The spring season at the Stark's finally kicks off with the planting of tomatoes in our urban planter box.
Vegetable Planter Tomato Growing
The spring season at the Stark's finally kicks off with the planting of tomatoes in our urban planter box.

This weekend, after finally catching up with various errands including the yearly submission of income tax, I was able to visit our local garden center to pick up some tomato plants for the vegetable planter box on our side yard.

Over 1,300 of you have downloaded the plans so I expect many of you are planting vegetables and herbs around this time of year. For those that are interested in building a vegetable planter box of your own, you can find all the information and helpful tips from readers by clicking here.

I received a couple of questions on how to fill the vegetable planter box after it has been built. Here are some recommendations and ideas.

Some have suggested even before filling the planter box, line it with landscape fabric. I think that is a good idea as it may help to keep more of the soil in the box as the water drains from it after a rainfall.

I first placed a generous layer of lava rock (about 2-3 inches) to help with drainage at the bottom of my planter box. Then I placed a mixture of soil and organic matter for nutrients.

This season, I freshened up the soil with a bit more soil, chicken manure and a ground mixture of coffee beans and egg shells. I plan to top it off with mulch at the same time I put mulch on the rest of the backyard. A video of this will be posted soon.

Some of the tomato plants come in biodegradable containers which is much more environmentally friendly.
I always place more plants than I should in my planter box but I love the way it all looks, freshly planted.

Loni Stark
Loni Stark is an artist at Atelier Stark, psychology researcher, and technologist whose work explores the intersection of identity, creativity, and technology. A self-professed foodie and adventure travel enthusiast, she collaborates on visual storytelling projects with Clinton Stark for Stark Insider. Her insights are shaped by her role at Adobe, influencing her explorations into the human-tech relationship. It's been said her laugh can still be heard from San Jose up to the Golden Gate Bridge—unless sushi, her culinary Kryptonite, has momentarily silenced her.