I built some raised beds with a pressure treated frame and corrugated tin sides. I lined them with the heavy duty ground cloth available at Lowe's. In my case, the ground cloth was kind of creating a "bag" inside the pressure treated frame. If you want to keep the wood almost totally dry you might get some pond liner material and punch drain holes in the bottom. Cedar will last fairly long underdamp conditions, but it has a more rough texture than mahogany.

Can't offer much help, but I vaguely remember 'helping' long time ago to build a table with crossed legs: the angle for the legs was approx.38 degrees...I think you need to cut 2x4 approx. 39" long to get table height. Usually they are lap-jointed, but you can see in the photo that they are bolted. Maybe you can google some free plans? I would just fiddle with couple of 2x4 until I find proper angle for the width of top you plan on building, and the height you want. If you plan on siting this planter next to the wall, make sure it's not too wide, so whole planting area could be easily reached from 1 side. If 'free standing', you can make it wider since it could be accessed from 2 sides. Rina

I usually plant a row of yard-long climbing beans against my fence and allow them to climb string up the fence. This procedure works well; but I lose the back row that could be used for other crops. This coming year I want to build a planter box to mount on the top of the fence and allow the beans to trail down instead of climb. Material: The box will be made from treated wood (though many are against use of treated wood since it has poinson in it to protect from insect damage). The poison is arsenic which occurs in minute levels in the soil. I do not believe that edible plants will absorb the arsenic. Size: I will use 2"X10"X10' boards so the size of the box will be 10 inches deep, 10 inches across and 10 feet long (or the appropriate length between fence posts). Mounting: I am going to attach the box to each fence post at each end of the box with wood screws and to the 2X4 cross-piece on the fence with the same screws. Soil and Drainage: I will drill 1/2 inch holes in the bottom of the box every 6 inches to allow good drainage. In the bottom of the box I will place a layer of small rocks to support drainage without loss of soil. I will make my on soil from 1 part garden soil (purchase on sale from Home Depot, ussually about $2.50 a cubic foot), 1 part humus (purchase on sale from Home Depot, ussually about $2.37 a cubic foot), 1 part top soil (purchase on sale from Home Depot, ussually about $1.37 a cubic foot), and 1 part leaf-mold compost (free from the transfer center). Planting: I will plant two rows of beans staggered, since I want both rows to trail over the same side of the box. The rows will be 3-iches apart and each bean4 inches apart. Underneath the box I will plant a row of bush beans.

My experience is limited to window boxes, but here is what I have learned: - Plastic liners do help to slow down the rot as well as retain moisture. They will also provide a barrier between the roots and any chemicals in the treated wood (which retard fungle & plant growth in addition to edible concerns). -Angle brackets for supports are definitely recommended if you want it to last longer. Drainage is necessary of course. To reduce the bottom wood exposure to moisture drill a larger hole (1”) than the plastic liner. All wood rots eventually, even teak, so be prepared for periodically mending. I‘ve been toying with the idea of trying fiber cement composit boards (from remnants). - Soil: Potting mix or leaf fro will be much lighter than topsoil. If using top soil add some peat or composted wood chips to lighten and loosen the soil. Mixing in some Soil Moist granules will help a great deal in reducing the frequency you need to water and makes the plants very happy. I’ve heard that baby diapers do the same thing but have never tried it. i Would also add a slow release fertilizer to store bought top soil. The design looks beautiful and ambitious. I would love to have one on my patio. It would get the strawberries away from the slugs, mice, and chipmunks who eat all of mine. Enjoy!