Project: Planter

My mother-in-law loves to garden. Spends a lot of time caring for her babies. She wanted a more dedicated place for some vegetables other than the usual rolling pots. Wanted something more 'elegant'. Shopped around and found the sizes she wanted are over $250. I figure I can make one better and cheaper.

Wood of choice is obvious... Cedar. It's naturally rot resistant AND bug resistant. Bugs eat cedar and die. And this happens without any chemicals. And that's important as this project is for a vegetable garden. Her keyword is "organic". She LOVES to use that word. So, every element in this project can not have any chemical that can leech into the soil and contaminate the goods.

Design is both simple and a compliment to the surrounding property fence.

17,900 cubic inches = 293 liters in volume! That's plenty of soil to grow almost anything she wants.

Material cost = $150 (includes casters! So she can move it around by herself)




Drilled plenty of holes into the floor of the planter for proper water drainage.

Dropped down 55lbs of gravel (about an inch worth in height) and then a layer of landscaping fabric on top to separate the soil and gravel. Again, better for drainage.


This planter is sturdy. Twice as sturdy as any commercially available planter I've seen out there. It will last.
Special thanks to Andrew and his dad for lending me a hand and the tools!