- My name's Aaron Massey from MRFIXITDIY.com
and today I'm gonna show you how to build
a simple planter box outta some fence pickets
and some deck balusters that uses minimal tools
to put together, and you can also move it around
if you want to.
Now is the perfect time to get your garden in place
for the summer, so I wanted to build
a simple planter box that I can use
to grow a few vegetables this year.
As with most projects, this project started
with a design that I put together in SketchUp.
I wanted to try and make this project as simple as possible
so that just about anybody could make it,
so I decided to use some fencing materials
that you can pick up at your local big box store
and a minimal amount of tools.
If you'd like to follow along with this project step by step
and make your own version of this planter box,
there are free downloadable plans for it on my website
that outlines everything you'll need to know
to knock it out.
You can find the links for those plans
in the description down below,
and while you're there you might also wanna check out
some of the links to some of the other free project plans
I have available as well.
To get started with this project,
first I had to build the base of the planter box.
Now, I'm using redwood for this project
because it's naturally rot and insect resistant
and since I'm planting vegetables in it,
I wanna make sure that I don't have any pressure
or chemically treated lumber that can affect the soil.
Now, redwood is readily available
at the big box store here in California,
but if it's not available in your area,
you could also use cedar
or possibly another naturally rot resistant lumber
from your area.
I cut a couple of redwood two-by-fours
and spaced them out using these redwood balusters
that I'm also using in the project
and then screwed everything together
with some exterior decking screws.
From there, I added some two-inch
swiveling casters to the base because I want to be able
to move this garden around.
I'm not really sure where I want it to live long-term,
so to be able to move it around was important to me
and I think it makes it a little bit unique.
What I like about the design
is that once it's all put together,
you won't really be able to tell
that it's on wheels and mobile.
With the base complete, I added the balusters
that will act as the uprights in the corners.
Once finished, this planter box will be four-feet-wide
by two feet deep and roughly two-feet-tall.
Now, before I started to add the fence pickets to the side,
I added some wire mesh to the base
which will help support the soil
from falling through the slats
and also keep any critters out from coming up underneath.
From there, I started adding the fence pickets to the side,
cutting each one at four-feet-long
and then using the remaining piece on the sides.
The lower course should fall about 3/4-inch off the ground
so that it mostly obscures the wheels below
but leaves enough space for you to be able to push it around
on an uneven hard surface.
I secured each picket on the sides with the deck screws.
Between each course, I used my carpenter's pencil
as a quarter-inch spacer to leave a gap.
A fun fact about a carpenter's pencil
is that when it's turned on its side
it's a quarter-inch thick,
and if you flip it the other way around,
it's a half-inch thick.
So you can always use it as a consistent spacer
if you need to.
I worked my way up until I had four courses installed
all the way around the box.
Then, I cut off the excess uprights.
Now, you could do this beforehand if you'd like.
Now, the weave fabric is water permeable,
but I poked some holes in the bottom of it
to help with drainage.
You could also use some thick plastic in here
if you wanted to so that the water
doesn't get all over the inside of your box
and eventually rot your wood,
but since this is kind of a naturally rot resistant wood
and I don't need this thing to last forever,
I'm just gonna let it weather naturally
and kind of go with that look.
Next, I decided to add some additional fence pickets
to dress up the corners of the box.
I just butted two pieces together
and screwed them together in a 90 degree corner
and attached those to the box.
To finish off the box,
I'm gonna add a mitered frame around the top,
but before I do that I added a bunch of larger stones
to the bottom of the planter
to cut down on the amount of soil needed to fill it up,
but it still takes quite a bit of soil to fill.
Now, for the mitered frame around the top of the box,
I decided to put about a 2 1/2 inch lip
around the outside of the box
which gives a nice work surface around the box
to hold gardening tools or plants as you work
and it doesn't intrude too much
on a plantable area of the box.
Now, if you have a table saw and you wanna use it,
you could rip these pickets down to a thinner size
if you wanted to.
And then finally, I can just add my vegetables
and this project is complete.
I'm really happy with the way this planter box came out.
It's a pretty big planter
and it's a little heavy to move around,
but just being able to move it is pretty cool.
I think I'll end up making a matching one
so that I can plant an even larger garden
and place them on either side of a gate
I have in my backyard.
The only thing that I may add to it later
is a cage that can go over the top
if birds and animals become a problem
and start eating it, but I'll tackle that down the road
if I need to.
I hope you guys enjoyed this project
and again, if you'd like more detailed measurements
and step by step instructions
for how to build your own planter box,
be sure to download the free plans
that are available on my website
at the link in the description down below.
Also, the links to all the tools I used in this project
are down below as affiliate links.
If you do choose to build this project
and need to purchase any tools or materials,
I'd appreciate it if you use those links.
It doesn't cost you anything extra
and it helps support me and allows me to continue
to provide free plans like these ones to you guys.
Thank you, guys, for watching
and if it's your first time visiting the channel,
please hit that subscribe button
and also hit that notification bell
so you never miss out on any of the new content
I have coming up.
And as always, I encourage you
to leave me a comment down below
and let me know what you thought of this project
or what kind of project you'd like to see me tackle next.
Thank you, guys, so much for watching.
I'll see you next time.
(light relaxing music)