There’s something fun and challenging about trying to fit as many veggies and herbs into a small space. This small lettuce table is perfectly sized to be placed between two chairs on a patio or porch. There is still a place to put your morning coffee along the side, but the center is where the magic happens. You can grow lettuces and other salad greens, as well as some herbs in this garden that’s the width of a picture frame. This article provides step-by-step instructions, as well as the project plan to build this DIY project.

For this DIY from my second book, Gardening Your Front Yard, I decided to downsize my upcycled lettuce table  idea from my first book Raised Bed Revolution. (This project has been excerpted with permission from my publisher Cool Springs Press.) This side table was designed to grow a selection of fresh greens (lettuces, baby kale, mizuna, pea shoots, arugula, etc.). I thought I might find an old side table to convert, like I had with the small kitchen table in the original project, but I came away empty-handed from a trip to a couple of antique markets. So, I decided to design my own simple table. It had two requirements: to accommodate planting those leafy greens and to be able to hold a tea cup—or wine glass, whatever your preference!

Growing lettuce in a shallow container

Lettuce only needs a depth of about 3 to 4″ (7.6 to 10.2 cm) to grow, so you can get away with a much shallower garden, than for, say, a tomato (even one that’s patio size!). The table should be high enough that some garden pests, like your resident rabbits (no promises when it comes to squirrels!), shouldn’t be able to get into it, but low enough to hold a couple of summer cocktails on fancy coasters between a pair of comfy chairs.

Project plan for a small lettuce table

Tools to build a small lettuce table

• Tape measure
• Handsaw or miter saw
• Tin snips or wire cutters for real hardware cloth; scissors if using plastic hardware cloth
• Heavy-duty stapler
• Nail gun and air compressor or impact driver
• Eye and ear protection
• Work gloves

Materials needed

• One 2 × 4″ (5.1 × 10.2 cm) cedar board
• Cedar deck screws
• Painter’s tape
• Roll of hardware cloth, plastic or metal (can cut to size for finished project)
• One 1 × 2″ × 10′ (2.5 × 5.5 cm × 3 m) cedar fence board
• One 1 × 6″ × 5′ (2.5 × 15.2 cm × 1.5 m) cedar fence board
• Sandpaper
• Wood glue

Step 1: Make the frame of your small lettuce table

Cut the 2 × 4″ (5.1 × 10.2 cm) into four pieces: two pieces at 9″ (22.9 cm) each and two pieces at 14″ (35.6 cm). These will form the “basket.” Use deck screws to affix the long ends to the short ends to form a rectangular frame.

Step 2: Attach hardware cloth to the frame

Using painter’s tape, tape the edge of the roll of hardware cloth (I found this to be an easy way to keep the plastic hardware cloth in place). Stretch it to the other end of the rectangular frame and tape it in place. Using the stapler, staple the cloth around all the outside edges. This will form the bottom of your basket.

Step 3: Cut and attach the table legs

Cut the 1 × 2″ (2.5 × 5.1 cm) piece of cedar into four 18″ (45.7 cm) pieces. These will be the legs. Use a nail gun to attach them to the short sides of the table. I used a nail gun because it doesn’t leave big holes, but you could also use fancy deck screws.

Step 4: Make the top of the table

Cut the cedar fence board into two 213/16″ (53.8 cm) pieces and two 185/16″ (46.5 cm) pieces. This makes it easy to square up the top with a 1/4″ (6 mm) overhang on the inside when you lay it over the base.

Using the miter saw, make 45-degree cuts to the end of each piece so they all fit together like a picture frame. Sand the edges.

Step 5: Attach the top to the frame

Use a heavy-duty wood glue for outdoor use to glue the frame together. Then, if you don’t want to mar the top of your table with nails, you can also glue the frame to the basket.

Step 6: Line the table with landscape fabric

Add landscape fabric to the center of the table so that it lines the edges. Add your potting soil formulated for growing vegetables and you’re ready to plant lettuce seeds or seedlings. Tuck any extra fabric edges in the sides if they’re sticking out.

Additional notes: If you want to preserve the wood, staple plastic along the inside edges. Don’t add any plastic to the bottom, as you want the water to be able to drain out. You can also add a coat of eco-friendly varnish or stain to the outsides of the table and legs. Avoid adding finish to the inside of the basket, as you don’t want it to leach into the soil where you’ll be planting.

Tip: If you lightly water your lettuce, it won’t drip too much, but you can place a tray underneath, if necessary (this would be good if your table is on a balcony).

Small Lettuce Table for a Front Patio: Designed by Tara Nolan / Built by Tara Nolan and Bill Nolan / Photos by Donna Griffith / Illustration by Len Churchill / Excerpted from Gardening Your Front Yard with permission from Cool Springs Press

Greens to grow in your small lettuce table

• Lettuces
• Bok choy
• Baby kale
• Mustard greens
• Arugula