How to Make a Pallet Garden: 5 DIY Pallet Garden Ideas
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 21, 2021 • 2 min read
Whether you want to make your own indoor living wall or are just looking for a way to organize your veggies, planting a pallet garden can revolutionize your gardening setup.
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What Is a Pallet Garden?
A pallet garden is a DIY raised garden bed that typically made from a wooden pallet. Wood pallets are flat wooden beds used for transporting and shipping. The slats of the pallet divide your raised garden bed to arrange your plants in rows, whether you’re planting flowers, vegetables, or herbs. You can either arrange your recycled or upcycled shipping pallet horizontally or vertically to hang pots from for a space-saving garden.
5 DIY Pallet Garden Ideas
There are a number of pallet design ideas for your garden available on the internet. Here are just a few creative ways of repurposing a shipping pallet to create your own pallet garden.
- 1. In-ground vegetable garden: You can lay a pallet laid flat into the soil and fill it with more organic matter to make a vegetable garden for plants like lettuces, carrots, and tomatoes. The slats evenly divide your vegetables and make it easy to organize your plants. You can even use white paint or marker to write the names of your vegetables on the exposed wood.
- 2. Pallet herb garden: A recycled pallet makes a great herb garden. You can either lay the pallet flat or, if you have a small space, lean it against a wall or fence to attach herb planters or make small planting boxes inside of the pallet's slats.
- 3. Vertical pallet garden: Hang a pallet on your wall and plant a variety of hanging plants, succulents, and shrubs to create a dramatic flower garden planter. Vertical gardening is also a great way to save space in your garden.
- 4. Strawberry planter: Standing a planter on end and filling it with soil and straw makes for a perfect, space-efficient strawberry planter box.
- 5. Indoor garden wall: Fill a garden pallet with soil or growing boxes with creeping plants and hang the pallet on one of your walls to create a quick and easy living wall.
Materials You’ll Need for a Pallet Garden
Here is everything you'll need to create a basic flat wood pallet garden.
- Old shipping pallet
- Potting soil
- Extra 2x4 planks (if necessary)
- Saw
- Hammer
- Nails
- Landscape fabric
- Seeds or plants
- Safety goggles and gloves
How to Make a Pallet Garden
If you’re looking to mix up your garden design for your flower beds, vegetable garden, or herb garden, follow this simple tutorial for setting up your own pallet garden DIY project:
- Choose a location. Choose a sunny spot in your garden where you will set up your pallet garden bed. Make sure the ground is level and cleared before you lay your pallet.
- Seal the edges. To contain the soil, cut the 2x4 planks to fit the size of your garden bed and nail them around the side of the pallet to create a sealed box.
- Fill your pallet with soil. Line the bottom of the pallet with landscaping fabric. Fill the pallet with garden soil until the soil reaches the top of the slats.
- Plant your plants. Plant your seeds or plants along the rows in the soil. Use a permanent marker to mark which plants are in which row if planting herbs or veggies. Water your seeds immediately after you plant them.
Learn More
Grow your own garden with Ron Finley, the self-described "Gangster Gardener." Get the MasterClass Annual Membership and learn how to cultivate fresh herbs and vegetables, keep your house plants alive, and use compost to make your community—and the world—a better place.