If you are short on space or live in a rental, pallet gardens are a great way to start a little impermanent garden. In today’s post, I’m going to share everything you need to know about pallet gardening.
I love that once the roots take hold, you can keep them upright against the fence or house. It adds a wall of green without taking up walking space.
Or, if you are in a housing situation where you can’t make permanent landscaping changes, you can just take out the dirt, pick the pallets up and move them at the end of the growing season.
To get started, you’ll need to select your pallets. This is the important part–you want to make sure that the pallets are not made from treated wood.
Treated wood and edibles = nastiness in your food supply.
No bueno. I always try to find heat treated pallets–they are the safest to grow from.
Once you have your pallets, lay them flat {whether you plan to keep them vertical in the end or not–the roots have to take hold before you can stand them up}.
If you plan on going vertical with your pallets, you’ll want to get some landscape fabric and staple/nail it to the back, sides, and bottom of the pallet. That way, you won’t lose your soil when you stand it upright.
If you are leaning it up against the house, you’ll also want to add a layer of plastic to the back to protect your siding from water. {For detailed pictures on the landscaping fabric, go HERE.}
Once you have created a barrier for the soil, go ahead and add potting soil to the pallet.
I typically dump it on there and then use a broom to sweep it into the spaces. Water it in well, so that the dirt has a chance to settle. You really want to pack the dirt in well, especially if you are going to stand it up.
Now you are ready to plant.
Tons of plants do well in pallets lettuce, herbs, flowers, strawberries, etc. It’s really whatever suits your fancy. I love that the rows are already perfectly lined up for you when it’s time to plant.
It makes my gardening OCD giddy. If you are staying flat with your pallets, just plant using gravity as your pal, the regular old fashioned way, roots straight down. If you plan to stand the pallet up, you’ll need to plant at a slight angle, so again, when you stand it up, gravity won’t work against you.
You’ll want to keep the pallet flat for the next 2-3 weeks while the roots take hold. Continue to water it, just like a regular garden {I know, duh! But, it’s in the name of being thorough.} After that, you can stand it up and lean it against some sort of support {the fence, the house, etc.}.
That’s basically it. It’s really pretty simple. Everything you need to nnow about pallet gardening. Now all you have to do is send me pictures of YOUR pallet garden. 🙂
~Mavis
Monica says
Where do you get the pallets from? I really want to do this, but cannot find any. We had some at my work but they were not heat treated and they were in terrible shape. Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
Girrad pallets in Puayllup. 🙂
Lynda Z says
I got some from my local hardware store. I made some really cool raised beds that look like chairs. If I figure out how to get a picture on here I’ll post one.
Tina M says
I get them off side of road. Or furniture stores etc that constantly have large deliveries.
Erin says
Hi Mavis! This reminds me of something I’ve been wanting to ask. You completely transformed the backyard of your previous house into a gardening paradise. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though. Did you have trouble selling the house or did it actually become one of the selling points?
Mavis Butterfield says
Great question! Because our last property was on a little over an acre in a development of like homes and like sized wooded lots. I don’t think the vegetable garden factored into the sale of the house either way. However, if I had a smaller lot {like I do now} I wouldn’t go super crazy with the vegetable plots like I did at the last house. We had 16 garden boxes/plots/growing areas before. This time around since we are on about 1/3 acre, I think my garden plan is for 4 raised garden beds on the side yard and a boatload of containers on the patio {that way I can scale down when we eventually put the house on the market}. I will replace the side vegetable garden {where I have cabbage and radishes growing now, with annual flowers.
Kay says
Hello Mavis! We are trying out pallet gardening for the first time this year! Just two pallets to start, in addition to our 4′ x 8′ raised bed. I’m still a relatively new gardener, so we’ve been slowly expanding each year. Started with container, then a raised bed, and now we’re adding to that! Can’t wait to fill my pallets with lettuce and strawberries!
Roberta Westbrooks says
I love the idea of pallet gardening. I do have a large back yard, and this is perfect planning. I will have to try it as soon as possible. Thanks for all u do.
Danielle says
Can we grow tomatoes,cucumbers and what not? Bell peppers etc in these
Mavis Butterfield says
You can grow anything as long as the soil is deep enough. :}
Katie says
Could you double up with two pallets for veggies like that? Just nail them together on top of each other to create more depth?
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ve never tried that before but I don’t see why not. If you try it, let us know how it works out.
Angie says
Did you try doubling up the pallets? If so, was it successful?