Instead break down the pallets by using a reciprocating saw to cut through the nails to make them into planks. You can notice that the pallets can quite mix with other materials, as here the metal of the chairs look more modern. This includes plants such as. How to Make a Pocket-Style Planter. Lay your pallet face down, and then roll the landscape fabric over the entire back. I will continue to fill and plant up the vertical garden over the coming weeks. Position the pallet where you would like it located before planting up. But by the time it has been filled with plants – even the most rustic of creations can look wonderful. Ideally, you would lay the garden horizontal until rooting has firmly taken place. In this article, I’ll show you how I made two simple vertical gardens using wood pallets. Visit her website here and follow along on her Facebook page here. We found this easy and comprehensive step-by-step from Life on the Balcony. Turn the pallet over and lay the garden fabric out over the back. She is a practical, hands-on gardener, with a background in philosophy: (an MA in English-Philosophy from St Andrews University). They might also be a good way to make the most of a sheltered patio area, south-facing wall, or sun-trap area of decking, for example. California Privacy. This small pallet came ready-built as you see it. I then attached the material to the slats of the pallet using staples. Hammer the edges with a rubber mallet for more stability. They will make fabulous planters and raised garden beds. You could grow ornamental plants in this way too. Visit the Solution Center to Explore Articles, How Mulch, Perennials and Annuals can Enhance Your Landscape. It is best to avoid buying new plastic items wherever you can when trying to create a sustainable homestead. I intended to make one vertical garden (the second idea described below). Combining the ever-popular pallet with beautiful blossoms is easy, inexpensive and impressive. I have to start off with a funny story before I get into the nitty gritty of how to make a pallet. You can use pallets as support structures rather than planting directly into them. SAFETY FIRST! This will help to stabilize the pallet. This is not only good for people, it can be great for wildlife too. Rather than allowing vining plants to grow over the ground, they are trained to grow up canes, trellis, or other vertical support structures. The first and most obvious reason to create a vertical garden is to save space. A vertical garden is simply a growing space that makes use of the vertical as well as the horizontal plane. Add enough soil to fill the open rows approximately ¾ way full. Vertical gardens are a great way to make your environment greener, and give back more of the build environment to growing plants. It also allows me to more effectively overwinter crops in my area. In addition to designing gardens, Elizabeth also works in a consultancy capacity, offering ongoing support and training for gardeners and growers around the globe. Before taking a start, the garden space has been leveled and concrete tiles have been placed to ensure a stable base! My rainbird rotary sprinkler sticks, it stops turning, what do I do? She is undertaking ongoing work for NGO Somalia Dryland Solutions and a number of other non governmental organisations, and works as an environmental consultant for several sustainable companies. It is a way for this site to earn advertising fees by advertising or linking to certain products and/or services. For a colorful and safe garden, grow flowers instead of herbs. Push the soil down and under as much as you can. Copyright © 2021 Rural Sprout on the Seasoned Pro Theme, 10 Reasons Your Seeds Aren't Germinating and How To Fix It, 25 Exciting Types of Squash To Grow & Eat, 12 Coolest Raised Bed Kits Available on Amazon. Make sure it's tight to cover any soil that may fall out. A heavy-duty pallet can serve as one of three or four sidewalls of a bin, attached with brackets or simply wired together. You can't over staple this project. If one bench isn’t enough, you could think about placing two side by side to accommodate more of your mates. So after many lessons learnt, here is a relatively solid guide to making your own pallet garden. Cut garden fabric to fit the back and sides of the pallet. After you plant, the roots will take hold, spread out, and create solidity in the soil that will keep it from falling out of your pallet. Simple shelving (to support small pots or other growing containers). This first project is a bonus idea, which developed when I saw the promise of one pallet I had. Jun 12, 2014 - How To Make A Vertical Lettuce Garden - It seems that with the economic blunders of our captains of society, more and more people are getting back to the basics. This main vertical garden project is a little more complex. Pull tautly and secure with nails or staples. Add the potting soil to the open slat areas. • Place the pallet close to its final location • At the top opening of the pallet, wedge in plants in order to close the gap • Fill the pallet with potting soil and make sure it goes into all the corners • Water lightly • Make small indentations with your fingers and plant the plants, close to … How to Build a Pallet Garden This post may contain affiliate/referral links. The votes are in! I wanted to make use of this material to keep it out of the waste stream. Repeat this process with the second bag. Enter a zip below and get matched to top-rated pros near you. Wood pallets are often freely available and even when you cannot source them for free, can be very cheap to get your hands on. It is always best to use materials that you already have, or which are freely available (or cheaply available) where you live. However, depending on access to water, and how easy it would be to implement, you could also consider creating a self-watering vertical garden. Vertical gardens can come in a range of shapes, sizes and forms. Even if you have a larger homestead, with more land, vertical gardens can still be a great way to increase yield. A vertical garden can also take a range of other forms. If it looks thin, layer the fabric twice. Staple some more, just to be sure. So use common sense, and make sure you know the provenance of the materials you will be using. FAQ | I like this method because you can actually grow things from seed without worrying about all your dirt spilling everywhere. Popular annuals include: Marigolds, Poppies and Morning Glories. Lay out the landscape fabric or cloth to cover the back and bottom and cut to size. Add colour with more scatter cushions, pot plants and paper pom-poms. I have and will water the structure using the hosepipe I have attached to our rainwater harvesting system. