DIY Clean Draining Planter Box

One thing I've always wanted to do is put all the old grape boxes I have collected and stored in our shop to good use. My hubs and I are both from grape growing families, so I've had no shortage of old grape boxes (not complaining - I know old boxes of any sort can be hard to come by). The problem with these boxes is that if you just fill them up with soil to use as planters, the wood will rot out in only a season or two because of the wet soil from watering the plants. I've tried lining the boxes with plastic, which protects the boxes, but there is no drainage for the plants. And no matter how carefully I water, I always end up over-watering, which results in a bunch of dead plants. I needed to come up with a way to add drainage to the planter box without it actually seeping onto any part of the box.
I figured there had to be a way to line the grape box with plastic to protect it, but have a way to drain the water away from the box so I wouldn't rot out so quickly. That's when I came up with this idea!
Here's what you'll need:


Wood box


Large garbage bag (the heavier the better)


Plastic drinking straw (get the wide "smoothie style" straws for best results


Paper coffee filter


Plumbing tape


Gravel (not shown in picture)


Potting soil (not shown in picture)


Scissors


Heavy clippers (not shown in picture)


Flowers or plants of your choice. The flowers I used are from Monrovia nursery and are: Masterpiece Candytuft (white), Dahlinova Dahlia (pink), Cartwheel Gerbera Daisy (yellow), and two Cascadias Petunias (purple).
Cut the bottom of the coffee filter. Save the bottom part and compost the top part for your garden.


Wrap the coffee filter piece around one end of the plastic straw and secure with the electrical tape.


The coffee filter keeps the smaller dirt particles from going through the straw as the water drains out of the box. That way the water drains out "clean." It also keeps the straw from getting clogged with dirt.


Cut a small hole in one corner of the garbage bag.


Stick the end of the plastic straw that has the coffee filter on it about an inch or so into the garbage bag through the hole you just cut. Secure the plastic straw on the outside of the garbage bag with electrical tape.
Use the heavy clippers to cut a hole in the back side of the wood box next to the bottom. Make the hole big enough to stick the plastic straw through it without crimping it. If heavy clippers won't work for you, use a small Dremel or whatever you need to use to cut a hole in the wood box.


Place the plastic bag into the wood box and stick the plastic straw through the hole you just cut, making sure the plastic does not fold over the plastic straw on the inside of the box. It should look something like the picture above. You can trim the plastic straw on the outside of the planter box if you need to.
Fill the bottom of the box with a couple of inches of the gravel, taking care to make sure the plastic straw on the inside of the box is covered with the gravel. Cover the gravel with a couple of inches of potting soil.


Arrange your plants inside the box as you like, then fill in the box around the roots with potting soil.
I hope you enjoyed this DIY clean draining planter box tutorial!


For more pictures of the step by step process as well as the finished product, please go to my blog by clicking the link below!


Happy Gardening! :)


Michelle


The Painted Hinge
The Painted Hinge
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  3 questions
  • Kelly Lyons Kelly Lyons on May 19, 2016
    Why not use the flex seal or a rhino liner used in truck beds then insert a plastic drain tube?
  • Jeanne Jeanne on May 20, 2016
    Maybe I don't understand completely, but how do you keep the straw from being crushed inside the box from the weight of the gravel and soil?
  • Margaret Tomko Margaret Tomko on May 21, 2016
    I have an old bicycle with a basket that I put in my garden every year and fill the basket with flowers. I worry about the basket rusting. Do you think this would work?
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  • Melanie Smith Melanie Smith on Jul 13, 2016
    If you put a layer of garden fabric/weed barrier(you know the stuff that goes under mulch to prevent weeds) but lets water thru, over the layer of stone you could get away without the coffee filter. Alot of natural terrariums do this to prevent the dirt falling into the gravel or filter layers.
  • Omar Omar on Dec 02, 2016
    This is so funny we have gotten so many of these from estates. I clean out estates and we get these all the time. I will definitely be repurposing the crates that I got from this estate junk removal http://eco-dumpster.com/junk-removal-estate-l...
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