Growing strawberries is equally popular among gardeners and animals. Gardeners love them because they grow like weeds in almost any climate, and there’s no fruit better than a freshly picked organic strawberry. Animals like them for that second reason. The bright, red color and sweet fragrance of ripening strawberries is a siren song to every squirrel and other varmint within a mile radius, it seems. If you’ve grown strawberries in an open garden patch, you also know that the plants tend to multiply like rabbits, quickly taking over the patch if not controlled.
This easy-to-build planter covers you on both fronts. The wood frame attractively contains the plants while keeping them all within easy reach, and the lightweight mesh cover critterproofs your crop in seconds. The planter looks best without the cover, so you can leave it off while the fruit is still green. Just be sure to keep the cover in place once the strawberries start to ripen (you can be sure the birds and other critters are watching … and waiting).
Building the planter frame is a cinch with a power miter saw, but you can also use a circular saw or even a handsaw and a tall miter box. Most miter saws will cut a 2 × 4 set on-edge; for larger lumber, you’ll need a 12-inch miter saw or a sliding compound miter saw, which can make the miter cuts while the wood is flat on the saw table. You can also cut multiple 2 × 4s and stack them to create a taller planter.
The planter as shown is 69 inches wide. If desired, you can modify the size simply by cutting shorter or longer pieces; they’re all the same size and all have their ends cut at 22½ degrees. You can even change the shape of the planter—to create a hexagon or decagon, for example. The math is simple: to determine the angle cuts, simply double the number of sides and divide that number into 360. For example, a hexagon has six sides; therefore: 360 ÷ 12 = 30. Make each end cut at 30 degrees and you’ll have a perfect hexagon. The mesh cover is custom-fit to the planter size. You’ll find the bird netting we used for a over at nurseries and home centers.
Tools & Materials
- Miter saw
- Cordless drill and bits
- Waterproof wood glue
- Mulch
- 3" deck screws
- Bird block netting
- Speed square
- Eye and ear protection
- Work gloves
Cutting List
| Key | Nro. | Part | Dimension | Material* |
| A | 8 | Planter side | 1½ × 3½ × 28½" | 2 × 4 |
| B | 4 | Cover support | ¼ × ¾ × 72" | Screen molding |
*All-heart cedar or redwood or other naturally rot-resistant wood species is recommended.
1. Set up your miter saw and run some test cuts to make sure the angle setting is accurate. Cut two pieces of scrap 2 × 4 at 22½°. Fit the pieces together end to end and check the assembly with a straight edge; the pieces should be perfectly straight. (If you’re using a circular saw, cut test pieces with the saw blade tilted at 22½°.)
2. Use a stop block setup to ensure that all pieces are precisely the same length. This speeds your work and ensures the joints will fit tightly. For this roughly 6'-wide planter, each piece is 28½" long, measuring between the long points of the two angled ends. To make the cuts, leave the miter saw set on one side and just flip the board over for each successive cut.
3. Drill pilot holes through one frame piece and into its mating piece, starting the hole about 7⁄8" from the pointed end of the first piece. Angle the hole slightly toward the inside of the joint (what will be the inside of the assembled frame). This gives the screws a little bit of cross-grain penetration, helping them hold better than if they were perfectly parallel to the grain of the mating piece.
4. Apply glue and fasten each joint with two screws. For extra strength, add a third screw driven from the opposite direction as the first two.
Tip: Work on a flat surface, such as a garage floor, to help keep the pieces flush at the top and bottom so the entire assembly will be flat.
5. Dig out the grass and soil at least several inches deep and replace it with high quality garden soil mix. Cover the soil with landscape fabric to keep unwanted grass or weeds from growing. Use nails or spikes to hold the fabric in place, then trim it flush with the octagon edges.
6. Create an arched dome with wooden screen molding. Predrill holes at each end for screws, using a drill bit bigger than the size of the screw. Mark the centers of each 2 × 4. Screw one end in, leaving the screw about ½" out of the wood. Move to the opposite side, arch the wood, and put a screw in on that side, tightening it just enough to hold the end down. Join the frame rails to the stiles with a metal corner at each stile.
7. Spread an inch or two of mulch over the landcape fabric, then plant the octagon with strawberry plants. Cut slits in the fabric where each plant goes and then work the plant down into the garden soil.
8. Spread bird netting over the dome. Hold it in place by hooking it on two roundhead screws or small nails on each side. Trim the excess. To take the netting off, wrap one side around a piece of smooth wood or a 6'-long pole and just roll it up. When you want to cover the strawberries in the spring, just hook one side and roll it out again.
Option for Off-Season Storage
Leave off the glue and use metal strapping and screws on two of the wood joints so that you can disassemble the planter for winter. Choose any two opposing corner joints (dividing the octagonal frame in half) and join the wood members with metal straps, or ties, and 1½" galvanized screws. The metal straps are designed for structural framing connections and are sold at home centers. Check the building materials department for deck-framing connectors.
Strawberries are some of the most popular fruits grown in the home garden. This octagonal planter provides for as much as you can grow, eat, make into jam or put up.
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