How To Build A Modern Raised Planter

Summer is here, which means it’s the perfect time to get outdoors! I’ve been wanting to plant a veggie garden since we bought our house. So, I made a modern raised planter for my new garden in one weekend! This was a super simple build! Here’s how I made it happen!

DIY Modern Raised Planter

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Want to check out this collaboration in action!? You can watch my build video here (make sure to subscribe to my channel)!

Raised garden beds are a great option for garden beds! And, even better – they aren’t very complicated to build! This planter took me one weekend to make and I only needed a few major tools to get it done. Here’s how!

Materials + Tools

Tools

Materials

DIY Modern Raised Planter Printable Woodworking Plans

Interested in the exact measurements I used for this project? You can find the full printable woodworking plans here!

The Steps:

Step 1: Build the Frame

First step in this build is to build the actual frame for the planter. I did this with 2x4s, pocket holes, and DAP Weldwood Professional Wood Glue. This glue is amazing because it’s actually water resistant, stainable, and paintable!

Step 2: Build A Planter Box

Next, I created a planter box (similar to the one I made in my smaller modern planter tutorial) by attaching smaller 2×4 support pieces throughout the center of my planter frame. This ledge will act as a bottom for the actual planter box where soil and the plants will sit. I’ll be covering this with chicken wire and landscaping fabric later.

Step 3: Create A Base

Once the frame was done, I built a base to install the planter on top of (this will keep it off of the grass and also give it a floating effect). The base gets attached to the frame with screws from the bottom supports.

At this point, I also decided to paint the frame in a black exterior stain so that the slats will appear to float once they are installed as well.

Step 4: Attach The Slats

Next step was to attach the 6″ slats to the frame with DAP Weldwood Professional Wood Glue and brad nails.

Step 5: Plant The Garden

In order to create a proper garden bed, I covered the planter box with chicken wire and landscape fabric before then adding some organic material, native soil, and garden bed soil (shoutout to The Gardening Channel With James for all of his amazing videos on starting garden beds).

Gardening Tips For First Time Veggie Growers

While I might know a bit about woodworking, I know hardly anything about gardening. So, I relied on channels like The Gardening Channel With James and advice from my amazing Instagram community to get started. And, here are some of the best tips I got (I know these might not work for everyone, but they have so far for me)!

Having a slightly deeper garden bed, but filling the first layer with material like logs, mulch, and twigs is a great way to help with retaining moisture in the raised bed in a natural way without wasting too much “good soil”.
Starting with mature plants instead of seedlings is a good place to start.
Watering the plants at night helps them to retain the best moisture levels.
Over-estimate how much room you will need for your plants – they get bigger than you think they will (I’m learning this the hard way right now)!
Certain veggies don’t play well together, so make sure to do your research on which ones you want before planting!

Do you have any advice you’d add? Let me know in the comments below!