Building Your Own Cedar Potting Bench

A cedar potting bench is a sturdy and convenient workspace for the industrious gardener. Building your own bench allows you to have control over the size and design specifications. In this way, you can build the right bench to fit in your outdoor living space, with your specific needs in mind. Or, if you choose to buy your own cedar potting bench (which can be very affordable) you will want to look out for and keep these same considerations in mind as a buying guide. Note that this doesn't offer building plans for one specific model; rather, it's an overview of different features available.

Why Cedar?
A cedar potting bench is unlike other potting benches made of resin, metal, or even other kinds of wood. Cedar in its many forms, including white cedar and western red cedar, is a durable hardwood whose use in outdoor furniture construction is unsurpassed. Cedar is durable against rotting, cracking and warping. It's also a beautifully colored wood with a naturally fragrant aroma. Also, the resinous tannins produced by cedar have been proven to repel the appearance of insects, including moths and fleas.

Basic Frame
A typical cedar potting bench consists of a main table and lower shelf, connected by a backboard which extends above the tabletop.

Table
The table of a cedar potting bench sits higher up than average tables. This is because they are meant to support garden work done standing up. Sitting down or having to bend over can be painful on one back. Prolonged activity might even lead to long-term lumbar problems.

The table itself is a flat surface, with a single board or multiple boards spaced closely together. There is usually a lipped edge along all sides of the table that's designed to catch any loose soil.

Soil Storage
One of the main characteristics of a cedar potting bench is storage space, especially for soil, because that's one of the main things one uses when potting and repotting plants. A lot of potting tables, in addition to shelving, have slide out or drop down compartments for keeping loose soil. If you're building your own potting bench, you may choose to forego this if you already store your soil separately. The main thing to remember either way about storing soil is that it needs to be kept in a cool, dark place with minimal moisture and ventilation.

Shelving and Backboard
In addition to soil, there are a plethora of other things you will need to store in your cedar potting bench, namely, the tools of your trade. This could be anything from hand shovels and hoes, to fertilizers and work gloves. All of the different equipment comes in many shapes and sizes, so it's best to mix up your storage options so you can fit everything. There should only be one lower shelf that sits beneath the table of your potting bench, so as not to impede movement of feet. But on top you can have any number of shelves. You can also attach a latticework or pegboard to the back of your potting bench. This allows you to hang tools, especially longer tools which will not fit on a shelf.