Beautiful Things - October/November 2016

DIY Pallet Garden Boxes

Holly Lemoine-Raymond shows how to make raised garden beds from recycled pallets - in just a few hours.  

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Do you love gardening but don’t have the yard to do it? Have I got the perfect project for you! Keep reading to learn how to build your own above ground garden. This project is simple and shouldn’t take more than 2-3 hours to complete.

There are many reasons people build above ground gardens. Some do it because they don’t have the ground to cultivate for gardening. Some do it because they prefer to eat herbs and vegetables that have not been saturated in chemicals from pesticides and hormones. My husband Leo and I love to eat healthy. 
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​But let’s face it; organic groceries are very expensive, so we thought we’d try our hand at building our own little garden.  
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Whatever your reason for wanting an above ground garden, I hope you will enjoy the ease of building one of your very own. The supplies you’ll need are listed below. ​

SUPPLIES:

• Sturdy wood pallet(s) (I used a large pallet with 9 slats. This makes the cutting and dividing much easier for us non-engineering folks!)
• Decking screws
• No-VOC exterior grade paint
• Landscaping fabric
• Planting soil
• Compost

TOOLS:

• Miter saw
• Drill
• Paint brush
• Scissors
• Staple gun

Holly Lemoine-Raymond

Let’s get our hands dirty!

You may want to start with prepping your pallets. I stained my pallets with an espresso colored stain, but you can leave yours natural or paint it whatever color you’d like. It’s your pallet.  If you do decide to paint or stain the pallet(s) be sure to use an environmentally safe exterior paint that can withstand water seeping through the landscape fabric and soil. 

Step 1. Using your Miter saw cut the pallet in three equal pieces. 

• No measuring is necessary.
• Be sure you end up with three pieces that have the same number of “facing” slats.
• Flip the pallet over and make those same cuts on the backside of your pallet. 

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Step 2.  Disassemble your pallet(s).

• Pull the pallet pieces apart into the three sections you created from step one.
• Remove the slats off the backside of the two end pieces.
• Carefully remove the blocks & slats from the middle piece.
• Set the blocks & slats from the middle piece aside for later use.

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Step 3. Detach the blocks from the slats taken from the middle piece

• Using a chisel and hammer, wedge the blocks from the slats being careful not to break the slats. The slats will be the sides of the box.
• The slats removed from the centerpiece will be used to cap the ends of the box.

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Step 4. Build your garden box

• Use the centerpiece as the bottom of your garden box.
• Use the two end pieces as the sides of the box.
• Secure the sides and bottom using a nail gun or screwdriver. 

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Step 6. Cap the ends of your box with the leftover slats using the pieces left over from blocks.

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Step 6 - Attach the feet

• Using the blocks you carefully removed during the disassembling of the pallet(s) create your box’s feet.
• Secure with decking screws to the bottom of the assembled garden box.

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Step 8. Prepare for planting!

Once the pallet box is assembled you will need to place the landscaping fabric inside the box and secure it with staples. (I highly recommend using a staple gun if you have one.)

Now that you have the box prepped, it’s time to add the soil. I used a mixture of planting soil and compost to fill my beds. With a rake and a light sprinkling of the garden hose make sure to smooth out the mixture. 

You are ready to plant some seeds. 

What you plant in your raised garden bed is up to you. Remember that whatever you plant will have different needs for lighting, shade, water, nutrients, and daily care. So placement of your garden box is essential. 

Something else you may want to consider is how much space your plants will need. Make sure you read (the seed package) before you seed! Know which plants will require deeper and/or wider rows. In one box I have tomatoes and strawberries. In another box I have herbs and lavender. 

I have six raised garden boxes filled with different plants for my family to enjoy. Check out my first harvest of strawberries…. I can’t wait to watch my garden grow!
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Thank you for reading our column. I hope you enjoyed learning how to create your very own raised garden! Even more, I hope you will enjoy building your own and reaping what you sow!
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