If you’ve got some spare pallets lying around your shed or garage, don’t just dispose of them. Pallets have lots of great uses, and the garden is one place where you can find lots of ways to utilize them. If you’re looking for a simple garden project, why not try one of these?
1. A raised bed
Raised beds in your garden are great for growing fruit and vegetables, as well as flowers. If you’re looking to create a raised bed from your pallets, then it couldn’t be easier. You may wish to cut your pallets in half so that your raised beds aren’t too high. But apart from that, all you need to do is form a square or rectangle from your pallets.
The number of pallets you need will depend on how big you want your beds to be, and you’ll need to join each of them together to make the frame sturdy. The inside of your raised bed will need a liner, which can be stapled into place. Then all you need to do is fill it with soil and you’re ready to start sowing.
2. A vertical garden
Creating a vertical garden is another way of reusing pallets. And it couldn’t be easier to do! You may need to remove every other slat on your pallet so that they’re nicely spaced apart, allowing room to fit your plants in. And by stapling some garden or weed control fabric to the pallet slats, you’ll be able to create little pockets for your plants to go in. You can then mount it on your wall, to complete your vertical garden.
3. Picket fencing
If you’re thinking of paying out for a new fence installation, wait! Making your own picket fencing from pallets is another easy garden project. For this, you’ll need to cut a v shape out of each vertical slat, just below the horizontal section of wood that holds the frame together. Once you’ve cut a pointed shape out of each vertical slat, the top section of the pallet should detach from the rest of it. Leaving you with a ready-made section of picket fencing. Now all you need to do is give it a coat of weatherproof paint.
4. A compost bin
If you have a lot of garden and kitchen waste that usually goes in the bin, why not make yourself a pallet compost bin instead? This is an easy pallet project that will help you recycle your waste and reuse some pallets too. A basic compost bin can be made from four pallets constructed into a square, joining them together with screws at each corner. You may wish to add hinges to one section of the pallets to create an opening. And to stop all your garden waste spilling out of the bin, you could staple some chicken wire around the inside of the bin.
