Download DIY plans for this planter box

It’s that time of year, at least in this part of the world: to welcome spring. For some of us on the west coast that means less rain, for others it means a very thankful respite from snow.

If you’re looking for a project that might satiate your spring excitement more than just, say, cleaning, then check out Loni’s plans for a DIY vegetable planter box. A few years back we scoured the Internet for ideas on how to build a box for our yard. The goal was to grow some vegetables, tomatoes mostly, but also some cucumbers, strawberries and hot peppers (for my Thai meals, pairing perfectly with Riesling). Herbs were also a possibility.

Surprisingly, though, we never could find the right style, or enough detail on how to build one. So Loni, being type A and all, whipped up a set of home-made plans. I thought she was crazy. At Home Depot, it seemed rather random at first. We dashed through the aisles, grabbing wood here, bolts there. Soon we had amassed a small pile of DIY stuff. I grimaced, knowing I would be the hired help. Loni would wear the white cap. Okay, this would take at least a few beers.

Turns out building the planter box was much easier than we anticipated. Best of all, the thing is very sturdy, and spacious.

Loni made the plans available on SSC, along with some how-to videos. To our complete shock, we have almost reached 1,000 downloads now. People from all over seemed to have faced the same challenge finding the right container plans, and some how stumble on Loni’s hand drawn plans. We get all sorts of comments from New Zealand, Australia, UK, Canada and the US. Even better, some have sent us completed photos of their finished projects. How wild it is for us to see a planter box virtually identical to ours in someone else’s yard.

So, if you’re looking for a spring gardening project, here’s all the links to Loni’s DIY vegetable planter box. Happy gardening! And please send us your photos, stories and recipes too.

Vegetable Garden Planter Box: The Basics

• Venturing into Vegetable Gardening (DIY guide with photos)
• Loni Stark’s ‘Venturing into Vegetable Gardening’ Planter Box Plans (fill out form and download free plans)

Getting Started With Your New Planter Box

• Vegetable gardening with Loni episode #1: Organic Fertilizers
• Vegetable gardening with Loni episode #2: Micro irrigation
• Vegetable gardening with Loni episode #3: Maintenance Tips

Recipes

• “Live simply” tomato and feta salad
• Have your own recipe? Go ahead and send it in to Loni and you could be featured on StarkSilverCreek! Send Loni your recipe to loni@starksilvercreek.com

Photos From SSC Readers Around the World That Have Downloaded and Used Lonis’ Plans!

• Vegetable planter box update from David B. in Australia
• Paul B’s vegetable planter box for refreshing cucumber salads
• Monica’s ‘Sail away with me’ Vegetable Planter Box

Inspiration

• Clint’s championship peppers are winning the vegetable garden race
• How to create a kitchen garden when you don’t live at the White House
• Container gardening inspirations from Murrieta’s Well Winery

Clinton Stark

Clint writes about new media, arts, wine, indie film, and tech (including his trusty Droid). An aging ice hockey player, he tries in vain to direct Loni in SSC videos. He's held executive marketing roles at tech companies including Cisco, EMC and Salesforce.com. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, he now lives in Silicon Valley. More »

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