Venturing into Vegetable Gardening
Update #1: For those interested in my plans for this project please find plans and download instructions here. — Best, Loni Stark
Update #2: Hi everyone, I’ve posted a video with tips on organic fertilizers. Happy gardening! Loni
Update #3: Another video, this time with a few maintenance tips. Thanks again for visiting.
Update #4: Don’t forget about watering, make it easy with this micro-irrigation video!
Update #5 (Jan 2010): Send me your results (loni@starksilvercreek.com)! Photos, videos. I’ll post then on StarkSilverCreek. Here are some great ones sent in from around the world: Monica, David B in Australia, Julie’s herb garden, Paul B and his cucumbers)
Perchance it is the recent “green living” trend.
….Maybe it is the particular agricultural chapter I am on in my book, “Guns, Germs and Steel”.
….Possibly it is the fact that after going through my baking repertoire of lemon biscotti and lemon bars, I realize there is not much one can make that uses the abundance of lemons I have in our garden.
Whatever it was, it didn’t take too much further coaxing than a radio ad for 2-for-1 vegetable plants while driving home one day to convince me I wanted to have an organic suburban farm. All of a sudden the image of me happily digging through dirt or presenting a dish at a dinner party and declaring that not only did I make the dish, but also grew the vegetables became an obsession.
So I dragged my unsuspecting spouse to OSH to buy the vegetable plants that were on sale for 69 cents each. Now here, dear reader, is a economic lesson on how to use sunk costs to your advantage. Clint did mutter the question, “Now where do you expect we plant these?”. To which I cheerfully said, “We’ll figure it out, for 69 cents, how can we go wrong?”
It wasn’t too long after the plants arrived home that I sheepishly looked at Clint and said I had an idea of where we could put the plants. I declared I knew the perfect place on our side yard and all we needed to do was get a planter box. Having scoured the web for different ideas, I knew I wanted a 2′(depth)x6′(width)x3′(height) redwood planter box.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the exact box I wanted so proceeded to design my own. Let’s just say that after two weekends, hauling back lots of redwood timber and lugging bags of soil & compost, I am one happy organic suburban farmer!
If you were interested in building such a redwood planter box, here is the inventory of materials you will need (note: I did build a bottom shelf for my planter table which allows me to store bags of soil – this is optional and not part of the list of inventory):
Redwood (depending on dimensions your lumber yard carries, you will need to determine most efficient way to purchase and cut into the proper sizes)
6 pieces: 72″x2″x6″ (long side of planter box)
6 pieces: 26.75″x2″x6″ (short sides of planter box)
6 pieces: 16″x2″x2″ (4 pieces to secure the corners of the boxes, 2 pieces for the middle of the longest sides of the planter)
2 pieces: 75″x2″x4″ (bottom of the planter, supports the bottom)
4 pieces: 15.5″x4″x4″ (4 legs of the planter)
~ 5 pieces: fence planks (bottom of the planter, place them with a 1/4 inch gap between them to allow for drainage)Hardware:
- Lots of 2 1/2″ deck/exterior-grade screws (you can use nails too but I prefer screws as I find the attachment is much more secure, same reason when putting in a plywood subfloor, screws are used)
- L-shaped brackets for attaching the legs to the planter boxFinishing:
- exterior stain: This is not required but I had some extra stain left from staining the trellis in our courtyard and used this.
- exterior oil paint (eg. Rustoleum) in a color close to stain color to give the brackets a finished look.Equipment:
- electric drill
- orbital sander (coarse, fine, extra-fine sandpaper
- saw (we used a miter saw, a jigsaw)
- tape measure
- level
- protective eye goggles
- ear protectors
- safety gloves
- respiratory mask
- one willing spouseDirt:
- 24 cubic feet of potting soil
- 2 cubic feet of compost
- 2 cubic feet of lava rocks
As you can see, the project greatly expanded in scope from the original 8 little vegetable plants we got.
I’ll keep you updated with photos of the progress of my tomato, cucumber, pepper (token plants for Clint), basil and strawberry plants! Speaking of photos, here are some of the planter box project. Like any good HGTV show, there are many pictures of the star but none of the behind the scenes spouse who did a fantastic job of cutting wood, taking photos and being an all around good sport about it!
P.S. If you are interested in more details, shoot us a note and I’ll send over a scanned version of our plans.
