How to Build a Container Garden Stand (2024)

My obsession with gardening is definitely growing. What I have realized is that I love all forms of gardening from raised beds, to hydroponics, to in ground gardening, to greenhouse gardening, to container gardening and more! I am having such a great time learning more about how things grow and even more about how to grow things well, with efficiency. Thankfully, my husband has taken note of my interests and is super supportive. What that often looks like for him are weekends and evenings filled with building things for me.

I decided to start with raised garden beds, a greenhouse, and a container garden. I absolutely love container gardening because it is such an efficient way to grow vegetables and fruit. Containers require way less soil, you can move the pots around depending on the sun or shade needs of the plants, and you can easily shift your planting space as you deem necessary. However, I did not want to just place a bunch of containers on the ground. I prefer order and neatness… so, I of course needed some stands to hold my containers!

There are several reasons why I wanted my containers off of the ground. Now these reasons are not necessarily scientifically based, they are definitely based on my thoughts and opinions! First, I have had my containers tip over in the past. This may have happened because of weather conditions, garden pests such as squirrels, or my children. This DIY container garden stand eliminates that issue almost entirely because it boxes the containers in.

Second, I am always fearful of bugs taking over my containers. Now, of course this can happen even with them being raised a bit. I just feel like the chances are a bit lower if I make it less accessible. Third, In my mind the air can circulate around the container better if they are raised. I also like that the drainage holes at the bottoms of the pots are not blocked. Once again, I have nothing to back this up. And finally, I just like the way it looks. I tend to lean towards structure and order when it comes to most areas of my life, my garden is no exception.

I came across a tutorial on YouTube of a container garden table and I immediately knew that we could adapt that tutorial based on the materials we already had on hand. It was important to me that the wood be rot resistant and strong. Cedar was our obvious first choice and we happened to have several pieces leftover from our recent raised garden bed build. Before I continue, let me go ahead and be honest… I did not build a thing. I need to stop saying we and say he, as in my husband. One day I will build stuff but today is not the day! So, I asked my husband to write down his tutorial in the event you would like to make your own.

Materials:

Wood (all cedar): (3) 2x4x8

(3) 6 ft dog ear fence pickets

Other: 2 inch exterior wood screws

1 1/4 inch exterior wood screws

Pre-cut:

1. Cut one 2x4x8 piece of cedar into 4 16-inch pieces using a miter saw, resulting in 4 leg pieces. You should have a 32-inch long 2×4 piece left.
2. Cut another 32-inch long 2×4 piece from a second 2x4x8 piece of cedar.
3. You now have 2 pieces that are 2x4x32 inches. using a table saw, rip them in half (length-wise). You now have 4 pieces that will serve as the leg braces
4. The second 2x4x8 piece now has a length of 64 inches. Cut a 52-inch long piece from that.
5. From the third 2x4x8 piece, cut another 52-inch long piece.
6. Using the table saw, rip both 52-inch long pieces in half (length-wise). These 4 pieces will be the base and guard rails for the container table.
7. Lastly, cut the 3 cedar pickets into into 30.5-inch pieces using a miter saw. This should yield 6-pieces

Assemble:

1. Mark all 4 leg pieces at the 8-inch mark using a pencil all the way around.
2. Stand a leg piece on its side and place a 32-inch piece with the top of the leg piece sitting right at the line (there should be more wood above than below.
3. Drill two diagonal pilot holes into both the 32-inch leg brace and leg. Insert 2-1/2 inch screws.
4. Repeat the same on the other side and place the other 32-inch piece at the top of the legs, with the top of the 32-inch piece flush with the top of the leg.
5. Repeat for the other two legs.
6. With the legs and sides assembled, it is time to begin assembling the base and then the guard rails.
7. Turn the side assembly on the side. Take one of the 52-inch pieces and place it right below the 8-inch mark. The top of the 52-inch piece should line up with the top of the 32-inch piece.
8. Drill 3 pilot holes with two near one end and one near the other end. Insert 2-1/2-inch screws.
9. Repeat for the other end of the 52-inch piece.
10. Flip the table and attach the other 52-inch bottom piece.
11. Set the table upright and now attach the picket base pieces. Place the first picket piece against the legs on one end with about an inch overhang on both sides. Place another picket on the other end. Place the remaining picket pieces in between with about a 2-1/4-inch spacing.
12. With the base complete, attach the last two 52-inch pieces near the top of the leg pieces (the top of the 52-inch piece, the top of the leg, and the top of the 32-inch piece should be flush).
13. That’s it, you have a finished, all cedar, container garden table.

I love these DIY container garden stands so much that I had my husband build me three so far! Yes, so far… I mean obviously, we will need to expand this operation some next year! If you are interested in growing a vegetable garden but are limited on space, budget, or time a container garden may be a really good fit for you! Or perhaps you are like me and you want to try many different methods of growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs this may also be a great fit for you.

Of course no method of gardening is absolutely perfect, so you will want to do your research. Containers can have a more difficult time retaining moisture, terra cotta or clay pots are beautiful but they tend to dry out more frequently, and dark colored pots like my black ones tend to attract more heat and dry out plants as well. I am still in love with this form of gardening and plan to do it for the foreseeable future. I also love the look of black pots on the cedar so I just have to adjust and water more often. If you are considering growing a garden I encourage you to definitely try this method and let me know how it goes!