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For example, they can help you make the most of a protected growing area within a greenhouse or polytunnel. All you have to do is lay the pallet out horizontally, fill it with dirt, and plant. We asked our Facebook fans what type of pallet project they wanted to make and the answer was a pallet garden! But it is still a relatively easy project to undertake. This project is an excellent way to make the most of the space you have available – and could also help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. The first project could not be more simple. You could also use other reclaimed fabric, or sacking material/ hessian or other natural materials for the purpose, if reclaimed materials are not readily available. Painting the pallet If you want to add a bit of style to your pallet planter, then you can make use of some spray paint, laying it down on the burlap sheeting you have.Brush it off with a wire brush or use your hand and you will have a nice, clean surface you can work with when the job begins. Basically, you are creating pockets out of the slabs of wood on the pallet. Pay special attention to your bottom two slots – They tend to get the driest! Lay your pallet face down, and then roll the landscape fabric over the entire back. Line each row with weed mat to help prevent the soil from coming out and to help keep moisture in. Step 1 – Staple the landscaping fabric to the back and sides of the pallet. Instead, the design relies on landscape fabric (often called weed cloth), which can be purchased by the roll at any garden center. Plants that are fantastic to grow in a garden pallet would be: Peppers; Peas; Beans; Cucumbers; Strawberries June 17, 2017. I just took a wood pallet and used it to create some simple shelving at one end of my polytunnel. Once the seedlings have taken root, I will increase the angle of my vertical garden up against the fence, and water it throughout the growing season. First of all – just one note of caution about using wood pallets around food production. When you're done, you should have plants completely covering each opening and the soil should be hidden. When she is not gardening, Elizabeth spends a lot of time working remotely on permaculture garden projects around the world. More information How To Make A Pallet Garden We chose black paint for our pallet garden. Gardening is a relaxing hobby that can transform your landscape, but it can be frustrating to make a beautiful garden when faced with so many options. Chemically Treated pallets and Heat Treated pallets. With the latest trend in beautifying your garden, how to make a pallet garden should be on the top of this trend and this article contains a complete guide to help you create your won perfect pallet garden. This pallet garden bed is shown being used on a patio which is a unique idea. Set the pallets vertically on the walls or flat on the ground. She has made many strides in attracting local wildlife and increasing biodiversity on the site. When I first started down the rabbit hole of wanting to make my own vertical vegetable pallet garden (which my full tutorial can be seen on World Market’s blog), I had zero clue that there were 2 options when it came to pallets. Staple the Landscape Fabric. Use the sandpaper to smooth any potentially dangerous spots. I will make a new prototype garden pallet this weekend and will post soon afterwards. If the pallet is coming undone, dismantle the boards and attach them to a … This is just one possible way to make a vertical garden. Since moving to the property she has also rescued many chickens from factory farms, keeping them for their eggs, and moved much closer to self-sufficiency. So it really was as simple as standing it where I wanted it, and adding my containers. Things you don’t want to plant in a pallet garden are those that require a deeper root system. What is the Unit Price for Removing Bamboo? The plant roots help the soil stay in place. Get a pallet and sand it down before treating with wood preservative or wood paint suitable for outdoors. The more staples the better in this project. Wood pallets can often be treated, or have come into contact with harmful substances. So I have come up with a somewhat different solution suitable for very small spaces. First, slide the plants into what will be the top. You're going to cover the bottom, back and sides of your pallet with landscape fabric, so choose which side of your pallet you want to show. The space is unheated, but allows me to get started much earlier with sowing and planting than I can outdoors. Privacy Policy | Plant the flowers and plants and make sure that they are tightly placed next to each other. Pallet gardens offer solutions to both while allowing you to grow your plants in perfect rows. Cardboard, cardboard, cardboard, it’s free, made with organic glue and turns into fertilizer. But in the end I ended up making two. Wearing hand and eye protection, cut the pallet into three equal pieces. While I am lucky enough to have quite a big garden, I’m always looking for ways to increase the yield I can obtain. This post may contain affiliate links. If you do not want to make an “entire” garden furniture with pallets, start by making a simple coffee table and add some chairs of your choice! 