How to Build Raised Garden Beds with Pallets

Building raised garden beds from pallets is an inexpensive way to make raised beds. The amount you will save, by recycling material from pallets, makes dealing with stubborn boards worth the time. Read on for instructions and tips to construct these raised beds for the garden, out of recycled pallets.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pallets
• Saw
• Crowbar
• Screw Driver
• Screws
• Measuring tape

1. 

   Start out with a stack of pallets. One pallet should make one raised bed, but depending on the size of the boards, it could take a little more or less. Each pallet can vary in board size, so keep that in mind when choosing which pallets to use.

2. 

   Cut the boards off the pallet if the nails are rusty and the boards are extra dry. Cutting them off can reduce time and frustration of splitting boards with stuck in nails. If the boards on the pallet are new, use a crowbar and pry up the nails.

3. 

   Pry up the nails on the center board, after cutting both ends.

4. 

   After taking off the boards on each side, you should be left with just the frame of the pallet. Next you will want to salvage the cross boards in the middle.

5. 

   Cut the thick part of the cross boards off. Trim each board to 2 feet long.

6. 

   Keep disassembling pallets until you have 8 long boards, and 4 two feet ones.

7. 

   Take a 2 ft piece and place a long board up next to it. Use the screw gun and screw together.

8. 

   Place a second long board on the top and attach with a screw.

9. 

   Continue around the frame, attaching on two sides with two boards to each side, as in step seven and eight.

10. 

    Next, build the end piece separately.

11. 

    Attach the last end to the garden bed.

12. 

    Finished raised garden bed! Ready to be filled with soil, and plants.

Resources

• eHow Home and Garden Topic Guide

[From-the-Heart]

on 9/28/2009 Hi Pastafarian,

The pallets used were not treated- I haven't come across any treated pallets- I would be sure to ask questions before using if you are unsure, you wouldn't want them near any vegetable plants. Because the wood is untreated, these will last only a few seasons.

[pastafarian]

on 9/15/2009 Nice job. I have a couple of questions:

1. Is it treated wood? If it is, there might be an issue with chemicals leaching into the soil over time... and then into the vegetables?
2. I wonder how long it will last. How long has yours been in use and how is it doing now?

Thanks,