocks come in a lot of different colors, too and they are easy to move around. There are instructions and a video here: http://info.basalite.com/build-your-own-stone-planter-box. Happy Gardening!

    Reply

  8. Kylie Helm says

    This tutorial was AWESOME! It looks so simple to do. This would look perfect in our backyard, I need to head to home depot as we speak! Thank you for sharing.

    -Kylie
    absolutelyarkansas.blogspot.com

    Reply

  11. Holly says

    What a great tutorial! I have been wanting to put a raised bed in our backyard, but wanted to build my own as opposed to buying one. We have lots of wild rabbits in our neighborhood and they seem to LOVE our plants. Need a way to get what I want and keep the little critters out. 🙂

    Reply

  15. juicelifejourney says

    Fantastic tutorial! We have six 8×4 ft. raised beds in our garden and I love them over the while tilled up back yard. A great tip when purchasing your lumber is to talk to the lumber or store manager. Sometimes they get lots of wood that are warped and not good to build with for general projects however they are wonderful for raised beds. That’s what worked for us. This is our second year and we just love the produce that comes from our own back yard!

    Reply

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