Loni Kao StarkCo-Founder StarkSilverCreek, Creative Director and Wine Collector
Loni is a self-professed foodie, adventure travel seeker and aspiring artist. It’s been said her laugh can be heard from San Jose all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. The former Ms. Global Petite runner-up is host of several SSC shows including WineTube TV, StarkSilverCreek Presents, Loreto Live, and the new series The Artist Diaries. Between busy travel schedules to Washington, Napa and global destinations such as Australia, the Baja and Europe, she expends the rest of her energy collecting wines, practicing “escape artist”-style cooking, and building what she hopes, one day, will be a real estate empire. She catches her breath by writing about her adventures.
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Hi there, have been looking for some good planter box plans on the net and yours look great! Don’t suppose i could have a copy of the plans? Hope the vegies are growing well :)
Thanks David – I had to design my own after I searched the web too and couldn’t find one to the scale and robustness I was looking for.
I will try to dig up the plans this weekend…it’s several projects ago and probably buried among my plans for the wine cellar and window seats.
I’ll post update either way on Sunday.
Loni
Just wanted to say, after scouring the web for over an hour, I have finally found the right planters for my backyard garden! thanks so much for posting this project. PS: the pics really helped! :)
Thanks Anthony! Glad you like it, I spent quite a bit of time designing this project.
If you have the results of your vegetable garden, love to see them, you can email them in by getting the email from the “Contact Us” page.
You are right, you can reconstruct the planter box from the photos.
One minor things I would have done differently. Look for a fine mesh for the bottom and sides of the planter which will let water drain but not soil. That or cover the box in the winter/during heavy rain season.
Also check out some of the related posts for the add on tomato stakes I added later last year.
I am thinking of creating a cage to fit on the top so birds and other animals don’t eat half my crop this year.
Loni
I am building a planter this weekend and I would LOVE a scanned version of the plans. Thanks so much it looks amazing.
Jim
raleigh, nc
Hi Jim,
Unfortunately earliest I will be able to look for the plans is this Sunday – will need to dig them up.
Tomorrow, need to head up to Napa for some wine tasting appointments. Tough, but someone’s gotta do it.
Loni
Hi All – Including those that emailed info@starksilvercreek.com, I’ve found the plans and cleaned them up a bit.
They are available for download from the link at the top of this post. For all existing requests, you will get an email shortly with the PDF password to the plans.
Best,
Loni
Hi,
Searched the web and found your site. Loved your vegetable planter and designed mine (using the info on this page) this past weekend – THANK YOU!
This is my first vegetbable planter so I am a bit “green”. I have a few questions for you if you have time to answer them.
- The “Dirt Mix” you used – any particular order of the potting soil, lava rocks and the compost, or did you just mix it all up? Also . . .did you have to replace it this year or did you reuse the same mix from last year?
- I would like to stain/paint mine as well. I used pressure treated wood. Did you stain yours on the inside? (Can’t tell from your picture.) Is that safe to paint on the inside?
Thanks for your time.
/Monica
Hi Monica – Congratulations on a successful vegetable planter box. We have gotten many requests and feedback on the planter box and it is great to see another one completed!
1. Dirt Mix – The lava rocks (you can use other rocks as well) are placed as an even layer at the bottom of the box to provide proper drainage. The compost/manure/organic matter and potting soil are mixed together and placed on top of the rocks.
2. Soil replacement – Soil over time gets depleted of different types of nutrients and more proned to specific diseases/insect based on the vegetables you grow. This is something that happens regardless if you have a garden in the ground or in a planter box. To remedy the former, it is often suggested that you remove a portion of the soil each year and replace with manure and other organic fertilizers (egg shells and coffee grounds are suppose to help too). To remedy the latter, crop rotation is a common practice where you grow different types of vegetables in the same location in subsequent years. This may be possible for you, for me it isn’t. This is the second year and I am keeping an eye out for diseases and researching on different ways of alleviating this naturally. One way is to purchase disease resistent types.
Some do recommend replacing the soil entirely, but based on the size of this planter, this is not very practical.
3. Staining – I would not recommend you stain the inside of the planter and the chemicals from the stain will leach into the soil. I stained the exterior of the planter box and left the inside unstained. Is there a reason you are looking to paint the inside? I have gotten questions about lining the planter box. I didn’t with mine but if you do want to line it, I would look for lining materials probably at your home improvement/garden store.
Hope this suggestions help.
Loni
Thanks Loni!
