More and more works of art are being created from pallets. This can even be used to make a space-saving herb bed. You don’t even have to be a skilled craftsman for that.
Whether seating furniture, pools, raised beds, tables or composters – with a little creativity many useful things can be conjured up from pallets. So it is not surprising that even a herb bed made of dollar pallets is relatively easy to build.
And now if you think this is for skilled craftsmen only, then I can reassure you. Because the garden art from the dollar pallet is absolutely no trick and to prepare yourself, even if you think you have two left hands. You can use the pallets in several ways.
Since you are probably hoping for a space-saving solution, we are dealing with a very simple variant: the upright pallet.
Building a herb bed from a pallet – How it works
Before you start to do handicrafts, you should first get the necessary utensils ready. That includes:
- pallet (or a non-standard pallet of similar design)
- cordless screwdriver
- pond liner
- Narrow wooden slats
- gravel
- earth
- Sharpener Hammer
- tape measure
1 In the first moment you have to destroy some of the pallet. In order to be able to plant them properly later, it is necessary to lever off the second longitudinal slats. It is up to you whether you start with the upper bar and choose the next but one or remove the second upper bar.
“Tip: Be careful not to break the slats. You can easily reuse the wooden slat by cutting it to size. In this way the removed slats replace the narrow wooden slats.
2Once freed of superfluous slats, the dollar pallet needs a wider base. Since the herb bed in our case will stand upright, it must be stabilized in the floor area. You have two options:
- They use the removed laths
- You use previously purchased wooden slats
It is inexpensive and easy to choose the first variant. Mark on the board a section of about fifty centimeters and saw it in two parts. Now screw the feet directly onto the edge block, which describes the cavity of the pallet, using weatherproof screws. Now you can turn the pallet around and you will see that it stands very securely. If the boards are broken while levering, you must make the feet from fresh wooden slats.
3 The next step is to build planting areas into the pallet. You can also use the removed boards for this purpose.
- In the first step, measure the distance between the outer two squared lumber members and the stabilizing center piece.
- Cut the supporting boards to this length and screw them to the longitudinal slats from below.
- Repeat this step until you have planted boards on both sides of the pallet and on each planting level.
The basic structure of your herb bed is now ready.
Decorate the pallet
At this point you can already plant the dollar pallet by placing flower pots with coasters or matching flower boxes in the planting sections.
4 But you also have the option of extending the range even further and thus dispensing with pots: with pond liner.
Pond liner is available in various thicknesses. We recommend that you use as thick a film as possible, which is usually used for ponds in stony soil. The film is very stable and tear-resistant in itself, but can be processed very well.
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- Line each planting section with pond liner. So that the soil does not get caught in the folds, you should hide the folds on the back of the foil.
- You can achieve strength by attaching the foil to the wood with a wood tacker.
- If you require a more stable variant, you can fall back on PVC flooring. In DIY stores you can often buy leftover pieces very cheaply.
- You need a very simple floor that does not have any insulation. Although PVC flooring is flexible, it is difficult to install in the normal state in such a way that you can line the corners properly.
“My tip: To make the material more flexible, you simply need heat. A normal hair dryer is enough.
“The alternative: Place a piece of PVC soil in the planting section and measure where the corners are.
- Now cut the floor in this area with a carpet knife, bend the section and glue it to the back. To bend it off, use the hair dryer again as an aid.
- Place your box of PVC flooring in the planting section. Since the corners are not absolutely tight, seal them additionally with silicone. Of course you can fix the box with a wood tacker. If you do without it, you can remove it regularly and clean it.
5 Since used pallets are often no longer visually attractive, but you want a pretty bed of herbs, you can now let off steam creatively. Use waterproof spray paint if you prefer a quick solution. Or sand the pallet to obtain a flat surface. Now you can varnish, paint or otherwise decorate them.
“Tip: Do you like to forget what you planted where? Then you search from the handicraft need table disks or acquire you table foil. Thin foil can be cut into shapes and glued decoratively onto the longitudinal slats.
Your herb bed from a r pallet is now ready and ready for planting. First put a small layer of gravel into the flower boxes or planting sections to prevent waterlogging.
Tips for more experienced hobbyists
You like herbs, but watering is not necessarily your best friend? Then you can help yourself with a little trick. All you have to do is drill a hole in the respective planting sections. Select a side so that the holes are on the right side of the planting section, for example.
Before you start to apply gravel and soil to the sections, thread a chain through the hole and fasten it with a small nail. Also raise one side of the feet by one centimetre. Here it is important that the stand is lower on the side where the holes are located. This means that the pallet will not be exactly horizontal later on.
What are the boreholes and chains for? It’s simple. If you now plant the herbs according to their water requirements, you only need to water the upper section vigorously. The excess water flows through the holes into the lower plant compartments, where it waters the plants directly. The chains prevent the water from splashing unattractively.
“Tip: If you opt for this option, herbs with an increased water requirement will be placed in the uppermost compartments. At the bottom are herbs that require little moisture.
Of course, you cannot only plant herbs in the pallet. The upright bed is also suitable for vegetables, balcony flowers and seedlings.
I am Don Burke, one of the authors at My Garden Guide. I am a horticulturist that cultivates, grows, and cares for plants, ranging from shrubs and fruits to flowers. I do it in my own garden and in my nursery. I show you how to take care of your garden and how to perform garden landscaping in an easy way, step by step.I am originally from Sydney and I wrote in local magazines. Later on, I have decided, more than two decades ago, to create my own blog. My area of specialization is related to orchid care, succulent care, and the study of the substrate and the soil. Therefore, you will see many articles dedicated to these disciplines. I also provide advice about how to improve the landscape design of your garden.
