Tiered strawberry planter

Step one
Sand down any rough edges on your timber.

Step two
Join the four boards of box one together. Sandwich the two shorter boards inside the longer ones and screw together with 75mm screws, using two screws per corner. An extra pair of hands will make this step easier.

Step three
Repeat Step Two to create the next three boxes.

Step four
Stain each box with two coats of Resene Waterborne Woodsman penetrating oil stain in your choice of colour, allowing each coat to dry.

Step five
Place box one (the largest box) into position and cover the base with weed mat.

Step six
Beginning with box one, measure and mark the halfway point on each side of the box. Place box two diagonally on top of the first, matching each corner with the marks. Screw the two boxes together by screwing down from the inside corner of the top box.

Step seven
Step seven Repeat Step Six with boxes three and four to create all four tiers.

Step eight
Working from the bottom, fill each tier with a combination of strawberry planting mix and potting mix, saving the strawberry mix for the planting triangles.

Step nine
Place one end of the poly irrigation pipe in one of the corners of box one and then push the other end of the pipe into the diagonally opposite corner. Do the same with the second length of pipe between the other two corners.

Step ten
Cable tie the two pipes together where they cross over.

Step twelve
Plant strawberries in each of the triangular spaces created in your planter, as well as in the top tier.

Step thirteen
Spread pea straw on each tier and water the plants well.

Step fourteen
Drape the bird netting over your planter. Secure the netting at the base by hooking it onto the screws along the bottom of each side. (You can save this step for when your strawberry plants start fruiting.)