How to Build a Garden Plant Tray

Use a garden plant tray to start seedlings or to grow a spring centerpiece for your dining room table. The size of the tray is easily varied for your specific need. Custom design the tray with decorative wood, metals or other material that will contain water. Garden trays are decorative on a patio, deck or any place a bit of spring is desired. Build a garden tray frame with 1 by 4-inch strips of wood to give the plants enough depth to grow.

1 by 4-inch boards
Saw
2-inch nails
¼-inch plywood
Paint or wood stain
Plastic sheeting
Potting soil
Vermiculite
Plant seeds or starts

Instructions

- 1
  Cut two 18-inch 1-by-4s and two 12-inch 1-by-4s. Place the 18-inch pieces across from each other with the 1-inch side on a flat surface. The frame will be 4 inches tall when finished. Place the shorter pieces of wood at the ends, inside the frame to make it 18 inches by 14 inches or outside the frame to make it 20 inches by 12 inches.
- 2
  Nail the frame together with 2-inch nails. Keep the frame on a flat surface, and check the sides with a level. Avoid using glue or other chemicals that may seep into the planting soil.
- 3
  Cut the ¼-inch plywood to the same size as the frame (18 inches by 14 inches, or 20 inches by 12 inches). Nail the plywood to the bottom of the frame.
- 4
  Stain or paint the outside of the frame.
- 5
  Line the inside of the frame with plastic sheeting or a plastic grocery bag. Do not use landscaping sheeting; it is designed to let water seep through.
- 6
  Fill the garden tray with potting soil that has been mixed with vermiculite. Vermiculite is available in home and garden centers. Use in proportion to the directions on the bag. Some potting soils come with vermiculite already mixed in.
- 7
  Plant grass seed and flowering plants in the soil to create a spring centerpiece. Wheat seed will sprout faster than grass seed. To sprout seeds for planting outdoors, keep the tray in a sunny, southern window.
- 8
  Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Place the tray in a sunny spot until needed on the table.

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