DIY Garden Box

Step 1 - Purchase Supplies

The supplies for this project are the following: 

• 20 6"x6' fence boards

• 4 2"x4"x10' lumber

• 1 5/8" decking screws

• Miter saw or hand saw

• Plastic sheeting

• Dirt (we did a mix of top soil, manure and "vegetable mix" soil

• Plants

Step 2 - Cut The Lumber

We began by cutting the "dog ears" off the top of each fence boards, which was being about an inch, or so. The length of the boards determined the length of the final box, which ended up being 70.5" long.

We then cut the 2"x4"s into 29" long pieces. This allows the use of 5 fence boards with an extra 1" at the bottom for short feet.

Step 3 - Assembly

We assembled the two long sides of the box by laying five of the fence boards on top of four of the 2"x4"s, two of which were at the ends of the boards, and the other two were spaced evenly along the length of the boards. Once the boards were laid down, we screwed them in using the 1 5/8" screws. We used ceramic coated self tapping screws to protect the screws from the treated lumber. We did this twice to end up with the two long sides of the garden box.

Next, we screwed five 35.25" long fence boards to either end of the long sides to create a four sided box.

We then added four 2"x4"s across the width of the garden box 18 5/8" from the top of the box. These cross members add stability to the box, as well as being a place for us to screw the slats into during the next step.

Next, we laid down five fence boards length wise along the box. These boards will act as the bottom of the box to retain the dirt.

The next morning, we moved the box to its final place. We laid plastic sheeting in the box and stapled it to the sides. The plastic holds water against the soil as well as stops the soil from falling through the slats. We then filled the box with a mix of top soil, manure and "vegetable mix" soil. Once the soil was thoroughly mixed together, we planted the seedlings and watered.

So far, we are very pleased with our garden box. We have been able to plant two types of tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower and broccoli and have no had any problems with our furry friends.