Asked on Mar 12, 2015

Pallet as a garden bed

Joffler
by Joffler
This photo appeared on a friend's facebook page. Since retiring, he's become an avide gardener. I've seen pallets used as vertical gardens but never this way. I think it's pretty clever.Don't know all the pros and cons yet, though. Has anyone else tried this?
  15 answers
  • Lynne Cooper Lynne Cooper on Mar 12, 2015
    I've seen many posts for this type of gardening on Pinterest. Here's a site that gives some great examples and advice on using the right pallet for growing edibles . http://themicrogardener.com/20-creative-ways-to-upcycle-pallets-in-your-garden/
  • Susan Lightcap Susan Lightcap on Mar 13, 2015
    Info on pallet gardening is all over the internet. It's great for micro greens and tender things that are best harvested young.
  • CanadianGardenJoy CanadianGardenJoy on Mar 13, 2015
    You should be very careful to make sure the pallets are not embedded with chemicals first ! ... we were even warned not to burn them as fire wood because of this problem. No one would want to grow something to eat in preservative soaked wood !
  • Sandy Sandy on Mar 13, 2015
    I have done this. Two suggestions: don't put it where it gets the hot afternoon sun and be ready to water, water, water!! The roots are shallow so the plants dry out fast.
  • Denise Rankin Denise Rankin on Mar 13, 2015
    My first garden was very similar. However instead of a pallet, I used a twin box spring. I just laid it down on the ground, I left the cardboard that backed the box spring in place and cut where I wanted the plants and planted in between the slats. The second year i filled the frame with soil and continued to plant between the slats. Worked great and started me off to having a real garden.
  • Nostromo Nostromo on Mar 13, 2015
    I prefer straw bale, terrace or 'stair step' gardens myself, but this might be a good idea depending on whether one knows what the pallet might have been used for in the past. Many carried all kinds of nasty chemicals (much as cross ties were literally marinated in the chemicals carried by the trains which passed over them) that will leech out of the wood and into the soil used in your planting. Just exercise a little caution and MAYBE all your offspring won't be born with tentacles. :-)
  • Bruce Bedford Bruce Bedford on Mar 15, 2015
    what a great idea will try it out, might have to improve it a bit, as Pallets in Aus are a little bit different
  • Rosie Rosie on Apr 01, 2015
    I use water troughs=old ones they are handy = but u need too water often = and the other thing root vegetables don't do good in there = they stay very slimbut the others grow good
  • Lindcurt Lindcurt on Jun 07, 2015
    I'm needing an elevated garden for just a few small things. This would be great for lettuce and spinach. I might attach legs or just set the pallet up on top of straw bales. Great idea. Thanks Joffler. Raised beds probably come in handy around Houston.
  • Lynette Lynette on Jun 07, 2015
    Pallets are great things and you've certainly put it to good use......perfect!!
  • Violet_ayala Violet_ayala on Oct 11, 2015
    I love this. Its perfect for a small space . Ill definitely be trying it next season.
  • Carron Blodgett Carron Blodgett on Nov 07, 2015
    Great idea- I am going to use this on slight incline for fall olanting of creeping pholox
  • Fee Miriam Rosenfeltz Fee Miriam Rosenfeltz on Aug 21, 2016
    I have a stack of untreated pallets and thinking that by setting one on top of another (bolted together) to give depth I can fill them with straw to create a more contained version of straw bale gardening.... Any thoughts?
    • Rosie Rosie on Aug 26, 2016
      rather than putting them on top of one another stand them up on their sides and make them into a box. four==then put plastic inside Black = I think my son put one or two p allets= anyway put straw at bottom inside and added dirt and I planted my cucumbers in there and they hung over the pallets on the sides and i had a bumper crop. the pallets were chest high it was great.
  • Rosie Rosie on Aug 26, 2016
    my son made a pallet garden fo r me like a box on the sides and put plastic paper inside the height of the pallets and then straw and dirt = it worked =perfectly = I am a senior and can't crawl anymore . I put in cucumbers and they hung on the sides down = have had a large amount of cucumbers from it=it was great.
  • Michelle Leslie Michelle Leslie on Jan 10, 2021

    That's beautiful.