I want to paint mine so that it matches the siding of my house though I will place it up against my house (as you did). I didn’t know if I should paint the inside or not, but after reading your replay I will only do the outside and keep the inside as is.
Did you experience any insects problems? Did you end up building a cage for yours? If so . . .any pictures/plans :o)?
Thanks for sharing and for making it possible for others to enjoy this wonderful planter box.
/Monica
Hi Monica – I have not experienced insect problems last year and this year so far. I recommend watering in the morning so that the soil surface dries up quickly. If you do get insects, you will need to deter them in the same manner as you would for in-ground plantings.
As for the cage, I have not built it yet. When I do, I will post up updated plants and notify everyone who has downloaded the plans. I actually have a couple of additions to this planter box I would like to make including a working surface.
I did add tomato stakes so that my tomatoes could grow up. You can see the stakes here: http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2008/05/solar-update-ma.html
My next project is actually building a trellis for two of our plants on the front porch. I need to build them because the dimensions will need to be customized for area.
Loni
Thanks Loni!
I appreciate all the valuable information. I picked up all kinds of herbs & veggies and can’t wait to get started. Take care.
Sincerely,
Monica
Monica,
If you don’t mind me asking…approximatly how much did the materials cost to build your Planter, using Pressure treated wood? My wife and I would really like to set up a large planter and your input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
David
Hi David,
I purchased my materials from the local Home Depot and it was about $95 for it all, including screws and L-brackets. I had them pre-cut most of my wood according to Loni’s sizes. This cut down on project time for me.
I also picked up my soil from a local “landscaping/mulch” supplier. I got 2 scoops of (enough plus a little leftover) of a soil, compost mixture for less than $30.
Further, I lined the bottom and sides of my planter with black landscaping fabric (for drainage) (approx $15 for a 25ft roll — lots of leftover for other gardening projects).
Heads up! As I was filling my box, the bottom two support wood pieces (the 2″ x 4″ x 72″) started coming apart. The soil weight was too much. I emptied out the soil and supported the two pieces with (total) and additional six 3.5″ (hex) bolts (screws). If you build it I would recommend you doing long heavy-duty screws from the beginning, and do plenty of them along your 72″ support piece. This is where all the weight comes down and you want plenty of stability.
All together the entire project cost me under $150 with starter veggies.
Hope that helps!
Enjoy!
/Monica
Thanks Monica – Great tip on using black landscaping fabric, I just pointed another reader to your comment this morning who was asking about my “mesh” comment in a previous comment I had made.
The cost for the planter will vary greatly depending on the type of wood you use to build it. Pressure treated wood or reclaimed wood is a very cost effective choice.
If you print out the materials list, you can go to the lumber yard and ask for quotes with different materials. I used Red Wood (recall this may have been around $180 total for wood but I also had an extra shelf below the raised planter bed). I had considered Cedar, but my Home Depot did not carry it.
I just posted an entry from David B. in Australia who built a variation using these plans:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/05/vegetable-planter-box-update-david-australia.html
If any of you have finished project photos, love to see them.
Best,
Loni
Hey Loni,
Just as a heads up you don’t want to recommend using pressure treated wood for a vegetable box. The chemicals used can leech into the soil and contaminate the vegetables.
As I was planting my veggies today in my planter boxes I remembered your planter box blog and I thought I would mention a great way to combine your love of wine and gardening. All those wine corks (real cork not the plastic ones) make great drainage material to put in the bottom of your planters. Great way to recycle too!
Hi:
I have been searching for a design that would suit my needs and I’ve finally found it! Could you please e-mail your plans so that I can get to work right away?
Thank you!
Hi Mindy – Thanks. Just go to this page:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/loni-starks-vegetable-planter-box-plans
There is a form and once you complete it, SSC will send you an email with the password.
Best,
Loni
This looks just like what I am looking for.Could you please send me a scanned version of the plans.
Thank You for your time.Mike
Hi Loni,
I’m impressed with your design and the work you did. It’s a very good looking job, and shames me for what I settled for!
I import parts from China, and they come in plywood crates that are 30 inches wide by 44 inches long by 27 inches deep. I framed in a false floor, reducing the depth to only 11 inches, which I thought would be enough for carrots and other roots – and not too heavy with soil for my deck!
Anyhow, now I’m a bit worried about any leeching of chemicals from the plywood into the soil. I did line the boxes with some vapour barrier type plastic – but it is not a perfect seal. My intent at the time was to keep constant moisture from the plywood.
