How To Turn A 55-Gallon Drum Into An Amazing DIY Planter

Purchasing amazing planters for your garden or yard can be incredibly expensive, especially if the planters you want to purchase are hand-made with high quality wood.

Patio accessories can add a nice look and feel to your yard and there’s no reason to rush out and buy a $200 product that you can make for a fraction of the cost and take pride in for years to come.

Instructables user noahw recently posted a step-by-step guide for turning a low-cost 55-gallon drum into an amazing DIY planter. The process is so incredibly simple that even builders with zero experience can build the planter is record time.

We would argue that their results might even be better looking than many store sold planters — plus you get to take some pride in an amazing product you built with your own two hands.

Noah was focused on making planters large enough that they could support fruit trees. However, you can easily scale this project up or down to achieve the results you are seeking.  

Start with a simple plastic drum. In his project Noah chose a 55-gallon drum to match his size requirements.

Noah purchased a used plastic drum which he found on Craigslist for just $10.

To get started drill a bunch of small holes in the bottom of the drum. This will allow water to drain out of the bottom.

Next, Noah attached wood slats to the side of the drum. For this part of the project he used a nail gun. You can also use a power drill to attack screws.

You will notice that he used a piece of wood on the bottom to keep the wood off the ground, this helps ensure that the wood doesn’t sit on wet grass or dirt that could cause decay. It also ensures that the wood slats are all placed at the exact same height is constructed on a flat surface.

Noah also attached a screen to the bottom of the barrel so there would not be a big loss of soil through the holes he had previously drilled.

Finally he added a nice and simple edge to the top of the planter to complete the look.

The entire project with step-by-step directions is well documented on Instructables.

There are a few tips that can help you achieve a similar and long-last look.

First, notice that Noah uses various colored wood to create a contrasting design. You can stain the wood or buy an already finished product to achieve a similar look.

Use a stainless nail product to avoid rusting which could destroy the integrity of the anchors used to secure the wood.

Place the planter on a flat surface so no side droops down and allows the wood to touch the ground.

With just a few hours of work you can also have an amazing planter for your fruit trees, flowers, fairy garden, or any other garden project you can think up. Not a bad build for something that only requires a little bit of cutting and nailing.