A month ago when the lockdown had just kicked off, I decided to build a raised plant trough since we needed more space to grow vegetables. The only place where we could build raised beds would be on top of the grass and since we don’t own this house I didn’t want to ruin the grass in the garden. I decided to have a go at copying the raised plant trough we already had with recycled wood. Read on to find my DIY reclaimed wood elevated planter tutorial.
When searching for a wooden raised plant trough on Google, the prices usually quite quickly go to 30 pounds or more. After searching online and being dissatisfied with the prizes I found, I challenged myself not to pay any money for it. I decided to recycle wood that we had lying around on the terrain and I think it worked out quite well!
This is one of the places where I found recycled wood for this project. It was so satisfying to be able to use some of the wood that otherwise would just have been rotting away!
After having taken all measurements of the raised plant trough we already had, I started to figure out which planks would be useful for which parts. It took a bit of figuring out, but I got there in the end!
Once I had sawn off all the needed parts, which took a while since I only used a hand saw, it was time to start building. I built two long sides, two short sides and a bottom.
After building the parts, it was time to assemble the main part of the plant trough. I will be honest. I really needed Nathan’s help here. I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own!
As we were assembling the parts, I noticed that I had done a boo-boo. The bottom was too long. In the measurements that I took from the already existing plant trough, I forgot to take the depth of the shorter sides into account (I hope this makes any sense when you see the layout on the picture above, but don’t worry I have corrected it in the building tutorial!).
After having finished the main part of the raised plant trough, it was time to attach the legs.
I still had some garden bed lining lying around which I stapled in with a staple gun, and I bought some compost and soil to fill it up. At the moment there are two kinds of potatoes in it. I am absolutely thrilled with how it has worked out!
Your free building tutorial
So now for the most important part. A week ago I asked on Instagram which of three freebies my followers there would prefer to have. A building tutorial for a raised plant trough was the most popular, so I prioritized this one! I want you to be able to build your dream garden without breaking the bank. So by building your own plant trough, whether it be from bought or recycled wood, I hope this building tutorial helps you to do that. I have compiled a PDF file with all the measurements and steps needed to build a raised plant trough yourself. And trust me, if I can build it with random bits of recycled wood, then you can too!
Click the download button below to get the PDF file.
As you click that link, you should be able to download the PDF file. If anything has gone wrong, make sure to mention it in the comments below. You are also very welcome to ask any questions in the comments or via e-mail, contact@hopefulhome.co.uk if you’d like more explanation about the building tutorial. I’ll be glad to answer your questions!
Much love,
Jenna Munday
