Strawberry plant stand

It’s easy to maximise growing space with this clever fruity plant stand.

Ways with wood with Mark Rayner - Project 28

Difficulty level: Moderate

You will need: four 900mm colonial fence pickets, 22mm treated plywood cut to the following dimensions: three at 750mm x 200mm for the shelves and two 750mm x 50mm for the lower shelf supports, 50mm galvanised jolt head nails, circular saw, sandpaper, set square, six strawberry plants, tape measure, six terracotta pots, good quality potting mix, hammer, paintbrush, pencil and exterior PVA glue. Resene Waterborne Woodsman Penetrating Oil Stain tinted to Resene Woody Bay.

To get the look: Mark painted the background wall with Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Sail and the decking with Resene Timber and Furniture Gel in Resene Silvered Grey.

Other ideas: For a paler blue, try Resene Waterborne Woodsman tinted to Resene Skywater.

Step one
Measure and cut the plywood to the dimensions as listed above.

Step two
Smooth any rough edges with sandpaper.

Step three
Attach the two lower shelf supports to the bottom shelf, as shown, fixing with PVA glue and nails.

Step four
Attach the lower shelf to two of the fence pickets, as shown, fixing with PVA glue and nails. Leave a gap of 30mm at the bottom edge and use a set square to check the pickets are at right angles.

Step five
Attach the middle and top shelves to the pickets, as shown, using PVA glue and nails. Ensure the shelves are evenly spaced.

Step six
Attach the two remaining pickets to the shelves using PVA glue and nails. Again, use a set square to check that the shelves are at right angles. Allow the glue to dry.

Step seven
Apply two coats of Resene Woody Bay to the entire unit, allowing 24 hours for each coat to dry.

Step eight
Apply one coat of Resene Terracotta Sealer to the terracotta pots. Once dry, pot up with good quality potting mix and strawberry plants.