# Planter Box



## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

"THE WIFE" likes to grow herbs on our back deck which is just outside our kitchen door, but usually plants them in a plastic tray and sets them on the deck floor.

So she says can you build a planter box around these three pots? She'd like it to have: legs to raise it up to a working height, and can you make it look nice, with grooves on the side? I say, you mean like bead board? and she says whatever! I'm thinking, "it was gonna look nice anyway, but hey, happy wife, happy life" :frown:

Build something nice around these:




Crosscutting panels - I've seen various panel sleds in use. Mine has the fence at the front as it allows me to crosscut wider panels without the sled tipping





Parts are cut for the box and the legs. The box is 3/4" construction grade plywood and the legs are made from 5/4 PT deck boards.



Box assembled



Miter the legs to lighten the look and add style. Rough cut on the band saw then clean up with a block plane. Mitering on the band saw is easier than setting up a miter sled on the table saw :grin:



Legs assembled with pocket screws and glue - removed sharp edges with a block plane



Sizing the cap boards - 2x4 lumber and making sure the corners are tight



Bevel the cap boards to add more style and lighten the look - have I said how much I like the Bosch 4100 :laugh2:



Assembly complete - added some T&G pine boards and finished up the trim - she wanted grooves. Thought about making my life easy with some beadboard but it's way too thin



Primed, painted and ready for duty



I neglected to include the dimensions: the planter box stands 25" tall (from the bottom of the legs), 36" wide and 12" deep. I added a plywood web frame on the inside to raise the pots up and to allow for drainage.


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## Mayo.Mick (Sep 27, 2016)

Really nice job! I like it, a lot


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## Tonto1 (Nov 10, 2016)

Very nice. I'm sure she loves it!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

hey Vince...

....


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

What Stick said.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

What the others said. 

Now get some dirt and finish the job!! lol


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Outstanding...!!!!!!


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Good looking planter, nice job Vince.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

Plus 1 on all the compliments. Looks great.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Nice work and a good presentation.


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

honesttjohn said:


> What the others said.
> 
> Now get some dirt and finish the job!! lol


John - that's SWMBO's job - I stopped playing in dirt long time ago.

Thanks for the compliments folks. It was fun to get back into the shop for a while.


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## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

Looks fantastic! (I'm glad my wife can't see it...I have enough projects for this year....and next.)
It really is a nice looking planter, great job!


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

That is a great planter.


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## gomolajoe (Apr 23, 2011)

Subscribed! My wife would love something like this. Thanks for the inspiration.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

Well designed and executed. Using pots inside the planter is far better than filling it with dirt. Cuts down the rot and makes changing the plants far easier. 

Assume you spaced the slats in the bottom slightly or drilled in a few drain holes. I would also recommend setting the pots up on a small blocks to allow drainage under each pot. 

Look forward to seeing it with the plants added.


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Jon - I created a web frame out of 3/4" plywood to raise the pots to the top of the box and to allow drainage. I should have taken a picture. The web frame consists of three short pieces that go front to back which are attached to the main box with screws and a cross piece (side to side) that is attached to the shorter pieces. Each piece of plywood is about 4 inches wide. There is no worry about water collecting in the box, either from watering or from the rain. Our deck faces west and we get some pretty good winds, so the weight of this planter will prevent it from getting blown over. Before winter I routinely move some of our deck furniture into the basement, and some items get moved into the shed, so nothing stays on the deck during the winter months.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Looking good, Vince... the saw too.


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

Very nice, Vince.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Very well done and as Charles said, it was a great presentation.
Can you show a shot of the inside?
I may want to steal you idea.


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## Web Shepherd (Feb 8, 2012)

Vince ~ Just what the doctor ordered. I have some cypress boards left over from a project which can easily be used for a planter box. Thanks for explaining how you built your plywood web to support your pots. I like the idea that you don't have a full bottom board that would eventually rot out. Great presentation. I copied your plans to my hard drive. Thanks for sharing.

Bob


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Bushwhacker said:


> Very well done and as Charles said, it was a great presentation.
> Can you show a shot of the inside?
> I may want to steal you idea.


