Stackable herb boxes

Mark Rayner creates these simple, stackable box planters from reclaimed timber and plywood – perfect for a selection of favourite herbs.

You will need: 40mm jolt head galvanised nails, drill with 10mm drill bit, offcuts of wood and plywood (we used 22cm wide planks and 6mm plywood), hammer, paintbrush, pencil, potting mix Resene Waterborne Woodsman tinted to Resene Earthsong, sandpaper, saw, set square, good-quality potting mix and three favourite herbs; we used mint, basil and parsley.

Top tips: in a similar way, a series of stackable box planters could also be used to grow strawberries, small salad vegetables or even potted colour.

To get the look: Mark painted the background planter with Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Amulet and Resene Green House.

Step 1
Measure and mark the wood into twelve 150mm pieces.

Step 2
Use the set square or back of the saw to mark perpendicular cutting lines across the wood, as shown.

Step 3
Using the pencil lines as a guide, cut the wood into twelve equal pieces, and sand any rough edges.

Step 4
Assemble the pieces of wood, as shown, to form three rectangular boxes. Fix at each corner with 40mm nails.

Step 5
Place one of the boxes on the piece of plywood and trace around the bottom to mark out the base.

Step 6
Using the pencil lines as a guide, cut the base out of the plywood and sand any rough edges. Repeat for the other two boxes.

Step 7
Fix the plywood bases to the boxes with 40mm nails, as shown, and drill drainage holes in the base of each box.

Step 8
Apply two coats of Resene Waterborne Woodsman to the wooden boxes, allowing two hours for each coat to dry.

Step 9
Fill each box with potting mix and plant a herb in each one. Stack the three boxes to form a triangle, as shown in the first picture.

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Resene Paints (Australia) Limited – www.resene.com