Container Gardening Complete

Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

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Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete
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Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

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This raised planter is perfect for gardeners who want to remain upright

while growing their own veggies, and its small size is a great fit for petite

patios and balconies. This project combines a bar stool and a couple of

old wooden wine crates or CD storage boxes to make a fun container for

growing beets and Swiss chard. If these two veggies aren’t your thing,

you can use this raised planter to grow lettuce, mustard greens (Brassica

juncea), radish, spinach, or any other small-statured crop instead. If you

use an old CD storage box, each separate compartment is the perfect

amount of space for one or two plants.

MATERIALS NEEDED

1 wooden bar stool, 28

to 32 in. tall

2 wooden CD storage

boxes or wine crates

20 to 28 1-in. wood

screws

Spray paint (optional)

Enough 50/50 compost

and potting soil blend

to fill the boxes

16 to 24 starter plants

or seeds; half for

Swiss chard, half for

beets

TOOLS NEEDED

Cordless drill with

(^1) ⁄ 2 in. twist bit and
driver bits
Tape measure
Sharpie marker or
wax pencil

BEET

BOX

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STEP 1 Use a tape measure to find the exact center of

the bar stool seat. Then use a marker or wax pencil

to draw a line through the middle to separate the top

of the stool into two equal hemispheres. If you’d like,

you can paint the wooden boxes with spray paint before

proceeding to the next step.

STEP 2 To attach the wooden crates to the top of the

stool, begin by lining the long edge of one of the crates

up with the marked center line. Use the cordless drill

equipped with a driving bit to screw six to eight wood

screws through the bottom surface of the wooden crate

and into the top of the stool.

STEP 3 Line one of the long sides of the second box up

with the long edge of the first and screw that one to the

top of the stool seat with another six to eight screws.

For increased stability, use wood screws to attach the

two wooden boxes together along the length of their

adjacent long sides. Use a^1 ⁄ 2 in. drill bit to make six

drainage holes in the bottom of the wooden boxes,

three down each side. Make sure the drainage holes

are along the outer edge of the boxes’ bottoms, so they

aren’t blocked by the stool seat.

HOW TO MAKE A BEET BOX

STEP 4 Fill the boxes with the potting soil and compost

blend to the upper rim. Plant the beet and chard plants

or seeds, alternating them for added interest. If you

use your beet box to grow lettuce or other greens, you

can grow them in a dense mat and harvest them as

baby greens, or you can space the plants out and allow

them to mature into full-sized heads.

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Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

#175 Dtp: 229 Page: 219

Job:06-700309 Title: CPS - Container Gardening Complete

#175 Dtp: 229 Page: 218

700309 - ContainerGardens_001-272_FINAL.indd 219 5/24/17 1:07 PM