We have a bonus project idea this weekend that I'm thrilled to share with you today! The maker of the adorable family tree project we posted about this past summer, Erika (daughter to one of our readers Melissa of Darby's & Pumpkin's Daily blog), is back this time in the form of a clever raised deck garden (all under $100)! Here are the instructions in Erika's words. (Thank you so much Erika)!
First, the reason I started this project was because all of the raised planter beds I was looking at online and in stores were insanely expensive and didn't seem to offer all that much space for growing. I've also been all over Pinterest looking for a project like this to use and haven't been able to find anything that wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg. My husband and I live in a town home and though we have a yard, the only place with enough sun during the day is our deck. I wanted a planter big enough for salad greens and a few other veggies but I didn't want to spend hundreds. Our garden is about 9 inches deep and about 2.75ft x 6.75ft. That is just under 21 sq. ft. of planting space.
Here is our project list:
1 Old Door (yes, a door. If you don't have one laying around one can be bought from the hardware store)
1 2x10x8 of pressure treated wood (cut at the hardware store to fit one long length of your door)
1 2x10x12 of pressure treated wood (cut to a second long length and two short lengths of the door)
2 saw horses of your choice (ours were foldable metal and $17)
2 packs of L brackets (8 total, small size)
1 box of decking screws (3in long)
1 roll 2mil thick plastic painters sheeting
10.5 cubic feet of potting soil
Seed of your choice!
Total Cost: $100!!! including the dirt. A bit more if you don't already have an old door.
It took us about 40 min to put the box together. We fit the wood around the outside of the door and screwed it. We then secured the inside of the box with the 8 L brackets. Set up our two saw horses outside on the deck and placed the box on top. We did choose to line our box with plastic sheeting. This step was to help prevent the water from eventually rotting the door. We figured we could also have painted the inside with roofers tar. For our water drainage hole, we left the hold open where the door mechanism would usually go and covered it with a fine mesh and removed the plastic in this area.
Update: Thanks to your comments, yes more holes can be drilled for drainage as well as lining the planters from the wood.
We only have a few peas growing at this point, but can't wait to see a whole garden come May when most everything is supposed to be ready to harvest!
