Homemade Planter Box
So Christmas is a'coming and I needed gift ideas. Well some of the people in my list weren't too terribly hard to get something for... and then there is always my mother. My brother and I asked ourselves, "Well what does she like?" It was a short list. Reading was good, but books are kind of lame [and if they don't tell you what they want you might give them a terrible novel] and although movies are nice with both got her a DVD last year. So that left us with... gardening. So we put our brains together and decided making her something was a good plan. This was what we came up with!
Madre's Homemade Planter Box [Made by her Children, with love]
MATERIALS NEEDED: Wood [how much depends on how big you want to make yours. We got two things of 1x6 and we didn't end up using it all], Wood waterproofing solution [we bought it in a spray-paint type format], Waterproof sealant, Flower mesh, Tape measure, Drill [or you could hammer in nails, if you really wanted to], Saw [We had an electric table saw], and Paint.
Note: Since my brother and I are giving this as a gift we also picked up a bag of potting soil and some seeds for her to use. We got herb seeds 'cause we are meaning for this to be an indoor herb garden for when her and my father cook.
PROCESS: 1. Take your wood and cut it to your desired lengths, using the saw and measuring the wood with your tape measure. Remember- you need three boards that are exactly the same length, for ours that length was 23 1/2 inches. The two sides need to be measured accordingly, to make sure it is tall enough not only to function as the sides, but also tall enough to account for making it raise off of the ground, ours measured at 8 1/2 inches.
2. After cutting all of the wood, screw/nail it together! If you have a few gaps in the wood it isn't a really big deal.
3. Taking your now constructed box, use a drill bit to make some holes in the bottom, this is important 'cause if you put the plants in the box and put a little bit too much water, there needs to be a place for that excess water to escape from so your plants don't drown.
4. Take the box into a well-ventilated area and spray it down with the waterproofing solution. Let it dry before moving onto the next step.
5. Use the waterproof sealant in all of the edges. It comes out like paste so you need to smooth it down as you go. If you had those gaps, mentioned before, just add more of the sealant in order to make sure it doesn't leak.
6. After you let that dry for a bit, it's time to put in the potting mesh! Cut it the way you want it, but remember its main purpose is to go over those wholes you made in the bottom earlier so that water can get out, but soil doesn't come through! You can put it in place in whatever way you wish to, I just used hotglue. This part doesn't have to look professional, it is going to be covered up in dirt once all of it is done anyway!
7. Now all that is left is getting it pretty! Paint it to your [or the person you're giving it to] tastes.
Hopefully this was helpful! Oh and if want to know what the final product looks like, here you are!
The Back [painted by me]
The Front [painted by my brother]
Side I and Back [painted by me]
Side II and Back [painted by me]
The Inside [Not professional by ANY means]
My crazy brother/helper [His Website]
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Madre's Homemade Planter Box [Made by her Children, with love]
MATERIALS NEEDED: Wood [how much depends on how big you want to make yours. We got two things of 1x6 and we didn't end up using it all], Wood waterproofing solution [we bought it in a spray-paint type format], Waterproof sealant, Flower mesh, Tape measure, Drill [or you could hammer in nails, if you really wanted to], Saw [We had an electric table saw], and Paint.
Note: Since my brother and I are giving this as a gift we also picked up a bag of potting soil and some seeds for her to use. We got herb seeds 'cause we are meaning for this to be an indoor herb garden for when her and my father cook.
PROCESS: 1. Take your wood and cut it to your desired lengths, using the saw and measuring the wood with your tape measure. Remember- you need three boards that are exactly the same length, for ours that length was 23 1/2 inches. The two sides need to be measured accordingly, to make sure it is tall enough not only to function as the sides, but also tall enough to account for making it raise off of the ground, ours measured at 8 1/2 inches.
2. After cutting all of the wood, screw/nail it together! If you have a few gaps in the wood it isn't a really big deal.
3. Taking your now constructed box, use a drill bit to make some holes in the bottom, this is important 'cause if you put the plants in the box and put a little bit too much water, there needs to be a place for that excess water to escape from so your plants don't drown.
4. Take the box into a well-ventilated area and spray it down with the waterproofing solution. Let it dry before moving onto the next step.
5. Use the waterproof sealant in all of the edges. It comes out like paste so you need to smooth it down as you go. If you had those gaps, mentioned before, just add more of the sealant in order to make sure it doesn't leak.
6. After you let that dry for a bit, it's time to put in the potting mesh! Cut it the way you want it, but remember its main purpose is to go over those wholes you made in the bottom earlier so that water can get out, but soil doesn't come through! You can put it in place in whatever way you wish to, I just used hotglue. This part doesn't have to look professional, it is going to be covered up in dirt once all of it is done anyway!
7. Now all that is left is getting it pretty! Paint it to your [or the person you're giving it to] tastes.
Hopefully this was helpful! Oh and if want to know what the final product looks like, here you are!
The Back [painted by me]
The Front [painted by my brother]
Side I and Back [painted by me]
Side II and Back [painted by me]
The Inside [Not professional by ANY means]
My crazy brother/helper [His Website]
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!