Build Your Own Planter Bed

Building a planter bed, its easy and anyone can do it. You can build one out of scrap wood you have in the attic of your garage, you can dumpster dive for wooden pallets near any construction site, you can clean out your neighbor's garage, you can go to your local arboretum or plant center and see if they have some bamboo for you to cut, or you can take a trip to a big box store for a few pieces of lumber.

1. Design

You will need a few things to make the project go fast and have a good outcome. First of all, think about what you're doing. Think about what size planter you will need, and if you're new at gardening, start small, and if you're an ambitious person who sees everything through, go big. Think about location. Your planter box should be in good sun, it should be on even ground, it should be somewhere water may drain freely into or out of it. Front or back yard is fine as a location, don't be afraid to show off your good work! Think what you want the planter to look like, how big you want it to be, and how much money you want to spend on it (ideally, very little), sketch, doodle, dream, design, whatever you want to call it, the more time you spend up front thinking about what it would take to finish a project, the smoother the project will go.

2. Supplies

Next you will need supplies and tools. For the sake of this post I'll concentrate on wood as the main material to build your planter box out of. You might also need any of the following: electric drill, drill bits, wood screws, brackets, nails, nail gun, hammer, measuring tape, pencil, and possibly a circular saw. I say "might need" because it all depends on your design.

3. The Basics

Simply put, this is a sand box only instead of sand, you will fill it with rich soil and compost and grow healthy, nutritious food. A typical planter bed will have four sides, and therefore use four boards. If you don't have access to a circular saw, and don't have any desire to cut lumber, try to find boards of the same length (or have them cut for you at a lumber store). Otherwise, cut boards to size you have designed and join them at the corners. The easiest way I have found of doing this is to have a piece of lumber on the inside corner that joins two boards, and then nail or screw the boards to that piece of lumber. When working alone, this is the easiest way to get the job done because you don't need anyone else to hold the frame together as you're building it. Another way is to use brackets to join the lumber, it works just as well although your cost goes up a bit.

4. Grow

Once the frame is done, you're ready to start growing your garden. One more thing to consider is how much soil you will need to fill your planter box. If you designed a small one, you can buy soil by bags, or maybe you already have it available in your back yard. If you designed and built something bigger, you might need to order soil from a garden supply store, or a recycling center, in which case you will need to calculate how much you will need. Supply stores usually sell soil by cubic yard (in the states), so multiply the length of your frame by width and depth and it should give you a number you need. Remember that you need to convert feet to yards when you're doing this, its an easy mistake we all make (in the states). Remember also that if you're starting from nothing, you may want to order a bit of compost to mix in with your soil.

Now you're ready to enjoy a neat planter box full of your favorite veggies, and hopefully your neighbors will love you for it and want one of their own.

One tip I have for those who would hesitate to put a planter box in front of their house is to grow sweet potatoes. If you've never seen them grow, google it. Sweet potato is a beautiful vine, with amazing flowers, they creep along the ground and look like really beautiful, deep green ground-cover. Nobody will ever complain because those who know what it is will be impressed and you will make new friends, and those who don't know what it is...well they won't see anything to complain about.


Update: Charges Dropped