Garden Planters - From an IBC Tote and Old Fence

It is springtime, and everyone is looking for cheap and awesome yard and garden projects again. And you can't get much cheaper than this set of planters. Other than the fasteners (screws and staples) they are all made completely out of discarded and subsequently recycled items. Primarily, IBC totes, and old fencing panels.

The three of these were a one-day project if you have access to the tools I was using. It might be two days if you don’t have access to the pneumatic stapler and mitre-saw. But don’t forget, you can rent these at most rental outlets, or even the ‘Big-box’ stores like Home Depot. With how cheap the rest of this project is, that rental is well worth the time. Rather than spending money on an infrequently used tool, I have often rented tools.

• Old Fence panels
• 1000L IBC Tote
• Screws and staples

Tools -

• Something to mark with. (I used a sharpie, carpenter's pencil, and chalkline, but you could do this all with something as simple as a pencil and straightedge.)
• Something to cut wood. (I used a circular saw and mitre saw, but you could do this all with something as simple as a hand saw)
• Something to cut metal (I used a grinder with a zip-disc, but you could do this all with something as simple as a hack-saw)
• Something to fasten wood (I used a pneumatic stapler and impact driver with screws, but you could do this all with something as simple as a hammer and nails.)
• A drill to drive screws through metal. (You do need a powered drill to fasten down the self-tapping Screws. I used a cordless drill.)

Last year, I was going to put in a Veggie Garden in the backyard. I planned on tilling one into the ground using my father-in-law’s massive old Troy-Bilt rototiller. But that thing hadn't run in years, wouldn’t start, and in the process of a day spent working on it and yanking the pull cord, I managed to torque my own back so severely that I blew out a disc. It was severe, and took months before I was back to moving normally. Even now a year later I still feel it. Aging. What a delight.

Because bending over for long periods is now out of the question, I decided I wanted to put in a raised bed system. But those are still costly, as you need strong lumber to hold the dirt load. And they rot out with time. I had built a small-scale tote style of planter for our herb garden before, and it had gone well. I also like the lack of mess and the durability, so I decided to scale up. Enter the IBC tote…

You may have seen these before. The proper name is the Intermediate Bulk Container, but they are sometimes referred to as a “Caged Tote” or “Pallet Tank” as well. They are used for shipping bulk liquids, which then get used up at a destination site, or else decanted into a smaller container and redistributed.

These are a solidly built unit. They will have a built-in pallet (Steel or plastic), usually a polyethylene tank, and galvanized steel cage. Some are reused, but many are one-time use, and then need to get disposed off before they build-up onsite. I found mine on Craigslist that were being discarded after being used to haul animal feed ingredients. The guy was happy to deliver them in order to create site space.

If you are searching for these, try to find the ones with a plastic pallet. (I couldn’t find any, and eventually the steel base on mine will rust out.) Also make sure they were shipping something you wouldn’t mind your plants coming into contact with. Mine had poultry feed enzyme, but lots of others have had water, ethanol-based hand sanitizer, syrups, or other relatively safe liquids you could wash out. Beware of the ones that had DEF (Diesel exhaust fluid) or other toxins.

Cedar Fence Panels are all over the place here in the Pacific Northwest. Cedar trees are endemic, and the wood lasts well, and is rot resistant. I saw an old fence being replaced in our neighbourhood, and asked to have some of the old panels. The workers were only too happy to let me take 6 panels for free, as they were all going off to the dump otherwise.

Once I got those home, I took them apart, and stripped them of all screws and staples that had been used in their assembly. This took about an hour for the 6 panels. The bases were rotted from ground contact, and I trimmed off all that. Then I sorted the lumber into piles in my garage.

I decided I wanted to make the planters just taller than the second ring. Then they would be about 14” deep as planters then. This meant I needed to cut the rest of the steel off. I used a cordless angle-grinder with a cutoff wheel.

One of the cages I trimmed all the way down, but two of them I left the back as a trellis for growing climbing vegetables.

Cutoff discs are a way faster method than a hacksaw or reciprocating saw. But you do need to be careful with them. Use your common sense, safety gear, and glasses, and lift the cage with your other hand as you pass through so they don’t bind down and shatter the discs.

I used a marker to trace a line following the top ring I had left. Then I pulled the tote out and started cutting. Initially I tried a reciprocating saw, but the polyethylene is so soft and flexible that it just lodged in the teeth and bounced back and forth. So I switched to a circular saw, which worked way better.

