Building plans for a raised planter

What have you been up to on this gorgeous Memorial Day Monday?

I’ve been working my heinie off and today I’m going to share my building plans for this DIY raised planter.

I found several raised planters on Pinterest but they were either too low, not long enough or didn’t come with building plans, so I improvised my own from a photo I’d seen from A Lo and Behold Life.

DIY Raised Planter (on wheels)

Overall measurements – 60″ wide, 24″ deep, 38 ½” tall (which includes 2 ½” castors).

Wood:

*Note:  Please do NOT build your planter out of pressure treated wood.  While most PT wood is now arsenic-free, there is still copper in it which is not healthy for you or your plants.  Cedar is your best option.

• (2 ) 4 x 4 x 6 Ft. Boards
• (10 ) 1 x 6 x 8 Ft. Boards
• (4) 2 x 4 x 8 Ft. Boards

Cuts:

• (4) 4×4 @ 36 inches
• (4) 2×4 @ 51 ½ inches
• (6) 2×4 @ 15 ½ inches
• (6) 1×6 @ 60 inches
• (6) 1×6 @ 22 ½ inches
• (10) 1×6 @ 22 ½ inches
• (12) 2 1/8″ x 22 ½” (slat boards)

Tools:

• mitre saw
• drill
• outdoor-appropriate wood glue
• stapler
• landscape fabric
• 2 ½” pocket screws
• 2 ½” deck screws
• 1 ¼” wood screws
• nail gun / finishing nails
• 2 ½” castors (2 regular and 2 locking)
• (16) 3 ½” construction screws

Approximate Cost (Cdn): $258

I whipped out this raised planter in just a couple of hours, so it’s not a difficult project in the least – if you started now, you’d be done well before dinner!

I made all of my cuts first and drilled pocket holes in the bottoms of the 51 ½” and 15 ½” boards.

Mark a line on your 4×4 posts 19 ½” up from the bottom (or 16 ½” from the top – tomāto/tomäto)

Attach your 51 ½” boards so that the bottom of the board is lined up with the line.  Drill into place using 2 ½” pocket screws.  Repeat to attach to the second 4×4 post.

Line up your 15 ½” boards so they are flush with the 51 ½” ones and attach.

I built the second leg section of my raised garden following the same steps, except I attached the cross-sections for the middle support which are 15 ¼” in from each post.

Lay one side of your DIY raised planter over the other and attach with 2 ½” pocket screws (be sure to check for square before drilling in each cross-section).

Mark another line on each of your 4×4 posts, 1″ up from the ground.  This inch, plus the 2 ½” of height the castors provide, will keep your raised garden off of the ground and out of any moisture.

Attach the lower frame the same way you did for the upper.

A raised planter will be pretty heavy when filled with soil, and while I don’t plan to move it around too much, having the option was important to me.  I purchased (2) 2 ½” locking castors and (2) 2 ½” regular castors and attached them up through the bottom of the posts with 3 ½” construction screws.

You could use 4 locking castors, but they are more expensive and really, once two are locked your DIY raised planter shouldn’t move.

Lift your raised garden onto it’s ‘feet’ and you are ready for the siding.

Attach the 22 ½” boards to the sides of your raised garden, starting at the top of your 4×4 boards, and making sure they are flush on either side.  Attach with 2 ½” deck screws.

Once both sides are complete, attach the front and back panels, again starting at the top and working your way down, until they cover the side panels and the lower 2×4 frame piece.

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Reinforce the bottom panel by attaching it to the 2×4 frame with 2 ½” deck screws

Line the bottom of your DIY raised garden with the remaining 9 or 10 pieces of 15 ½” cedar.  You can butt each board  up against the one next to it as the wood will shrink over time and this will allow for drainage.

I added two scrap pieces of cedar, one to either (long) side, to act as reinforcement for the panels.  These were attached with 1 ¼” wood screws.

To create the lower slatted shelf on my raised planter, I cut down the remaining cedar to 22 ½” long by 2 1/8″ wide – basically splitting each 1×6 in half.  I marked the lower frame board every 4 ¼” to show where the centre of each slat should be.

Use a speed square to make sure your boards are straight and then apply outdoor-appropriate wood glue and finishing nails to hold in place.

The lower frame sides were covered with 15 ½” by 3 ½” cedar – more for aesthetics than anything else.

The lower shelf can hold large planting pots, garden soil, watering cans or whatever else you’d like to keep close at hand while gardening.

Now it’s time to get planting!

Line your garden box with landscape fabric and staple in place.  You shouldn’t need rocks or other drainage for your raised planter because the landscape fabric will allow water (but not soil) to escape.  Fill with premium soil and get to planting!

I love this raised garden!  It’s convenient, portable, organized.  It offers extra storage and it smells heavenly!  (I love the smell of cedar).

I may add a couple of hooks to the side of my DIY raised planter to hang pruning shears and a trowel.

This DIY raised garden is more than deep enough to handle tomatoes, potatoes and even carrots.  Start a cucumber vine at the top and let the vines flow down the raised planter as a sort of trellis.  It would make a perfect strawberry patch and would keep rabbits and groundhogs from snacking.  The cedar also acts as a pest repellent and should help keep nibbling bugs at bay as well.

 

Did I mention I love this thing?

I might need another one.

I’ve got time this aft right?

Have a great one!

 

 

Linked to:

• Between Naps on the Porch

 

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