Monday, April 2, 2012

My New Pallet Garden

I saw a photo of a 'pallet garden' on Backyard Diva's Facebook page and immediately knew I wanted to make one or maybe even more. There were no directions, only the one picture. So I decided to take photos of the steps I took to make mine. {Please note, use a pallet with untreated wood.}

Fortunately one of my sons-in-law has several of these pallets that were not being used and he was happy to let me have one. The first thing I did was to spray it for bugs and clean it. Next I decided to place it at the end of my herb garden, where nothing is growing and where there is full sunlight.






I decided that if I removed two of the boards, I would have 2 wider rows for larger plants. And, I could then use those two boards at the ends to cover the open spaces! I really wanted to do all the work myself, but could not pry those boards/nails loose. Thankfully, my son-in-law was able to remove those for me and I was able to nail the boards to the ends.







Next I filled in the pallet with a mix of top soil and composted manure. This pallet is 48" by 40-1/5". It took approximately 3-1/2 cu ft of the soil mix to fill the pallet. {Side Note: At the store where I shop, torn/damaged bags of dirt, mulch, etc. are half-price! Needless to say, I do look for the damaged bags first!}



My kale plants had become literally overshadowed by herbs so I decided to move them to the pallet. They fit nicely in the back row!



In the next row I planted Zinnia flowers, also called the bee flower. And in the following row I planted young broccoli plants.



And, to attract plenty of bees, I planted another row of Zinna.



Since I have veggie and flower seedlings that are not big enough to transplant, I decided to stop at this point. I'll add more veggies and flowers as soon as the seedlings are large enough.

So this is my PALLET GARDEN for now:





Why did I want to try a pallet garden? (1)In some ways, it is like a raised bed garden so you do not have to dig up a large area. Where I located this one there was no need for a liner. However you can add a liner or back it with wood to have it enclosed. (2)Supposedly there will be no need to 'weed' the pallet garden. Sounds fantastic; I will let you know if this turns out to be true. (3)It is one more way to Recycle-Renew-Reuse. (4)The pallet garden looks very rustic, unique and sweet.

I have so many seedlings sprouting, actually way too many, that I am already seeing the need for a second pallet garden. I'll keep you posted.

A photo update: I added fresh mulch to my gardens to help hold in moisture. Hard to believe it is over 80-degrees on April 2nd!



Happy Springtime ~ Happy Gardening ~ Don't Worry, Just Garden ~

~Gilannie~

2 comments:

  1. Gilannie -

    What a cool way to plant! And to mix flowers and veggies - quite innovative!

    Blessings,
    Bonnie

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  2. Thanks, Bonnie! I always mix flowers and veggies not only to attract the bees but for the beauty as well. I have Sunflower and Nasturtium seelings to transplant when they grow larger. Happy Springtime!

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