DIY Vertical Garden Planter - Finished Product (Post 2 of 2)

About a month ago I posted about a vertical planter I made.  I wanted to share the finished product so you can see how it turned out, and share the final materials list and cost, in case you'd like to make one yourself.  I adjusted the design a bit because the upper shelves needed more soil than I originally provided for.

If you don't have much space in your yard, or just have a balcony or other outdoor space this design is great for getting a lot of planting space out of a small amount of surface area.  For a spice or herb garden this would work awesome.  For larger fruits and vegetables I would opt for a deeper planter or for optimum production in the ground.


Tools:

1. Saw
2. Drill (with Phillips head bit)
3. Tape measure
4. Level (I didn't use this, but if you want everything perfect would come in handy to check yourself)

Materials:

1. 6 - 1" x 6" x 8 foot lumber
2. 2 - 5/8 " x 1/2 " x 6 foot cedar fence boards
3. 2" wood screws (box)

Directions:

1. Cut 8 foot lumber in half, resulting in 12 pieces, each 4 feet long
2. Separate pieces into 4 groups, with 3 pieces each.  Screw together lengthwise at right angles to create shelves
3. Attach first shelf at bottom of cedar fence boards to create base, putting screws through the side of the cedar fence boards, which are the vertical pieces
4. Measure up 15 inches from top of base and attach next shelf, repeating to the top of the fence boards.
5. Vertical garden planter is now complete. Add organic soil and plants as desired.
6. If water is not draining down from the upper shelves, you can drill a few holes in the underside of the shelf, in the middle of the board to help.

I used Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil for my planter, my first time using the product, and it has been awesome.  I'm not always the best at growing potted plants and have been really impressed with the results.  I highly recommend this product.

My total cost for making this planter was 49.89 and the cost for each material is posted here.  I've been really happy with the turnout so far, and have my first ever banana peppers, serrano peppers, and paprika peppers ready for picking.  Here's a photo of the finished product.

Front profile

 The plants I'm trying out are (from upper left):

• Banana pepper
• Serrano pepper
• Malabar spinach
• Purple basil
• Hungarian paprika
• English thyme
• Okra
• Burpless cucumber
• Dinosaur kale
• New Zealand spinach (my favorite of the items in the planter - really awesome)

Thanks to the Horton Plaza Farmers Market, City Farmers Nursery, and the Little Italy Farmers Market for the plants. :)

Side profile

Happy planting (and eating)!