The Potting Table
With my wife settling in to her gardening hobby, she requested a table that she could use for potting her plants. Until then, she had been using out patio table or the small ledges of the barbeque. A request was made for a true potting table that would be just for her.
I looked up some online building plans for making a DIY potting bench. This is the plan I used for my build.
The instructions were simple enough and I was able to customize it to suit the dimensions I wanted. At one point, I had to cut 5" off the feet because my own working height is much higher than that of my wife.
For this build, I bought 4x4 cedar posts, and 1x6 cedar deck boards. They fit in my minivan fine and I started working. This was going to be an outside installation, so rough cut edges were fine, but the jigsaw was not ideal. Straight cuts are not easy with it, so I borrowed my neighbour's circular saw. That made the cuts much easier (and louder). Spaces were left between the slats to allow spilled soil and rain water to flow through.
Final dimensions were 32"Wx54"Lx34"H.
Cedar is naturally weather resistant, but my wife wanted some character in this table, so some stain would be needed. Once I got to Rona (a home improvement store in the area), the choices were a bit overwhelming for me, so a quick phone call to the boss was made. Green oil-based stain was chosen.
That stain was so sticky, I never thought I would get it off my hands. It was applied with a rag, because brushes couldn't get between the slats well enough. The end result is quite nice, I must admit. It was my first build following a plan, and using all-new materials. I added my favourite 'drunk octopus' hooks to hold garden tools.
One thing became apparent during the process. I needed a better workbench than the folding Workmate bench that I had. It was far too small. I also needed to invest in some more tools (awe shucks).
The potting table is ridiculously solid. I pushed on it with all my weight and it didn't budge. Moving it was also a two-person job. It's worth it though, and I expect this table to last a very very long time.
Completed August 2020
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