Searching the web I see that the glues in plywood are formaldehyde based.
Your choice of redwood is much better, and I would feel more comfortable with that. Did you learn anything about the risks of plywood when you did your research?
Thanks for any comments.
Don
For those interested, I just did a video update on organic fertilizers here: http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/06/vegetable-gardening-planter-box-diy-video-tip-organic-fertilizers.html
Hi Don – I am not an expert on the chemicals used in the plywood process. I would be personally wary about using plywood or any wood that has gone through chemical processing in the making of boxes that will be used to grow edible plants.
However, checking on the Internet, it seems many other websites have suggested that plywood is ok for these types of projects. It is great you have found an alternative use for plywood that may have instead ended up in a landfill.
Sorry I am not able to give more concrete answer on the matter. I was building this planter box to last for decades so decided to use redwood (couldn’t find cedar in the quantity I needed it in) because I liked the look of it. I didn’t consider pressure-treated or plywood so did not perform extensive research on this matter.
Have a great weekend all!
Loni
My sone been wanting one for his birthday but i was thinking more of a 4ft X 6ft with 2ft deep how would i doo that?
Hi Jennifer, I would still follow the basic plans but you will need longer pieces of wood for the width of the planter so adjust the 6 pieces of wood accordingly. Then you will need to also have the slates of wood on the bottom of the planter box to be longer as well.
The biggest concern would be support for the extra weight of the soil if you are planning to have legs and elevate the planter box. If it is on-the-ground, then no worries. For the former case, you will need to think about the supports. Instead of 2×4, you may want to look at using 4×4 for the horizontal supports that are just above the legs that run the entire length of the planter box. You should also look at thicker pieces of wood for the bottom slats of wood instead of using fence planks. I would also suggest may an extra support beam as well.
Finally, I would definitely add additional support legs to the planter box, so instead of 4 legs, use 6 or 8 legs instead.
Also make sure to use heavy duty, extra long screws and lots of them.
Good luck!
Loni
That is really nice work. There is a method called Square Foot Gardening you might want to check out. I’ve read the book (no plug intended) and it’s opened my eyes to possibilities. One is that most plants will grow in 6 inches of soil. That means you can make the box much lighter. Check it out. http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ The guy also has a foundation to help spread the idea to under developed areas. Good Gardening..
bill
Here is my version of the box:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3587145804_439821b4f9_b.jpg
Thanks Loni
Your planter box looks fantastic. I like how you extended the length of the design. It establishes a nice border between the hard scape and grass.
I just finished a video episode talking about micro irrigation. Something folks may want to consider if you travel a lot and want to ensure your vegetable garden never gets thirsty.
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/06/vegetable-gardening-tips-video-raindrip-loni-episode-2-micro-irrigation.html
Paul – I just posted up the photo of your planter box here:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/06/pauls-vegetable-planter-box.html
For those that are interested in other planter box/container gardening ideas, found some great examples yesterday at Murrieta’s Well Winery. Posted photos here:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/06/container-gardening-inspirations-murrietas-winery.html
Sharp looking box, and one that I’ll be following this weekend. A few comments on some of the topics above: you definitely do not want to use pressure treated wood if you’re going to be eating things from this box. Pressure treated wood is an inexpensive wood for general outdoor projects, but not for something where you’ll be eating from it. The chemicals will indeed leach into the soil. You’ll find a lot of planter boxes (where you’re putting flowers and plants for show, not consumption) online that recommend pressure treated wood. If you’re going to eat from this box, we have to bite the bullet and buy a more expensive wood like redwood or cedar. Next, when dealing with redwood (or cedar), it’s generally recommended to use double-dipped galvanized, stainless steel, or aluminum hardware. That will lessen the wood/metal interacting and discoloring in the wood. Thanks to everyone for posting their plans … it’s given me both inspiration and ideas.
Hope everyone is starting to enjoy their vegetables. I picked my first crop of tomatoes last week and made this dish:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/2009/08/live-simply-tomato-feta-salad-recipe.html
It was delicious and definitely recommended. Tastes so good with tomatoes fresh from the vegetable planter garden.
Hi there, i have been wanting to build a vegetable box for quite some time now and i really like the look of yours. i was wondering if you could send me something with more detail so i can build one.
Gregory, yes, more detail on the plans are posted by Loni here:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/loni-starks-veget...
