How to Build a Five-Sided Grow Box

Measure your 2-by-8-inch lumber into five equal lengths -- depending on how large you want the five-sided grow box to be when finished. Cut these lengths with the circular saw.

Align the protractor with the edge of the top of one 2-by-8. Draw a line at 36 degrees. This will form the angle at which it will align with the adjacent board. Repeat this process until both ends of each board are marked with a 36-degree line.

Cut each board on the lines drawn in Step 2.

Place a thin coating of wood glue on two of the cut angles of two different boards. Align both boards so that the glued cut angles meet.

Drill a single screw through the leftmost board into the right, until the head of the screw sinks just beneath the surface of the wood and the join is tight.

Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until each segment of 2-by-8 is glued and screwed to adjoining segments on both sides. This will fashion the sides of your grow box.

Repeat Steps 1 to 6 to fashion additional five-sided segments, somewhat ring-shaped, which can be stacked atop each other until the desired height of your grow box is reached. As with the angles, align and glue each side of these portions together. Before the glue has set, screw the upper segment/ring down into the bottom, working at the center of each board and from the inside of the ring, to obscure the screws from view.

Allow the glue applied for each additional segment to dry thoroughly.

Place the stacked sides atop a large sheet of paper. Trace the outline of the bottom of the sides onto the sheet of paper, and then remove it. Cut out the image traced onto the paper.

Align enough remaining 2 by 8 sections to cover the traced image side-by-side, broad-side down. Coat each touching side with wood glue, and place the wood into a vice so that the glue can cure under pressure. This will form the bottom of the grow box.

Remove the bottom of the box from the vice once the glue has cured, and trace the outline of the five-sided stencil onto the wood. Following the traced lines, cut out the final shape with the circular saw.

Coat the bottom of the finished sides with wood glue.

Align the newly cut bottom piece onto the finished sides, and screw it into place. Using one screw placed at the center of each side, screw through the bottom plate up into the sides. Allow time for the wood glue to cure.

Turn the planter right-side up, and line the sides and bottom with a planter liner. This will help prevent leaks and wood rot from damaging your new grow box.

Fill the finished box with soil and start planting.