Children’s 2x3 foot cedar planter/raised bed

Marc Thoma
Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
edited June 2018 in DIY Tutorials
Marc,

I'm going to get w/ Jimerson and see how to post photos!

--UPDATE--

You should be able to post photos now using the "add media" account!

I'd love if you added your photo.

 

Comments

  • Merin Porter
    Merin Porter Posts: 1,026 admin
    edited June 2018
    Second that -- would love to see a photo! :)
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited June 2018
    I figured out how to add the photo. And now I see the Add Media button above this edit window! At least I know how to do it next time.

    The box still needs a bit of cleaning and staining - we had used some previously stained cedar and raw cedar and you can see how the raw cedar already has weathered a bit.

    The exciting news is that I am almost ready to put my eBook up for sale. It will provide detailed steps with photos of the build of the planter box. I hope to have that available in another few weeks. I hope it is okay to mention it here and provide a link to my blog?
  • Jimerson Adkins
    Jimerson Adkins Posts: 4
    edited June 2018
    This is great! I love seeing children involved in gardening. : )
  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin
    edited June 2018
    WOW, impressive Marc! I would like 20 of these to 'landscape' my property! haha!

    Of course, feel free to link.
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited June 2018
    I plan to build more myself, Ruth. I have some old wrought iron planters that are rusting away on me, so I plan to build some 1x2 boxes to replace them. It will be a great way to use up some of my scrap cedar from other projects as those are taking up space in my garage workshop.

    If I can do those this weekend I can include some photos in the eBook. And of course I'll post some here. :)
  • bmaverick
    bmaverick Posts: 175 ✭✭✭
    edited June 2018
    Marc, nice work with the family!  Always good to instill gifts and talents into our youth.

    Due to working many hours on the job, doing the farm life tends to keep projects like this on the back burner.  BUT, I'm good at finding FREE stuff on Craigslist.  The next town over has 3ftx4ftx42in crates that they can't even give away fast enough.  We took our 6x12 trailer and loaded as many as possible (12).

    All we had to do was add a few 3/8ths holes in the bottom and stain the crates into raised bed planters.  We gave two to the neighbors who are great grand parents and can no longer stoop over to work a garden.  They have tomatoes, rhubarb and pepper plants in them.

    Down south, planter boxes and raised beds are a MUST to overcome Bermuda grass take-over.

    Now, being up north now, I hope to take some of these crates to make cold-frames.  It's a northern thing in the fall as a sunken in the earth greenhouse of sorts.  Just add windows with hinges as the lid for sunlight. :)  In the summertime, a cold-frame can be used as a food dehydrator too just like our SunOven.

    Maybe some of this info can help you further with making your instruction booklet robust.  Take it to the next level.  A box/crate/bed that is universal for growing uses.  I have not seen anything offed like that today other than DIYers.

     
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited June 2018
    Great idea with the crates - glad you found a free supply of them! I agree 100% with recycling and reusing where you can.

    However they are not always available in all areas. So my planter box is made from virgin cedar. However for smaller boxes (let's say 1'x2' or 1'x3') you can use cedar cutoffs from other projects. Or maybe you can find some used cedar fence boards that are rotted on the bottom that could be trimmed and the good parts used for the boxes.

    Oxygenated bleach works really well to clean cedar or other wood, or of course you can also give the boards a coat of paint to refreshen them up.

    Lots of options for people on different budgets.
  • Ruth Ann Reyes
    Ruth Ann Reyes Posts: 577 admin
    edited June 2018
    We are real big on recylcing things. We are so crazy...we took our friends 4,000 sq. ft. deck...Yeah, that was fun to move...HAHA! We are also real big on our local surplus and selvage ... craigslist ... local Facebook pages ... and the Nextdoor app.
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited August 2018
    I'm in the process still of renovating my mother's deck. A lot of the cedar deck boards started to rot so we pulled it all up. Luckily the framing for the most part is still sound.

    Some of the deck boards I was able to remove without too much damage so I hope to clean them up with oxygenated bleach and cut around the nail holes and make some planters from them this winter. The rest will be burned in our wood stove (no finish left on them so safe to burn).

    Still working on my ebook as well. It's been busy this summer, so I hope to get back to finishing it in September.
  • peppypoblano
    peppypoblano Posts: 92
    edited August 2018
    Cute.  What a great way to get your daughter involved.
  • StacyLou
    StacyLou Posts: 89 ✭✭
    edited September 2018
    I love this planter! It’s awesome that you had your daughter help build this and that she grows stuff she likes to eat in it.

    Keep us posted on your ebook. Maybe I’ll have to try this with my 3 year old granddaughter who hates most veggies...
  • Jens the Beekeeper
    Jens the Beekeeper Posts: 651 admin
    edited September 2018
    Marc, what a great project. My kids have some small plastic boxes es their garden.

     

    Stacy, my children were the same with most veggies. Since they harvested the salad themself they love it.
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited September 2018
    I have some of the larger Rubbermaid containers with holes drilled through the bottom for my tomatoes and other summer vegetables in the greenhouse - these work quite well and are cheap. Not that aesthetically pleasing, so I'm planning eventually of building a longer (probably 2'x5') planter for my greenhouse. Maybe make it deeper for the tomatoes - 3 boards instead of 2 should do it.
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Just a quick update: I'm almost ready to publish the eBook. It would have been done by now, but I want to provide extra value in addition to the eBook, so there will be a few bonuses included if you purchase the eBook.

