Recycled Pallet Planters

free used shipping pallets are not hard to come by in this area, especially the untreated ones. it's free wood, already partially pre-constructed, so why not recycle them? we originally collected old broken skids to use for firewood, but now we are more selective in our picks. all we needed was a hammer to pry the skids apart and nail them back together [yes, we even re-used the nails], some burlap, scissors to cut and a staple gun to attach it with.

first we picked out some solid skids, and pulled the planks off of the bottom. skid number one was turned upside down, and this became the bottom of the box. other skids were taken apart and reconfigured to create open layers to stack up, creating a deeper box. a couple of the skids were left as single layers to be used for shallow planter beds. many pallet gardens we have seen are left in tact to use the existing planks as planting rows, but we decided to use the extra planks to build with to get maximum growing space inside.

 

 

 

to make a deeper planter box, the same frame built for the shallow planter was repeated, stacked and nailed together. the large planter box will be used for potatoes, or broccoli and cauliflower, we have yet to decide. planting things that require special care or soil conditions is easier in a container as the soil can be changed out or added to if need be.

the beds were then lined with burlap, we had extra rolls left over from last year that was marked down to a couple dollars in the garden center.. i have seen these types of containers lined with landscaping fabric, but at that price i couldn't resist. looks nicer too!

one of the shallow beds is being used as a strawberry patch. strawberries tend to spread if they are not contained, so we thought it would be a good pick for a pallet bed. we had some strawberries in buckets last year, but they didn't have enough space to continue fruiting. the planter box will hopefully be a happy medium.

the strawberries are doing well so far, and the second shallow planter bed is being seeded with lettuce, mostly a leafy mesclun mix. the center planter has since been topped up with a triple blend, and it's fate shall be decided later on this week.