Raised Cedar Garden Planter {Tutorial}

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Hi there and a very Happy Tuesday to you!
I am so excited that I get to share my latest project with you today. 
 
This year I knew I wanted to change our garden situation.
A few years back my hubby helped me build a square foot garden.
It worked pretty well for the first few years, but I discovered that our boxes were too shallow.
When your carrots come out all bent in half, it’s a sign people! 🙂
Oh and those darn rabbits kept hopping up and going to town on all my veggies.
It was like their morning buffet, all you can eat and it’s free!
 
I decided it was time to build a garden that was much higher and deeper.

This is my finished project….

 
My inspiration for this raised garden came from Ana White’s plans for cedar planters.
I liked the style and the idea of using cedar because it was bio-degradable.

So I decided to tweak the plans a little to get what I wanted exactly.

I am going to share what you will need and the steps I 
took to build my customized planter garden that is (hopefully) bunny proof!  

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You will need:
(4) 1×3 @ 8 feet long (I used cedar)
(2) 1×2 @ 8 feet long (I used cedar)
(7) 5 ½” wide x72 long cedar fence pickets
(1) 2×2 @ 8 feet long (I used leftover pine)
2½” wood screws 
(scrap pieces of 1×2 and 1×4)
 
 First step: Cut all the cedar fence pickets at 17 ¾” long.
(26 total) 18 for front/back and 8 for two sides.
 
 
Second step: Cut the 1×3 cedar at 49 ½” four times (for front/back)
and 21 ½” four times (side pieces).
Next, I cut my 4 leg pieces out of the 2×2 pine at 23 ¾”.
 
 
Third Step: Time to glue, nail gun and Kreg Jig.
Space the cedar pickets with a small gap in between.
(I hear that cedar will shrink and expand with moisture.)
Then use wood glue and some nails
from my favorite BFF (aka: the nail gun) to hold everything in place.
 Next, I pulled out my Kreg Jig and made two pocket holes on the back side of each corner. 
  All four cedar panels will need two pocket holes each.
 
 
 
Fourth Step: Attach legs and side cleats for the inside of the planter.
(I just figured it would be easier to install these before I attached the panels together.)
I just used some leftover 2×2 pine and I believe I cut them around 48″. 
The cleats don’t have to be exact, just don’t want them too long.
 
 
 I made a little boo boo here as you can see in the picture. 
 I attached my 2×2 board with some wood screws about 1 ½” from the bottom.
When I went to screw on my legs,
 I noticed that I covered up one of my pocket holes! Oops.
So I recommend to go up another inch, maybe 2 ½”. 🙂
 
Unlike Ana’s plan, I made my panels even with the top of the legs.
This would allow for me to add a mitered edge. I personally like that look. 🙂
The legs were easy to attach with the 2 ½” wood screws and pocket holes.
 
Fifth Step: Attach the panel pieces together. Like this…
 
Sixth and final step: Place the slats inside and add mitered trim.
I used whatever spare boards I had laying around.
Why not, right? They are free and nobody is going to see them!
I used some leftover cedar and even white pieces of pine (see the white peeking through).
The top pieces of wood were recycled from Sebastian’s old bedroom shelves.
I purposely left space between the boards for water to drain out.


 Inside the bottom I placed some gardener’s clothe to retain the soil.
After I finished building the planter I got an idea
that it would be cool to add a flowering vine to my garden. So I also added on a little trellis.


I didn’t fill the box completely full with soil, although you could if you like.
Mine was just a combination of the soil from my old square foot garden boxes.
It would have been nice to plant more veggies, but I think I was a little late in the season.
Oh well. There’s always next year, right? 

 

Now all I can think is… grow baby, grow!
 I will keep you updated on the veggies growth and if we actually fooled those bunnies.
For now, I am pretty happy with my new garden project. 🙂

DIY Raised Cedar Garden Planter Tutorial


Linking Up At:
Worthing Court
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
The 36th Avenue 
Design Dining and Diapers 
One Project Closer 
Between Naps on the Porch 
Thrifty Decor Chick 

 
 

 

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19 Comments

  1. Love this planter box. How did you put the landscaping fabric in? Staples or just placed it in the bottom. I also like the spacing for the boards for drainage. It seems more likely to drain well since there is not a single hole to get clogged.

  2. Wow…not only a smart idea to build the planter so the rabbits don’t feast, it looks good as well! Sharing & Pinning..of course!

  3. Pingback: DIY Planter Projects - Sand and Sisal
  4. Thank you for the wonderful tutorial on this planter box. I am not sure I could do it but you make it look simple. Thanks so much for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!

  5. This is just absolutely lovely! What a great tutorial. We’ve beeen trying to figure out where to plant this year and this might be just the ticket. Thanks for sharing on Found & Foraged.

  6. This looks so incredible! I’m always so amazed by your talent. Pinned and tweeted. Please join us on Monday at 7 pm and party with us! It is so super fun to see what you have been working on! Lou Lou Girls

  7. What a lovely planter box. So functional too. I’m amazed at how much you were able to plant inside!

  8. We love your gardening project & we featured it at The Project Stash! Stop by, pick up your featured button and share your latest creations! 😀

  9. Love this garden idea! Thank you very much for joining in the celebration of #purebloglove, we enjoy having you each week. I hope to see you on Thursday at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee

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  11. I love this planter! I have been looking at similar planters at the DIY store but as you said your self they are very shallow. With your clear instructions I think we could perhaps manage this ..

  12. What a great idea Laura! This would be perfect for my house since I don’t have a garden but desperately want one 🙂 Thank you so much for linking this up to the Bewitchin’ Projects Block Party last week. You will be one of my Featured picks over at Recreated Designs this Sunday. Hugs, Lisa

  13. That is beautiful!! Our yard has to have raised gardens, so this is perfect! Thank you for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty

  14. What a great planter you have created, you will enjoy for years to come.
    It is a Feature picked by Evija and we have Pinned and shared from the #OMHGWW this week!
    Hope you have a great week!
    Karren

  15. I love these planters and you did such a great job on it! I can’t wait to make one, but with wheels so it can come inside during the winter months! Thanks for sharing this with us on Throwback Thursday!

    Mollie

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