How to Build a Trough Planter Box

Lay the plastic sheet over the floor or ground where you are working.

Set the smaller ice chest face down on the plastic sheet.

Open the bag of concrete. Follow the directions for mixing to obtain the quantity you desire. Mix the concrete and water to the consistency of mud. Add and mix the concrete dye if you want a colored planter.

Coat the exterior of the overturned ice chest with the concrete using the trowel. Make sure the entire surface is covered.

Frame the ice chest with the chicken wire by bending the wire over the surface until it touches all exterior sides. Press the wire into the concrete. The chicken wire becomes a stabilizer for the form.

Apply another coat of concrete over the chicken wire. Mix more concrete if needed to coat the entire surface. This sets the wire inside two layers of concrete.

Position the larger ice chest face down over the smaller chest and concrete. Slide the ice chest over the concrete until it is flush with the smaller chest.

Wrap the ends of the plastic sheet over the forms and concrete. Tape it shut. Allow the piece to dry for 24 hours. This is the curing process that forms the solid planter.

Remove the tape from the plastic. Unwrap the form. Grasp the base of the top ice chest and pull. If the chest doesn't move freely, re-wrap the plastic and allow the frame to cure further. Repeat this step until the chest pulls off the form.

Drill a series of drainage holes through the upturned base of the form. Flip the entire form upright. Remove the smaller ice chest. Clean out the debris from the inside of the planter.