Urban Vegetable Gardening: Inspiration and how-to plans
When Dan K. sent me the photos of what he had built, I was not only impressed, I also knew I had to share it with all of you. He didn't just build one planter box...
Dan K. sent these photos in of the planter boxes he built using the original vegetable planter box plans I drew up because I had a desire to start an urban vegetable garden. He has definitely taken the endevor to a whole new level.
Dan K. sent these photos into Stark Insider of the planter boxes he built using my original vegetable planter box plans. I drew up my own plans because I had a desire to start an urban vegetable garden and couldn't find anything ready-made that I loved. Dan has definitely taken the endeavor to a whole new level.
Several years ago, I had a desire to grow my own vegetables in my backyard. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of room and the only area of my home that had not been landscaped was a narrow corridor along the side of the house. I figured it would be enough for a 6’x 2′ planter box. Unfortunately, when I went searching for such an item online and in the stores, I couldn’t find anything which suited all my requirements. This was when I decided to design and build my own vegetable planter box. I wrote about the experience here: Venturing into Vegetable Gardening. The article has gotten quite long because of the number of comments and updates, but if you wade through it, I promise you the information is useful; not only on how to build your own planter box, but also on topics such as micro-irrigation and making your own organic fertilizers.
Since then, I’ve had thousands of download of my Vegetable Planter Box plans. Occasionally, I’m sent photos of the final results from readers, which I always appreciate. When Dan K. sent me the photos of what he had built, I was not only impressed, but I also knew I had to share it with all of you. He didn’t just build one planter box. Instead, he built a whole row of them and turned a large concrete patio into a garden oasis. Here are the results. I think Dan and company also had a lot of fun building them which is also most important!
Thanks again Dan for sending in your photos and sharing your passion. If you have photos of your planter box you would like to share, email them to me at loni@starkinsider.com.
When I saw this photo I thought of the power tool version of Charlie's Angels :-). When building the planter boxes using my plans, I do agree recruiting at least one other person to help you will make the process go a lot smoother.At this step, it is important that you put plenty of screws into the two rails. These will not only support the planks that form the bottom of the planter box, but also will be the key support beams for the legs of this planter box.Perfect photo opportunity. Just as the project is complete, before the staining. It is a moment of utter satisfaction. Building your own planter box will give you the dimensions you want and the pride of ownership that only comes to those that break a sweat and build their own.These are the plants that Dan filled his planter boxes with just after he completed building them. By now, they should be overflowing with large plants. Mine this year is filled with "bionic" tomato plants. Last season was not a great year for tomato plants. This year seems like the total opposite. I do love the special touch of the lights he put in. In the evening when the boxes are filled with lush plants the lights will add nice visual interest and create interesting shadows.As you can see, these planter box can also be used to plant almost anything. For the design that Dan was going after, he covered the legs with some more planks so that it gave a completely finished, modern look. They also make great storage areas as well in a space challenged yard.
