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This planter is a lesson in building with imperfect material. Cedar fence pickets are cheap because they're rough, wet, and inconsistent — so the design plans for it: the panels are sized with 1/8" gaps between pickets to absorb seasonal movement, and the panel-on-legs construction means no picket edge ever has to land perfectly against another.
The build order is what makes it fast: assemble four flat panels first (pickets nailed to 1x3 rails), then pocket-screw the panels to the 2x2 legs from the inside. All the joinery is hidden, and a panel that comes out slightly out of square gets pulled true when it meets the legs.
The best idea in the plan is the false bottom. Don't fill a 24"-tall planter with soil — you'd waste money on dirt, and the thing would weigh enough to crack a deck board. Set cleats about 6" down from the rim, drop a slatted floor on them, and plant in that. Lighter, cheaper, and it drains better than a full column of soil ever would.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72"Twelve panel pickets from three boards. | 3 each |
| 1x3, 8 ftPanel rails, top and bottom. | 2 each |
| 1x2, 8 ftFalse-bottom cleats and slats. | 1 each |
| 2x2, 8 ftThe four legs. | 1 each |
| Exterior pocket hole screws, 2-1/2" | 32 each |
| Galvanized nails or exterior screws, 1-1/4"Pickets to rails. | 60 each |
| Exterior wood glue | 4 oz |
Overall cost: $. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Panel rails1x3Two per panel, plus two spares for the false-bottom cleats. | 10 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 17" |
| False-bottom cleats and slats1x2 | 5 | 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 17" |
| Legs2x2 | 4 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 23 3/4" |
| Panel picketsCedar fence picket1/4" shorter than the diagrams to allow for the saw kerf and trimming off the dog-eared ends. | 12 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 17 3/4" |
Buy 8 boards at 8 ft.
2 boards
2 boards
1 board
3 boards
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Nail and glue three pickets to two 1x3 rails per panel, working from the inside face so the fasteners don't show. Leave an 1/8" gap between pickets — cedar pickets are wet off the rack and WILL move, and the gap is where that movement goes instead of into a bowed panel.
Don't chase perfection here. The pickets aren't perfect and the design knows it.
On the inside of every panel, drill two 1-1/2" pocket holes behind each 1x3 rail end. The screws will run through picket and rail into the legs — that stack is the whole joint, so drill at the rail ends where the material is.
Attach two opposite panels to the four legs with the 2-1/2" exterior pocket screws, panels flush to the leg faces per the diagram. Work on a flat surface so the legs all land level.
Add the remaining two panels the same way. Before the final screws go in, check the planter for square across the top opening and rack it true — pocket screws allow one round of adjustment, then they're committed.
You are not growing potatoes — don't fill the whole planter with dirt. Screw 1x2 cleats around the inside about 6" down from the rim (or deeper for bigger root balls), then lay 1x2 slats across them with drainage gaps.
Line with landscape fabric to keep soil off the cedar, plant, and set it somewhere it gets admired. Sand and break the top edges first — hands land on the rim every time someone waters it.
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