Good luck and happy gardening!
Thanks for the great plan! I'm having a really hard time finding the L brackets that you have for the legs, any more specifics on what to ask for at home depot?
Hi Tim – At Home Depot or any other home improvement store, there is usually a section of metal brackets, I would just go and browse for any flat pieces of metal that have a right (90 degree) angle in it. I know some readers have used a T bracket instead of an L bracket.
The purpose of it is just to give more stability to the legs so it is not only dependent on the long screw going into from the bottom of the planter box.
You may try just bringing in the plans and asking for someone to help. I usually just browse down the aisles and look for something to inspire me.
For example, a couple of years back I used a long copper tube as the curtain rod for some outdoor curtains. The true purpose of the copper tube was for plumbing and I would never have come across it without just looking around. Copper is great for this purpose because it doesn't rust.
Thanks for writing in and good luck!
Loni
I would love to have the plans on the planter box. We want to make several of them……
Thanks :-)
Hi Tracy, At the top of the post, there are instructions on how to download the PDF of the plans and request for the password.
Best,
Loni
My husband and I are using your plans to build a planter box and had a few questions before we complete it this weekend. We are on a smaller budget so we purchased regular pine wood from Home Depot and got some water sealant/stain to coat over the wod when done. We are now wondering what we should do for drainage. We were planning on getting some black lining to put inside the box but do we still need drainage holes or would lava rocks be good enough for drainage?
mAlissa
Hi mAlissa, A couple of thoughts/recommendations:
- for stain, make sure you only stain/seal the exterior of the planter box. Do not coat any areas thaty will touch the soil
- If you are using an impermeable black lining, then do put some drainage holes. In the winter, rain can accumulate quickly. If you don't use a lining, then the bottom of the planter box already has slits that will let the water drain.
Have fun this weekend and if you have pics of the completed project, love to see them.
Loni
Very pretty, and always glad to see more people growing veggies at home… but if you were concerned about sustainability, why did you use redwood? Hmm… thousand year old tree vs. tomato plant… I love tomatoes, but… though I agree that pressure treated is out of the question for safety reasons. Hopefully you used eco-certified lumber, and hope more so that you and your family get years of use out of that beauty! Very nice job… and consider lining it with something, as even redwood will rot eventually (as my dad discovered- did our bathroom in it- was nice for 10 years, and gross for another 10 till they could remodel with tile… said he'd have done it in tile to begin with if he'd known what a pain it would be to fix!).
My family and I just made our planter this weekend using some plans I made up and it looks remarkably like yours. Mine is sitting on the ground instead of up on legs, I am pondering now on whether to get it off the ground or not. I wanted to know what your opinion was on using a polyurethane sealer (no stain) on the inside. Will it break down with the watering?
Hi Ric – I just responded to a comment last night asking me why I did put legs on mine.
I think it depends on your situation and what you want to plant. I've had readers write in loving the height of the planter box because it is easier to work the soil without bending down and one reader built one for her brother who is in a wheel chair and couldn't reach down to garden. However, Helen, another reader commented that because I grew tomatoes in my planter box, I had to climb up in order to prune them so perhaps a lower planter box height would have alleviated this problem.
Just factors to consider.
As for the polyurethane sealer, I personally would feel uneasy about using it as I would be concerned about chemicals against my vegetable plant roots. I know others have used plant lining material from their garden supply store.
Good luck,
Loni
I would love the detailed plans for building this box! GREAT JOB!!!! AND beautiful blogsite for sharing.
Thanks Kristen, Just go to the download link and fill out the form and the plans will be sent to you.
Vegetable Plan Planter download link:
http://www.starksilvercreek.com/loni-starks-vegetable-planter-box-plans
Hi Loni,
Great to see all the details on how to build a planter box, I am hoping to build my own planter box for vegetable garden…
However I have notice one thing, do you not have to allow drainage holes at the bottom of the box? I thought rainage holes are always required regardless of how big or small the box is.
Thanks heaps
Hi Angela,
When you nail/screw in the bottom slates of wood for the planter box, you will note in the instructions that you leave a thin space between each piece of wood. These spaces act as the drainage holes.
Hope this makes sense.
Best,
Loni
I love your simple design. Spent a bunch of time online searching for a plan like this. Its something that is doable without specialty tools and equipment.
Thanks for the download, however, pages 2,3 are coming up as there..but nothing on them. Its weird. Have you heard of this problem?