45 Raised Bed Ideas You Can Build Yourself. Using a stable gun, cover the back, bottom and sides of the pallet with a double thickness of landscape fabric. Need professional help with your project? If it looks thin, layer the fabric twice. To fill it, I am using a 50/50 mix of soil and compost (well moistened). We screwed our pallet to … What will blossom in your pallet garden? | This will be the backside, which you’ll mount against the wall. But before we get to that, I want to take a moment to explain why creating a vertical garden is such a great idea. Dig a rough outline of approximately half the depth size of the outside frame of the pallet (approximately 4 inches) and place the wood pallet in the area. I tend to prefer to use transplants for a vertical garden, but you can also choose to sow seeds directly. A vertical structure with ‘planting pockets’ created up its height. Upcycle the wooden … Homebase sells special pallet furniture cushions that fit perfectly on top of its pallets. Place the pallet so that the side with the widest openings is facing up. Paint the pallet. You're going to cover the bottom, back and sides of your pallet with landscape fabric, so choose which side of your pallet you want to show. The "back" of the pallet will be the side that has the most slats. Angie's List Call Center, © 1995-2021, Angie's List. The vertical garden you create may not initially look that great. In this article, I’ll show you how I have created two different vertical gardens using wood pallets. They can also help you make the most of a particular growing area. Treat the pallet and line it with landscape fabric. It could be a great way to provide you with a range of leaves and flowers for salads throughout the spring and summer months. Put the pallet in the position it will be staying (this is where you would mount the pallet if this is what you have chosen to do). I began by selecting a pallet with gaps between the main ‘floor’ slats. You'll find these items at your local hardware store. There are plenty of ways to improve your garden on a budget – but perhaps one of the very best projects to consider is building a vertical garden with a wood pallet. Be generous with the amount of staples you use so as to prevent soil leakage. I already have a hanging shelf (made with leftover polytunnel plastic sheeting and scrap wood) and a trellis (on which I string milk bottles for additional container growing. It might even be a fun project to take on with young kids. Staple along the spine of the pallet and anywhere you think soil could fall out of the pallet. Soon, I plan to sow more brassicas, lettuce, spinach and other leafy greens, then transplant them into the soil/compost within this structure. 3. Low on space or unable to dig a garden on your property? The first is simple shelving, the second, a vertical garden with planting pockets. Move the pallet next to the location you want to set it up at. Keep in mind that there are some serious health hazards associated with mixing pallets with potential foods. Work one bag of soil in between the cracks at a time. If you intend growing edibles in your pallet garden, do your due diligence first. Be creative – one user found pallet gold at the Harley Davidson shop! Unfortunately, though we are trying to cut down on the amount of plastic that comes onto our homestead, this plastic was unavoidable. Next, I cut a section of waterproof membrane – cut offs from membrane that we were required by the authorities to install in our barn renovation project. Make cuts in the same places, both front, and back. Then slats have been added to gain a bottom or base floor for the shed over which the entire skeleton stands! Add your potting soil into the slats and make sure that you fill it completely. If you find a pallet that is suitable for shelving as is, you too could simply use it in this way to add growing space in your garden. Clean your pallet with a scrub brush, soap and water Contact Us | She graduated from allotment gardening to organically managing 1/3 of an acre of land, including a mature fruit orchard,which she has turned into a productive forest garden. If the fabric seems to thin, make two layers of the fabric. She has filled the rest of the garden with a polytunnel, a vegetable patch, a herb garden, a wildlife pond, woodland areas and more. Is the Homeowner Liable for Damage to a Gas Line by a Contractor? Cut it large enough to completely cover the back, leaving enough room to go up the sides of the pallet, too, to help keep the soil in. Potatoes; carrots; beets; rhubarb; Regular onions; Any vegetable that grows down and requires more than 3-4 inches of depth for growth. Plus, it's beautiful! 36. Make a DIY vertical pallet garden for your backyard this summer, Los Angeles homeowners light up landscapes. I will get on to explaining the process of making these two vertical gardens with wood pallets soon. You'll need: Your pallet, two large bags of potting soil, 16 six-pack starter plants of annual flowers, a small roll of landscape fabric, a staple gun, staples and sandpaper. I’ve wanted to make a pallet garden ever since I first saw one. Buy now: Cushion for Pallet Garden Furniture in Grey, £28.95, Homebase. You don’t have to use one to grow only salads and other edible crops. The yield from the garden is increasing year on year – rapidly approaching an annual weight in produce of almost 1 ton. These wood pallet shelves simply stand at one end of the polytunnel. If you have a polytunnel or greenhouse too, you will know that space is always at a premium. Many will wiggle off but you may need to gently pry them off with the claws of a hammer. Instructions for starting your DIY Pallet Garden Locate a place in your yard that gets 6-8 hours of sun a day, is close to a water source, and heavy traffic. Structures that support hanging planters, which can be placed above other growing areas or containers. Amongst other things, she has designed private gardens in regions as diverse as Canada, Minnesota, Texas, the Arizona/California desert, and the Dominican Republic, commercial aquaponics schemes, food forests and community gardens in a wide range of global locations. Fill you garden. Rather than allow a tree to grow in a natural, standard form, it can be espaliered so it takes up less horizontal (and more vertical) space. Now, I have added wood pallet shelves as another vertical gardening technique. Take a deep view of the construction steps of beautiful pallet projects given below one by one! Caring for your backyard this summer, Los Angeles homeowners light up.! 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