 @Bushwhacker - as requested, a photo of the plywood grid that supports the plastic pots - lots of drainage area.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I like your design, Vince, and your step by step post. I saw my red pusher stick attached to the end of your 4100. hah,hah.

Herb


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Nice looking planter Vince. I need to put this on my to do list.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

vchiarelli said:


> @Bushwhacker - as requested, a photo of the plywood grid that supports the plastic pots - lots of drainage area.


Thanks Vince.
I hope you understand that I am going to steal this idea. Very well thought out.
David


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Web Shepherd said:


> Vince ~ Just what the doctor ordered. I have some cypress boards left over from a project which can easily be used for a planter box. Thanks for explaining how you built your plywood web to support your pots. I like the idea that you don't have a full bottom board that would eventually rot out. Great presentation. I copied your plans to my hard drive. Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Bob


Speaking of rotting wood. About 10 years or so ago, I built a mail box post with a planter on the back side. Sandra has been complaining the planter box was rotting. So I decided to repair it. When I pressed on the planter box to remove old rusted screws, the whole thing fell over. The post was rotted at the ground.
Now I have another project to do.
I had a solid bottom in the old planter and plan to use Vince's idea of a lattice of 1xs to hold the pots up.
Once you think you are about caught up, something else falls apart.
David


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Bushwhacker said:


> Once you think you are about caught up, something else falls apart.
> David


Sometimes when you think you are about caught up several things fall apart at the same time!


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Great build Vince . Above and beyond I would say


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

Very nice job on the planter, Vince. I see you have been paying attention to posts on this forum. Those tapered legs look real familiar! :surprise::grin:


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Mike - most projects I do that have legs get tapers - I think it reduces the bulky look. The taper depends on the piece and the look I'm going after, so if it's a table leg, I'll usually taper two faces, both facing inside and usually run the tapers a few inches below the aprons. On this piece, just a small taper because the legs were formed with two 5/4 boards. I usually run the taper so that it splits the width of the board, but here I laid out the tapers and found that 1/2 way was too much and would have thrown the proportions of the piece off.

I guess you and I could be called "the taper guys".


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## MT Stringer (Aug 15, 2012)

> I guess you and I could be called "the taper guys".


Great minds think alike! :grin:


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## 197761 (May 2, 2017)

Sharp looking planter! Like the way you handled the inside, too.


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## Joe Lyddon (Sep 11, 2004)

Very good work!

COOL design!

Did you just place the pots on the bottom shelf?
... leaving space between the vacant rounded areas from each pot?
Did you fill the spaces with anything?

Thank you!


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Joe - thanks for the comments.

Yes, pots just placed on bottom shelf grid - didn't fill the empty space with anything. Wife is growing herbs in these pots - basil, oregano and parsley, basic ingredients for most Italian dishes :grin: The box is currently sitting against the house under a 5 foot overhang, but once the wind dies down and temps turn seasonal, I'll move it against the railing into full afternoon sun, just outside our kitchen door - makes it handy to grab a sprig of something that way.


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## Joe Lyddon (Sep 11, 2004)

Very GOOD! Thanks for the picture!

Yep good stuff for ALL salads!! 

Incidently, I saw a tip on how get Green Onions growing for FREE!
When you use a Green Onion, cut the root end off about 1-2" from bottom and stick it in a pot!

I did that with 3-4 of them... I was surprised how FAST they started growing!! Within a week or so, they had grown about 8" !! I have a planter on the window sill of our kitchen facing South, getting good sun, and I water a little bit every day... If you like green onions, give it a try... Works Great!

Have a good one!


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Joe Lyddon said:


> Very GOOD! Thanks for the picture!
> 
> Yep good stuff for ALL salads!!
> 
> ...


But that's the best part:laugh2: I'll have to try that tip. We used to get our veggies from my parent's garden - tomatos, onion, beans, peppers - you name it, they grew it. But they've both passed so now we have to get them at the grocery store. But I'll definitely try that with green onions - nothing like a salad with green onion, tomatoes and green peppers and olive oil of course - some crusty bread. Now I'm making myself hungry.:frown:


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