Save the corner cuts until last. Otherwise it loses all structure, gets floppy, and binds. I cut along all sides, then went back and freed the corners.

Once I had it cut, I dropped it back in place just to make sure I had no high edges. You can see the last bit of the feedstuff in the bottom as well.

Yes, my IBC’s had a relatively safe liquid (enzyme for poultry feed) in them, but I still wanted to clean that smelly mess out. And yes, a hose is not a power tools, but keep your safety glasses on so you don’t get any chemical/organic splashes into your eyes. Wash those totes out, whatever they held. I then flipped them to drain well.

I wanted to use the old fence boards and their tongue-and-groove to create vertical paneling on my planters. But first I needed some horizontal strapping in the back to fasten that onto.

To do this, I took some fence boards and directly screwed them to the cages, using “Tek Screws” which are a type of screw designed for light metal. They have a built in cutting head on each screw that drills the hole, and then it threads through that. If you want, you can also predrill small pilot hole with a drill bit.

I used screws long enough to go all the way through the cage pipes, and with a (external driven) hexagon head. External drive is way easier to control direction and prevent 'wandering' when you are screwing through wood onto a small round pipe. And they don’t strip like a regular Robertson or Philips interior drive head would. I lapped my ends on the boards and stapled them together with a pneumatic stapler. Then I used the grinder to take off the protruding screw points from the inside.

You need a lot of these for 3 planters. You could cut it all with your circular saw, but that will take a while. If you are not able to borrow a mitre-saw like I could, the rental cost would probably be worth it.

I set the stops so I could cut all the blocking without measuring. I also placed on of the cutoff tops from the totes under the saw so I could just knock all my offcuts into that. Made cleanup way easier.

If you want to do this fast, you need a flat, level surface to place the tote on. I used the garage floor. I also had help. You can see Mya the neighbour dog checking Eli the cat’s food dish while Eli glares at her from behind the strapped cage. Eli lives in a small castle in the garage, but he does not like interlopers in his domain… So actually I didn’t have help, they were just in the way and had to be sent out. ( And they get along fine, except when it comes to issues of pilfered food.)

If you start from one end and work across, your tongue-and-groove paneling will probably be noticeably out of plumb (not truly vertical) by the far end. Mine would have been as I am using coarsely machined, weathered, and warped wood.

I start from the center. Take that center piece, and place the bottom on the floor, and align it vertical with a level. Then fasten it to the strapping. (I’m using a pneumatic stapler as it compresses a bunch of grain which is perfect on a soft wood like this.) It becomes your trued anchor. Once that one is secure, I just shoved the rest in and stapled them on. Once I got to the corner, I marked them and cut them for a lapped joint.

I had used the level garage floor to align the bottoms of the pieces as I fastened them. But I would never want to place them outside like that. If you leave end-grain directly in contact with the earth like that, it will use capillary action to draw up water(“wick-up”). That will rot out the planks.

I turned the tote onto its side, set marks, snapped a chalk-line, and trimmed off the bottom inch with a circular saw.

Using the 2x4 tops from the fence, I railed around the upper lip. I used fence planks and put a rail around the bottom lip as well. I overlapped all the corners.

Because the top rail would also serve as a lip for supporting the top casing (next step), I fastened them with 2.5” screws, that would penetrate through the rail piece, the vertical piece, and deep into the side strapping. This bound it all together as well.

None of these screws are really necessary for strength, as the steel cage does that. The wood paneling and rails are just decorative. I think it looks way more substantial and finished with them on.

With the tote upright, I placed the tub into it. With the tub in place, I cased around the top. This covered over the tub lip, all the cut pipes, and also provides a small ledge to sit on while gardening. At the end, I rimmed off the Tongue strip as it is so thin and easily broken.

That is It! As you can see Mya the dog approves and is quite proud of the help she thinks she gave.

The recycled fence lumber has a lovely, silvered patina from natural weathering. It is relatively light duty wood, but the planter gets all it's strength from the steel cage internally, and no wet soil sits directly against the wood to rot it. The construction should provide me with years of trouble-free usage.

At this point, I have not yet filled it, nor have drilled any drainage holes in the bottom. I’m still deciding if I want a regular planter, drilled out for drainage, or if I will keep the bottom sealed and make a Sub-irrigated “Wicking Bed” like this. Gonna make that decision by Monday, then fill and plant!