Pallet gardens are a simple, fun, and efficient way to start or expand your garden. Children love participating in this DIY project as well. The following instructions are a simple guide to making a pallet garden of your own.
Supplies:
– one pallet (use only a heat treated pallet as others can leak chemicals)
– landscaping fabric
– staple gun
– soil
– seed starters
Step 1 – Staple the landscaping fabric to the back and sides of the pallet. If the fabric seems to thin, make two layers of the fabric. Be generous with the amount of staples you use so as to prevent soil leakage.
Step 2 – Fill the pallet with soil.
Step 3 – Plant the pallet with your seed starters
And that’s it! With minimal effort, a few readily available supplies, and a little fun, you now have yourself a pallet garden. Enjoy!
How do you know if pallet is heat treated?
It will have ht stamped on it some where
Great!!! How can you tell if a used pallet is heat treated or chemical treated?
how do you know if pallets are heat treated or not?
You can find the letters HT on the side of the pallet.
tres bonne idée BRAVO
heat treated pallets has a stamp with HT on it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-determine-if-a-wood-pallet-is-safe-for-use/
It will have a stamp on it that says HT on it
how much soil?
I would fill to the top, it will settle some..
Question: Why would you staple the back with the fabric if you want the roots to go deeper, as in tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, peppers, ginger, carrots, eggplant, etc, ?????
What kinds of things can you plant in soil that shallow? Which veggies/etc worked well/didn’t work well for you?
tomatoes, herbs, peas, beans, I think squash would do well, too!
Won’t it get clogged with roots from the plants at the end of the year making it difficult to reuse?
Not if you use shallow rooted plants – we have never had an issue with our pallet gardens!
Do you think lettuce would do well in this?
Yes 😀
Do you think radishes and lettuce would do well in this?
Lettuce, yes, but the radishes? As long as they don’t grow wider than the slats!
to much of the plants are to close to each other this way
Its fine for herbs and greens!
the thing I generally dislike about using pallets is the remaining metal waste – used in their construction – when they break down. Not to mention the “generous” use of staples, it’s a lot of rusting metal waste to contend with.
Great points!
You can also fill the slats with either the preform cocoa shells for long baskets or peat moss & fill with dirt & plant. This way you can hang your pallet if you have no where to lay it out.
Thanks. This is a great idea. I live in an apartment with a pretty small patio and have been wanting to grow some tomatoes and such for awhile. This gives me the ability to grows some plants and experiment within my small space.
Why do you need the garden fabric? Can’t you just sow the seeds into the ground and use the pallet for row separation?
Some people do their pallets as vertical gardens! I think the fabric will help prevent weeds, too.
Great guide how to build pallet garden. Thank you
This is a great idea!
Do you have to use landscaping fabric if you dig the pallet into the ground a few inches?