Build Rustic Planter Boxes From Recycled Fencing

We had new fencing installed a while ago and instead of having the old fence hauled off I saved the old fence for projects. One of the projects I built was a set of rustic looking planter boxes for my wife's herb garden.

The first step is to decide how long the planter boxes will be then measure and cut.

The long boards need to be shorter than the planters by 2X the thickness of the boards so that when you attach the end caps the overall length will be right.

Then you just nail or screw everything together!

For a rustic old look the boards should not be perfect. They should look like they were just pieced together just like these do!

Assembly Tips:

Don't use any glue or adhesive. If you need water tight planter boxes then you'll need to find something to line the inside after assembly.

I used pin nails for this project. If you use pin nails or finishing nails you won't need pilot holes. If you use larger nails or screws you will need to drill pilot holes for your fasteners. Old fencing boards are brittle and they will split and crack if you don't drill holes first.

You can see that the joints are uneven and we did not even try to cut around the old nail holes.

All of the imperfections add to the overall effect!