    If all goes well, I hope to have it published on Saturday. I'll provide a link here to the sales page once it's good to go if everyone is okay with that. :)
  • Alison
    Alison Posts: 179 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    I looks like your daughter is having a great time in her planter. Hopefully she is well on her way to overcoming her aversion to wasps after her early sting.

    She should be very proud of her involvement and I am sure she will enjoy picking and eating what she's helped to grow.
  • Kristin Mills
    Kristin Mills Posts: 8 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    I love the idea of a kid's garden. I'm currently designing a custom potting table with a "kid's size" table attached so my grandchildren can help me as  they get older. It won't be long until they will be eager little homesteaders!
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Sounds like a great idea! Would love to see a photo of it when it is done. Right now my daughter uses a small stepstool to reach my potting bench - maybe next project is to build her one she can reach easily, but by the time I have that designed and built, she will have grown!
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    And here is proof that my daughter really likes her garden! She drew this at kindergarten when asked what she is most thankful for (for Canadian Thanksgiving which we just had on Monday - she turned 5 on Monday as well, which of course is what I am thankful for!)



    In it you can see her carrots, Borlotti drying beans (which are red/white mottled but look pink when the pods are drying) and the planter box - it isn't really on legs, but has corner braces which is what I think she was trying to draw (attention to detail just like her papa).

    And here she is with her carrots - small but she was very proud to have grown these herself!

  • Alison
    Alison Posts: 179 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Absolutely precious Marc.

    It's wonderful to see children/ grandchildren being involved in gardening. So many children are completely disconnected to their food and have [like many adults], no understanding of what is involved in growing their own.
  • alindsay22
    alindsay22 Posts: 129 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Love it, your daughter is adorable.  We removed a large redwood deck in our backyard and have since made a landing, a gate, a sandbox, a small reading deck, and three raised beds out of it.  I've been contemplating putting a small raised bed close to the house for herbs and just decided it can be for my daughter to choose what goes in and take care of.  Thanks for the inspiration.

     
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Glad to hear you are creating a special place for your daughter to garden in. It's the best gift you can give her!
  • StacyLou
    StacyLou Posts: 89 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Awww - that’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!
  • Cherlynn
    Cherlynn Posts: 169 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    I love this!  Wish I had little ones around to do this with!
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Actually the planter box could be used for anyone needing a small compact garden. Would be perfect for growing a herb garden, salad garden and other themed gardens. I'm thinking of modifying it slightly in size for inside my greenhouse.

    In fact that was one of the ideas I had for one of the free bonuses I created to accompany my eBook - 5 Themed Planting Plans. While they are specific to getting kids to eat their veggies and fruit (such as a pizza garden!), adults can enjoy the customized mix of veggies too!

    On that note I have finally published the eBook on how to build this planter box! I'm really excited to be done after a lot of long hours and hard work! When I look back at the posts above I see I promised it back in June! Oh well, things of value take time to create. :)

    I believe it was okay to provide a link to the sales page (if not, moderators feel free to remove). https://tranquilgarden.ca/childrens-garden-planter-box-ebook/ Let me know if you have any questions about the eBook, the design or the bonuses.
  • Alison
    Alison Posts: 179 ✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Congratulations on your ebook!

    And as they say "You can't rush art!"
  • Marc Thoma
    Marc Thoma Posts: 77 ✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Thanks Alison. Yes, can't rush things but on the other hand I really wanted to have it done, so I can start working on other things that I am eager to start! As usual tons of great ideas but not enough time to work on all of them.
  • ines871
    ines871 Posts: 1,283 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Tried to respond to BMaverick's excellent post, but something won't let me, so doing it manually:

    He said "I'm good at finding FREE stuff on Craigslist. The next town over has 3ftx4ftx42in crates that they can't even give away fast enough. We took our 6x12 trailer and loaded as many as possible (12)

    All we had to do was add a few 3/8ths holes in the bottom and stain the crates into raised bed planters. We gave two to the neighbors who are great grand parents and can no longer stoop over to work a garden. They have tomatoes, rhubarb and pepper plants in them.

    Being up north now, I hope to take some of these crates to make cold-frames. It's a northern thing in the fall as a sunken in the earth greenhouse of sorts. Just add windows with hinges as the lid for sunlight.

     In the summertime, a cold-frame can be used as a food dehydrator too just like our SunOven."

    We too have a few of these crates tho a few inches smaller. I'm having to put the BABY trees in their ever-larger 10 gallon pots, as without any machines I'm having myself to DIG holes so the poor trees can start doing their thing. -

    Need to also find lots & LOTS of straw to assure they overwinter alright. - But first we need to buy another TRUCK to haul things around. If only money could be grown in the garden, lol

    Made a Cold-frame out of Cinderblocks, with a wooden top, but still need to find some FREE windows.

    Can barely type in the comment box. It's slower than molasses on a cold winter's day the past four days.