Complete Hack Makes A Diy Planter Box

[Ulma Doctor]

My 4 yr old son came to me the other day and stated that he wants to grow fruits and vegetables.
it was cute at first, but then he got it in his head that he had to have a planter box to grow fruits and vegetables and asked me to build him a planter box. i agreed and told him that i'd make one and he could help out this weekend.
Wrong answer on my part... he has no concept of weekend and assumed it meant the next day and everyday since he'd be sure to remind me that he wanted to get the ball rolling.
this morning was the weekend finally!

i'll be the first to admit that i am no carpenter!
i have worked on metal things all my life and have an understanding with it.
conversely the only thing i know definitely about wood is that it cracks and splinters any time i try to work with it. Simple operations sometimes turn into acts of attrition.
if something metal doesn't act right i either cut it off,out, or smack it with my favorite BFH until it does what i need it to do.
i found out very early that the mentality is a lot different in woodworking.
my hat's off to those who know their craft and are smarter than i to work with the untrustworthy menace.
i have a hard time slaying the dragon every time i'm trying to save the kingdom

the photographic evidence of the project cast in wood.




materials cost $65 at local Big Depot Home Supply Store


above:
Adding Furrning strips to the bottom of the box.


above
basic box is constructed

then turned into a 2 story

a little side bracing

a shot of the inside, the cleats secure the box bottom to the sides.

more to come!
thanks for taking the time to read!

 

[Karl_T]

Good of you to encourage your son's desires. When i was 4 my dad built me a tractor tire sandbox. I used it to plant corn and beans. nearly 60 years later I still spend most of my time planting things.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Thanks Karl for reading!
i don't have much of a green thumb, but i'm willing to try for the boy!

 

[Ulma Doctor]

i finished the build!!!
pictures for the interested!


i added a stiffener in the middle of the planter box to keep the sides from bulging near the top.

i moved it to the rear of the house and put 150 lbs of gravel at the bottom for drainage and 6 bags of potting mix.
i'll need to add another bag or so to top it off after it gets wet and smashes down a bit.
the boy couldn't wait to get the hose and wet the new soil down!



tomorrow, the planting!

 

[T Bredehoft]

Just a suggestion, Take the two screws out of the upper brace (one side at a time), fabricate a couple of pieces of aluminum or stainless, 2" by 4", with a couple of holes in them and re-install the two screws. This will prevent the screw heads from sucking into the wood as it pushes out.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

i had considered a plate of some sort, your comment cemented the action!
i agree 100% and will take the great advise !
thanks for the tip!

i should do the same thing elsewhere too!!!

 

[middle.road]

I want some of those redwood planks, I haven't seen any around here in ages... The fencing staves at the store are all western cedar.

 

[randyc]

I want some of those redwood planks, I haven't seen any around here in ages... The fencing staves at the store are all western cedar.

That isn't too surprising. I live smack in the middle of Redwood country - we call our location "living behind the Redwood Curtain". Maybe I can provide an example about the weird economics of redwood lumber. All of the wood structures in the following photo are made from redwood except for the cedar fence.



I built these six large raised beds for my wife about eight years ago, completely from redwood, for a cost of $230 IIRC; the 2 x 4, 4 x 4 and x 12 lumber delivered to my driveway. I'm sure that the same load would cost double that today - at least. THIS is where the Redwood trees are felled and milled so I'm getting a far better price than the same lumber transported to Home Depot, with a couple of price mark-ups along the way.

There are only two industries here: logging and fishing. Probably 80% of all redwood comes from this single county. The dozens of local mills all have stockpiles of redwood approaching hundreds of thousands of cubic feet. One HUGE stockpile is right in the middle of the closest town from my home ! Sometimes there are actually traffic problems caused by the huge trucks that transport the felled Redwoods to the mills.

I don't understand the economics of this - the mills seem to have huge supplies of raw product that just sit there !!?

Are they simply creating an artificial shortage ? Who knows - the entire county is run by about three families and the timber interests are so powerful that they were able to organize a special election to recall the county district attorney when he attempted to enforce a fine against them that the U.S. Court had ordered !

Gasoline prices here are the highest in the United States. I have to smile when the national news quotes the "highest" gas prices when ours are always at least $0.25/gallon higher. Why do we pay these prices ? Because one of the three families that run the county have the monopoly on gasoline distribution. Every gas station, regardless of its name, has to buy from the single distributor. Want cheaper gas - drive to one of the Indian reservations.

I'm sorry about the rant. This is the wrong place for it But maybe it helps explain why redwood is hard to find and so expensive when you find it !

 

[Uglydog]

Very nice work!!

Helped me to recall my 14year old daughter telling us that she wanted to make the unfinished walk out basement her bedroom. My immediate thought I'm not going to allow a teenage daughter to slip out a basement walk out door in the middle of the night (I used to be that old).

In an attempt to diffuse the request, I countered with sure, not a problem, if YOU do the work then we can make it happen. I thought the whole notion would be immediately stopped. She asked how she should begin. I told her she would need to create a bill of materials to frame the walls, insulate, and wire. The next day I was given a bill of materials and a hand sketched blue print. Arrgh.

Ok, so we went to the lumber yard and picked up 2x4s. She learned how to select them for straight etc. She did most of the lifting and loading, I helped and paid. Then she wanted to use the chop saw to cut them to length. This will stop her! Nope, over the weekend she cut everything to length. I was pretty sure that hand nailing all those nails would stop the project. She bent alot of nails. But, learned to hammer. a month later. If you want electricity you are going to have to drill the studs. She isn't very big but she handled that 1/2inch drill well. At this point I know that I lost the wager. You can guess the rest. Now she is 22years old and in Madagascar. Evidently, everything turned out all right.

UlmaDoc, be careful where the wild dreams of youth go! You might end up with an vintage tractor in your yard!

Daryl
MN

 

[middle.road]

Very nice work!! Helped me to recall my 14year old daughter telling us that ....

I do believe that turned out well. Madagascar -EH? Impressive.