DIY Potting Table For The Garden

About

I adore gardening, and I especially enjoy planting and transplanting in pots of all sizes and shapes. Usually I set up a couple of planks over 2 saw horses as a potting bench of sorts, as the lifting and bending working at ground level is hard on the back. But this year I decided I wanted something more attractive and permanent in the garden. Yes, it is late in the season but there are a number of plants to be re-potted and brought indoors for winter. I saw a potting table for sale in a high-end catalog priced in the $900 range, significantly beyond what I wanted to spend. What attracted me was the galvanized metal work area that was both practical and nice looking. I gave it some thought and came up with a variation on the commercial design that met my needs, was reasonably priced using quality materials, and, best of all, was within the skill set of my husband. (Honey, do… My potting table is 5 feet long, 28 inches wide, and about 32 inches high with a removable 2 board shelf underneath. The galvanized metal top was fabricated at a local sheet metal shop for about $90. It has a lip approximately 4 inches deep on all sides for strength and to avoid unsightly seams. My husband constructed a base using 2 X4s covered with ½ inch pressure plywood to support the galvanized metal top with pockets to hold the legs. See the following diagram. (The three photos below show (1) the constructing details for the table top beneath the galvanized metal, (2) the details of the cedar 1 x 6 inch surround on three sides, and (3) a detail of the legs.) The wood used for the legs and the wood lip on three sides is cedar, 4 X4s for the legs and 1 X 6s for the raised edge on 3 sides. The 1 X 6s were installed about 2 inches above the metal base to prevent pots from sliding off. They are tapered in the front. (See photos.) Each pair of front and back legs is connected by a cedar brace (H configuration) to allow several planks to be laid across it to form a shelf. I choose some very old we