How to Make a Pallet Garden

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How to Make a Pallet Garden

Low on space or unable to dig a garden on your property? Pallet gardens offer solutions to both while allowing you to grow your plants in perfect rows.

Cher Obyl

13.5k Views

Step 1 of 7

Find a wood pallet. Be careful to find one that has an 'HT' marking for heat treated, as many without this marking are treated with chemicals and pesticides. Wash it down to be safe.

Step 2 of 7

Roll landscape fabric tight over the bottom. Leave enough overhang on the edges to completely cover the openings (so your soil doesn't spill out). Use a staple gun to secure it every 6 inches.

Step 3 of 7

Close up any gaps, cut away the excess, and secure the middle sections with a few round of staples. Use your hammer to secure any loose staples.

Step 4 of 7

Make sure to level your ground and clear away any rocks and debris so your fabric does not get punctured.

Step 5 of 7

Work one bag of soil in between the cracks at a time. Push the soil down and under as much as you can. A normal sized pallet will completely fill with 5 cubic feet of soil.

Step 6 of 7

Clean off the excess, compress one last time, and plant your seeds in the provided rows.

Step 7 of 7

Enjoy! Credit to all the other pallet farmers who have shared this idea in the past.

You're Done

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Cher Obyl

New York, New York

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Cher Obyl

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1 wood pallet

5 cubic feet of soil

Small roll of landscape fabric

Staple gun

Hammer

you can add extra holes in the wood to add more plants

نونو غودينو last month

Nice the animals can not dig in it this way. Great ideal.

Brenda Ostaszewski last month

Great guide! Fern, calm down, this app is about sharing ideas, regardless of credit. You should try posting snap guides (as I see you have none) if crave "credit"

Terrence Lall 2 months ago

Awesome Thanks!

River Haven 2 months ago

I was thinking about putting together a garden by using milk crates. What's the best way to do that?

Jared Moeller 7 months ago

Just wondering if you temporarily removed every other slat, would that allow more space to stuff the dirt in?

Mike Turvey 12 months ago

Looks great to me. Could these be used in unused parking lot areas? I believe most vegetables do not require much soil depth.

Mike Turvey last year

What about cross pollination? I planted some cucumber and yellow squash too close together once...shaped like a squash, smelled and had seeds like a cucumber, texture and taste of a squash...

Amber Harborth Wagner last year

Hi Fern :) I've seen a few of these guides in the past, but never saw yours before. Cool take on doing it vertically! I'd stress more in your guide to find HT wood no matter what if the intention is to have it on or near the home.

Cher Obyl (author) last year

How about giving credit to me, who invented the idea and whose text you nearly copied and pasted? ;-) http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/

Fern Richardson last year

Any shallow vegetable: leafy greens, beans, smaller squash, peppers, etc. A little research into the root depth of any plant you're interested in should give you a good idea.

Cher Obyl (author) last year

What's the best types of vegetables to grow in a pallet garden? I'm new to this concept but I want to get the right veggies to get the right outcome! Thanks!!

Ryann Burkart last year

I'd say use a pallet under the garden pallet in the opposite direction for the best support. This is such a great idea!

Guy Ruff III 😏 last year

D.P., in your case perhaps putting the garden pallet on top of another empty pallet for support to pull it could work?

Cher Obyl (author) last year

Very interesting way of gardening.

Carrie Garner last year

I have a tractor to move them ...just wondering if thye can be lifted without disintegrating ...

D. P. last year

Would love to see some pics with the garden growing, interesting idea!

Moira Gray last year

They can be moved a little bit for positioning, but are obviously very heavy with the dirt. If you need a fully mobile setup, perhaps laying down some extra wood underneath and doubling up on the fabric could work, while putting it up on a dolly or two. But for occasional careful movement of a few feet this will hold up.

Cher Obyl (author) last year

Can these then be moved around, or will it all fall through the bottom? Very interesting idea methinks ...{;-)

D. P. last year

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