DIY Vertical Garden Using a Recycled Wooden Pallet

Easy DIY Project to Create
A Bee and Butterfly Friendly Pallet Garden

Oh … I love this idea for 3 reasons: 

 

1) it’s an easy do-it-yourself project; 

2) it utilizes a recycled item; and 

3) it helps attract beneficial bees and butterflies!

 

Though figuring out how to make this vertical garden really isn’t difficult, I would like to make it simple for all of us by featuring two great how-to articles by Fern Richardson, book author and creator of the popular container gardening blog “Life on the Balcony.”

 

Find Yourself a Wooden Pallet

 

First, you need to scout around and find a wooden shipping pallet. These are normally found stacked up behind home improvement stores, industrial/manufacturing facilities, even supermarkets. they’re stacked up because in most cases, these pallets are waiting to be picked up by a recycling company. 

 

Now, I do NOT advocate taking a pallet off of a stack, assuming, “What the heck – they’re going to be recycled anyway.”

 

 In this situation ASK the store or manufacturer if you can take one. If you tell them what you’re going to do with it, I’ll bet, with a smile on their face, they’ll say, “Sure!”

 

 

Or, you might hit pay-dirt and find some thrown into a dumpster behind the aforementioned locations. In this case – dumpster diving time! 🙂

How to Get the Pallet Ready for Planting

 

In this article, Fern takes us step-by-step in: How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden.

 

And, to learn how to plant a pallet with flowers as shown in the photo at the beginning of this post, please refer to her post: Create a Bee & Butterfly Friendly Pallet Garden.

Valuable Tip for Recycled Pallet Garden Growing Success

 

A final really import tip Fern passes on to us is this: We should leave the pallet flat on the ground for a couple of weeks (watering when needed), so that the roots can start to grow in and hold all the plants in place. But she also said she doesn’t practice what she preaches, and tips the pallet upright a few days after planting. While some soil does fall out, she said it seems to be okay.

 

I’ve got a balcony garden myself, and this pallet garden idea is great. If I can get my hands on a discarded pallet that’s in decent condition, I’m gonna give this project a try. 

 

Even if you are fortunate enough to have lots of garden space, a vertical herb or flower garden can certainly become a focal point for anyone’s home.

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