DIY Cedar Planter Box for $20
Hello again! I’m Kristie visiting from The House on Stanford. Spring is around the corner, and that means GARDENING! I live in Arizona so spring started a few months ago, and is probably going to end in a matter of days as the temperature rises. Ever since our little family moved to Arizona a few years ago, we’ve been wanting to plant a garden, but we didn’t really know if we could grow anything in the heat. We’ve since learned you can actually grow things, just at weird times of the year. Because of that, we got the ball rolling on our planter boxes the beginning of February.
Here’s what we did:
Supplies needed: 4 Cedar fence posts per planter box-$2.28 each
Wood for corner supports (we used scrap wood we got for free, but a 2×4 would work)
Screws/drill
Soil (We got ours for $36 per cubic yard. 1 cubic yard filled 3 boxes. Prices vary quite a bit depending on your wants/needs.)
For starters, the posts are dog eared at the top so I chopped that portion off and then measured the posts accordingly. Our boxes measure 4 1/2′ x 5′, and are about 5 1/2″ tall . The posts would allow for a bigger box since they’re 6′ long, but we didn’t have the space for bigger boxes.
Once the posts were cut, I started cutting the inner supports out of some scrap wood we scored for free at Home Depot. We’ve used these scraps for multiple projects around here. They played a big role in a window bench I built. They’re actually boards they use to separate pallets. All you have to do is ask an employee if they have any, and they’re always happy to get rid of them.
Once the support was cut, I attached it to one of the posts with 2 screws.
Then, making sure everything was square, I attached a second board to the inner support to start forming a box. I continued until the planter box was complete.
We placed the boxes in their new home and filled them with soil and a variety of plants.
We are thrilled to enjoy some home grown veggies in a few months! Cross your fingers nothing dies. I can’t say gardening is my forte.
Come have a look at my other projects at The House on Stanford.
Gardening is a great way to embrace the unpredictability of life, which brings peace of mind. A vegetable garden is a “good antidote” to perfectionism because no matter how carefully one does the work in it, there are countless factors that cannot be predicted, including inclement weather and rodents. You can find a lot of useful information about this here https://gardeniaorganic.com/how-to-plant-spring-bulbs-in-the-fall/
I have always heard cedar was great for planter boxes but never looked at it because it cost so much. This seems like an effective way to do it. The fence posts aren’t treated in anyway?
I LOVE your site but I HATE reading it on my phone: the pop up ads and App Store redirects make it really hard to read!!
This is a nice planting bed. I have some pallets that I am planning to use to make some beds this year, so this tutorial is just what I needed! Thanks, Maryann!
Great idea for square foot gardens. Thanks!