A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!
KK from Preppy Pink Crocodile sent in a few photos of a pallet garden trellis she built for her community garden allotment last summer and I thought it was so clever I wanted to share it with you.
Here is what KK had to say…
I live in a city without much yard space, so I garden through an incredible community garden program here, Capital District Community Gardens. My allotment is small, only about 200 square feet. So I had to plan carefully to take the greatest advantage of the space.
I found a few wood pallets for free in an ally and planned to use them in another way altogether. But then I decided they might make a nice climbing structure for squash and melon vines.
I simply attached two hinges to the top so that I could fold and unfold the structure to my liking. And once I liked the spacing, I nailed a scrap piece of wood to both sides to keep it solid and strong all summer. In the fall, I just removed the nails from the scrap wood on the sides, folded it up, and easily stored it until this coming spring.
I planted squash, and eventually beans too, along both sides of the structure. As the vines grew, I helped them climb in and out of the pallets. Not only did it save space in the garden, but it added a ton of interest too. Sadly, I lost a lot of squash vines to nasty ole squash bugs last year. But I learned a lot (like how to easily remove the eggs before they hatch) and will be better prepared this year.
I actually re-used hinges from another project so the total cost was … FREE! My favorite price! It was also a lot of fun to be a little creative in the garden. It was certainly an unexpected and much discussed piece in our community garden space last summer.
Wow, what a cool trellis KK! Thanks for sharing.
If you would like to build you own pallet garden be sure to read my Pallet Gardening 101: Creating a Pallet Garden tutorial.
~Mavis
If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:
- Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
- Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
- Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
- Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
- Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Dumpster Diving pictures and the stories behind the treasures you found including how much you paid for them.
If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.
Go HERE for the official rules.
The Couch Potato says
What a great idea! I may have to do something similar for my scarlet runner beans
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
I am laughing so hard because I saw the first photo and though “OMG where have I seen this before…” Late night blonde moment. Ha. I planted beans at the base this spring and will plant my squash and melons next month. Thanks for including me- I’m honored!
KK
Melssa Doroquez says
Have you tried planting carrots yet in the pallet garden? I have some great carrot seeds that grow to about 4″ long only and have a short season (I think 65 days). I was thinking they may do well in the pallets since they need a little width and less depth than traditional varieties. And the soil will be nice and easy to grow through.
Sue Morgan says
Just want to say that I love your blog site, and all the creativity featured. I miss my huge garden. Had strokes a few years ago, and physically can’t do it right now. So, I live vicariously, lol, seeing all the wonderful veggies and ideas on your site. Bless you.
Mavis Butterfield says
Sorry to hear that Sue I hope you are doing better now and that you can enjoy your garden again in the future.
Chris says
Do y’all have pics from using the pallets for pumpkins (tongue twister!) later in the season, to show how/where they climbed to? I tried pumpkins for the first time last year and was taken over, before the vine borers came and destroyed it all. I’d like to try the pallet trellis this year, but I have limited space. I am curious where they grew, to see how to best place them in my garden. Thanks!
Gina says
I wanted to grow my summer squash and zucchini vertically this year to give me more room in my raised beds. Didn’t know what to use & didn’t want to pay for a prebuilt trellis. I’m a big fan of repurposing & a big DIYer. I was just finishing laying about 2500 lbs of paving stones & saw the empty pallet that the stones were on &
thought, perfect, there is my trellis! It looks great leaning against my fence in my raised bed. Plants are about ready for me to begin attaching to the pallet. I was so excited to see others had done it. I’ll let you know how it works. Love your site!