Large DIY Planters

An Easy and Cheap Way to Make Your Own Large Planters

Large outdoor planters can be very expensive, and if you need multiples, the cost may be prohibitive. However, I’ve found an inexpensive and easy way to make large planters. I use them both for flowers and for vegetables, and they even surround our stock tank pool, creating a living green screen around the water. Once finished, these steel planters hold ample soil for growing nearly anything. They are large and can be made quite attractive, too. This year I grew tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces, herbs, dahlias, canna lilies, caladiums, and more in the planters. Personally, I always love to reuse or upcycle something, too, so the fact that a steel barrel can be upcycled into a planter makes me so happy!

The key: use a 55 gallon steel barrel or drum. I was shocked to find them to be plentiful on the Facebook Marketplace and other websites. The barrels are often used for large quantities of liquid concentrates, but they often aren’t reused. Be sure to look for barrels which did not contain toxins — especially if you will be growing vegetables, but any plant may suffer from the remains of toxic chemicals, so choose carefully. When I purchased these barrels, they were $15 each, and I got two planters from each barrel.

Materials

  • 55 gallon steel barrel

  • Power Shears

  • Driver

  • 1” hole saw

  • Strap

  • Optional: spray paint

We bought these barrels from FBMP. Some of them were used in the Greenhouse. Others became rain barrels. And some became planters.

 
 

How to Make Your Own Planters

1. Clean Each Barrel

Using water and a little bleach, clean out each barrel. Allow to dry fully before continuing. My barrels once held fruit-juice concentrate and were a bit sticky, so this was an important step.

2. Brace the Barrel

This may be the trickiest part, but find a way to brace the barrel so that it won’t roll while cutting. You could have a friend hold it. We found that an old chaise lounge frame made the perfect holder for each barrel.

Drilling the pilot and drainage holes in a barrel planter

3. Drill Pilot & Drainage Holes

Using the 1” hole saw bit, drill one hole at the mid point of the barrel. This will be the start for the metal shears. Additionally, drill drainage holes in the top and bottom of the barrel so that water can drain from the planters.

 

Making the first cut for a DIY steel planter

4. Cut in half

Install the metal shears on your driver (or take up your metal shears if you have independent ones). Insert the cutting end through the starting hole in the side of the barrel. Cut the barrel in half. This cut does not have to be perfect — just close to straight.

Using a strap as a cutting guide for the planter

5. Align Strap & trim

This strap serves as a guide for your cutting line as you trim the excess and make the top edge of the planter neat. Slip the strap around one of the two halves. I used the ridges of our barrels to determine where to put the strap. Using the metal shears, cut the edge of the barrel neatly. Repeat for the other half.

Trimming using the strap as a guide

6. Optional: Spray Paint

If you want to paint the barrels, a good exterior spray paint will do wonders. I painted part of the inside of each barrel as well as the entire outside for good coverage.

 

7. Fill & Plant

Fill each barrel with a good peat-free compost or peat-free potting mix. And then plant! These planters are large enough that they would do well with perennials or annuals — even a bush would find a nice home in these spacious containers. They are also great for containing plants like horseradish which have a tendancy to run wild if not confined.

Planters on our patio filled with flowers and vegetables, too.

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Looking to learn how to build planter box? This tutorial will teach you to upcycle barrels into large outdoor planters very easily. These are cheap and easy containers for plants outside with good drainage holes. Great for growing vegetables and make a cheap alternative to raised beds for plants. This homemade planter is simple to make and very inexpensive. Also: barrel planter, planter drainage