Father’s Day June 2017: Spoil Dad With A Raised Veggie Box Planter

A dad is a son’s first hero and a daughter’s first love. He is the one who picks you up, brushes you off and lets you try again. It takes a special someone to be a Dad to look up to. What better way to celebrate Dad this Father’s day than by getting him outside in the sunlight with the kids?

This planter is a great way to spend Father’s Day with the kiddies, getting them to plant yummy veggies and give Dad some extra love! The planter is the perfectly simple gift to give Dad an excuse to take a break from his usual fatherly duties - like hogging the TV remote - and let his green thumbs get to work.

This is what you will need:

• Some wooden planks, as follows:

10 x 54.5 cm slats,
6 x 34.5cm slats
4 x 22cm x 3.9cm square wooden batons

• Hammer
• Nails
• Plastic sheeting
• Scissors
• Drainage stones
• Potting mix
• Seedling growing mix
• Bonemeal
• Vegetable seedlings (We used pak choi and baby cabbage)
• Tubtrug/bucket or wheelbarrow
• Optional decorative rocks               

Here’s what to do:

• Before buying wooden planks or cutting them yourself, remember the size of the planks very much depends on what size veggie box you would like to make. Choose seedlings that are appropriate for small-size plantings if you make a smaller sized planter box.
• Start by knocking the pieces of wood together with nails. This should be done very carefully - so mom and dad please take the lead here! Leave a few spaces in the bottom for drainage. You will need three long planks at the bottom and four on both the left and the right. Three shorter planks need to go at the top and another three should be used for the bottom. Place one baton in each corner to complete the box and nail that in.
• Next, layer the plastic sheeting inside the built box, ensuring the edges of the sheeting stay within the planter.
• Small holes need to be cut in the base of the sheeting. This needs to be done where there are gaps in the wood, for easy drainage.

• Then pour in a 1cm layer of drainage stones on top of the sheeting, to aid drainage.
• Fill the trug or bucket with potting mix, followed by your choice of seedling growing mix and then some bonemeal for a good source of protein and phosphorous for your plant friends.
• Mix this all together and pour the mixture into the planter box, filling it to about three quarters of the way to the top.

• Finally it’s time to plant! Space the plants out evenly, giving them room to grow.
• Get creative and start decorating the planter box with some small rocks, and give the plants a nice water.
• The veggie box is now ready to give to Dad, for the best Father’s Day spoil.