How to Build a Garden Box on My Deck

A deck garden is a small container garden ideal for non-traditional locations.

Build a garden box for the deck on the weekend and enjoy it for years to come. Whether it is colorful flowers one season and tomatoes, herbs and basil the next, garden boxes are a reliable alternative to traditional gardens. Garden boxes have the benefits of container or raised gardens. Insect and weed infestation as well as root diseases are minimal because the plants are in a more controlled environment. It is not necessary to work on native soil because the garden box is filled with the soil of the gardener’s choice. The garden box is raised making it simpler to tend without bending completely. Does this Spark an idea?

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Two cedar floor-support boards, 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide by 6 feet long
One half-inch thick, 2-by-6-foot plywood sheet
Deck screws, 1/4 inch by 2 inches
Two cedar runner boards, 2 inches by 2 inches by 6 feet
Two cedar side boards, 1 inch by 12 inches by 8 feet
Electric drill
Drill bit, 1/8 inch by 2 inches
Two cedar boards end boards, 1 inch by 12 inches by 2 feet
Landscape fabric
Heavy-duty stapler

Instructions

- 1
  
  Place two garden box floor support boards on their sides, parallel to each other, and spaced 2 feet apart on a flat level surface.
- 2
  
  Fit the sheet of plywood on top of the floor support boards. Make certain the ends and sides of the plywood match up evenly to the floor support boards.
- 3
  
  Start at one end of the plywood, and drive deck screws at 1-foot intervals through the plywood into the floorboard lying underneath. Drive screws in the same manner through the other side of the plywood into the floor support board.
- 4
  
  Turn the plywood over, and lay a runner board down the length of one of the floor support boards. Drill pilot holes at 1-foot intervals through the runner board into the floor support board. Drive deck screws through the runner board into the floor support board. Repeat the same process to attach the other runner board to the other floor support board. The runner boards keep the garden box above deck level and allow it to drain.
- 5
  
  Attach one of the sideboards to one of the floor support boards by setting the sideboard on its edge even with the floor support board. Drill pilot holes 1 foot apart along the bottom of the sideboard, and drive deck screws through the board into the sides of the floor support board. Attach the other sideboard in the same manner.
- 6
  
  Drill holes at 1-foot intervals down the middle of the plywood to act as drain holes for the garden box.
- 7
  
  Place one of the end boards against the two sideboards on the end of the box. Drill 1/8-inch pilot holes spaced evenly along the sides of the end board into the ends of the sideboards. Repeat the process on the other end.
- 8
  
  Cover the bottom and sides of the garden box with landscape fabric. Use a heavy-duty stapler to keep it in place.
- 9
  
  Fill the garden box with the growing medium of your choice. A sound growing medium is a mixture of one-third sphagnum peat moss, perlite and sandy loam clay soil.

Tips & Warnings

Have the lumber yard cut the boards to the proper dimensions.
Place the garden box so that it receives some shelter from the worst of the wind and weather.
Assemble all tools and materials before beginning the project.
Make certain that the garden box is placed in an area of the 1deck where runoff will not cause problems.