If you live in an apartment or a small home and you want to create your very own garden, the planter box is one of the easiest ways to do this. We look at how you can use a wood pallet to make a DIY planter box.
Small spaces don’t mean that you can’t have your own garden! The planter box is one of the easiest and affordable ways you can enjoy beautiful flowers in spring or your very own herb garden without having the outdoor space to achieve this.
In the following blog, we provide step-by-step instructions for erecting a planter box along with its incredible benefits for your home.
Why Build a Planter Box?
Planter boxes are great ways to upcycle and save on the costs of pots and containers you would have to buy at a garden center. It is also one of the simplest ways to bring the outdoors in or create a quaint patio garden if you lack space. But planter boxes are also used in large gardens particularly in vegetable patches where soil conditions can be controlled. You can even use the pallet to make a box to increase storage in your small apartment or home by removing the legs and making wooden boxes of different heights and lengths.
Materials
1 x wood pallet
1 x 2–3m wood post (cut into 4 supporting posts)
Burlap or plastic garden liner
Drainage stones
Jigsaw
Hammer
Staple gun
Sander/sandpaper (optional)
How to Start Making a Planter Box
To make your planter box you will need a wood pallet and four wood battens you can cut into supporting posts. The size of the pallet is usually 800mm x 1200mm. When you are looking at pallets, always look for usable wood. It should not be frayed or splintered. You can find pallets for sale online or you can find many people and businesses giving pallets away for free.
Removing the Slats
Once you have a pallet you will need to start taking it apart. Be careful not to break each plank as you strip the pallet or it could spell disaster for your box! You may need a jig or crowbar to remove the slats and a hammer to remove the nails from the slats.
if you don’t want to remove each slat individually, you can cut the ends off with your jig. Mark a straight line on both sides of the pallet where the nails are and cut these edges off. You will simply need to remove the nails from the center panel holding the slats together.
Once you have your clean and usable slats, you can decide on the size of the box. I prefer long boxes that measure around 800mm to 900mm by 1200 to 1400mm but you can design boxes as small as 500mm x 500mm. Decide on the dimensions of the box so you can start cutting and putting the pieces together.
Start Making the Frame
The next stage is the tricky part and you’ll need to start building the frame. Using the remaining blocks and longer pieces of wood to make a floor and four points that each slat will connect to.
If you are making a box of 800mm x 1000mm, you will make your frame with 2 x 1000mm slats. Lay them parallel to one another, then take your shorter slats and nail or drill them into the longer planks by placing the shorter slats on top of the 1000mm slats. If you look down at your base you’ll now have two long slats running vertically with a few shorter slats running across horizontally. Remember to leave a gap on the base to secure slats sideways and all-around your planter.
Keep running the smaller slats across the two bottom slats until you have a solid base.
Now you can start constructing the sides. With the remaining planks/slats, turn it sideways to create a “wall” and nail it into the base. Keep building your walls to the desired height. You’ll then need to use the battens mentioned earlier. Cut each batten to the height of your box and place it along each corner. You can place these posts inside or outside the container depending on the design you wish to achieve.
Outside support posts of a longer length can serve as the legs. If you place your posts inside the box, you’ll have to add feet to raise the box for drainage purposes.
Adding Feet
It’s very easy to add feet. Simply cut small pieces of wood of equal sizes and drill these into the base.
Decorating Your New Box
You can sand your box at this stage and paint it or you can leave its natural look.
The burlap or plastic is meant to line the box. Burlap will naturally drain but with a plastic liner you’ll have to pierce holes into it for drainage purposes. Staple the liner to the sides of the box and then add a layer of drainage stones.
Fill with sand and you’re ready to start gardening!
