If you love gardening you should see how wood garden planters can be made using old pallets. A great way to up-cycle and save money. You can take a wooden pallet and make a garden planter, they have many slats to put your flowers in and when all the plants are in place you can stand it upright and lean it against a wall or fence. This is a neat way to display your plants and flowers.
Actually pallets are usually free if you ask for them at a nursery garden center or any business that would have them.
Items Needed
- Wooden pallet
- Landscape fabric or burlap
- Sandpaper
- Stapler
- Staples
Notes: Be sure to read our page on toxic wood pallets and how to avoid them.
Prepping The Pallet
- Clean and scrub your pallet off. Most are treated with chemicals.
- Check for protruding nails and hammer down.
- Sand and rough areas.
- If painting use water-resistant paint. (I left mine natural).
Instructions
1.) Turn the pallet over to backside and stretch fabric across the back of pallet. You may need to double your layer of fabric. Staple all around the edges and in between to keep the soil in place.
2.) Flip around pallet and lay flat. Fill the slats with some potting soil. You will need to push the soil underneath the slats to fill it all in. If you don’ push it underneath the slats when you use it standing up you won’t see the plants. So fill in with a generous amount.
3.) Now you are ready to fill the slats with flowers. Creeping and spreading ones work well.
Note: They can be displayed horizontally or vertically against a wall or fence. Some wait a few weeks to a month before using it vertically. This gives it time for the plants to take root.
Final Word: Wood Garden Planters Made with Pallets
With wood garden planters you need to decide where you will use them. It is suggested for outside use because they may contain toxins and this is why I only plant flowers in mine and not vegetables. If you choose to plant vegetables then check first to see if your pallet has been treated with toxic chemicals. Pallets are often stored outside before you get them and that makes them subject to water, mold, bird droppings and vermin and insect waste.
In the past these unregulated pallets have tested for foodborne pathogens. E-coli and Listeria are some that have been found on them. Read my Toxic Pallets article for more information.
However you use your garden pallet it is surely a unique way to display your plants and recycling at the same time.
Speaking of pallet DIY ideas, why not check out the free DIY fence that can be made using recycled pallets. Considering how plentiful pallets are and how expensive fences are, this is a win-win DIY!
Also check out the rest of our DIY section. Using it will have you pulling off simple DIY projects with minimal effort, so much so that even a novice do-it-yourselfer can do them.
Good luck on your projects!
