How to Make a Strawberry Planting Box

Lay a 24-by-36-inch piece of 3/4-inch plywood flat on the work surface. Mark five points on the face of the plywood like the number five appears on a dice. The middle point should be centered, with the other four points 8 inches in from the ends and sides of the plywood. Repeat on three more pieces of plywood the same size.

Use a 2-inch-diameter hole saw bit attached to a drill to cut a hole at each of the points marked on the four plywood pieces. These are the sides of the strawberry planting box.

Drill 6 to 8 evenly-spaced drainage holes of around 1/4- to 1/2-inch diameter through a piece of 24-by-25 1/2-inch plywood, which is the base of the planter.

Sit the base on top of two planks of 24-inch 2-by-4, positioned so that the 2-by-4 is flush with two sides of the base. Secure in place with four 1 1/2-inch deck screws through the base into the 2-by-4 lumber, the planter box legs. Set aside.

Form the four 24-by-36-inch planks into a rectangular box, with the ends of two opposite planks on the inside edge of the other two planks to make the corners. Glue the box together with carpenter’s glue, then secure with six evenly-spaced 1 1/2-inch deck screws through the glued joints of the box.

Sit the base on top of the open end of the box, feet-side up. Secure the base to the rim of the box with three 1 1/2-inch deck screws through each side of the base into the box. Invert the box, so that it is standing on the feet, base-side down.

Drill 1/4-inch holes, spaced about 2 inches apart, all over a piece of 36-inch-long PVC pipe, then set the pipe upright in the middle of the planter. Fill the planter around the pipe with potting soil, then fill the pipe with course sand.

Plant strawberry transplants into each hole on the sides of the planter box, and a couple at the top as well. Water the plants through the PVC pipe, which will feed water all the way down the planter through the holes in the sides, and facilitate a well-draining planter box.