Pallet Gardening

Use pallets to create plant stands, containers and compost bins.

In 1995, an estimated 223.6 million pallets ended up in landfills, according to a joint study by USDA Forest Service and Virginia Tech University. Reusing pallets for gardening projects is a great way to divert waste from landfills. For example, at the Ellicott Community Diner at the University of Maryland, students and dining staff transformed old pallets into garden containers for their roof top garden. Try your hand at transforming pallets into an extra flower planter, compost bin or other projects for the garden.

Garden Container

In her blog called “Life on the Balcony,” gardener Fern Richardson details how to transform a pallet into a vertical garden. Staple rolls of landscape fabric, a porous material, on the back, bottom and sides of the pallet. Add soil to the top of the pallet and in the front spaces. To complete the colorful vertical display, plant flowers between the wooden pieces and on the top.

Compost Bin

Instead of building a compost bin from scratch, reuse old pallets to form a three or four-sided bin. University of Kentucky suggests either nailing or wiring pallets together to form a 3-by-3-by-3-foot space -- a size that helps maintain temperatures from 90 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit that are ideal for composting. Before constructing your compost unit, make sure the site has a water source nearby and is dry and shady. Compost piles need moisture, green materials that add nitrogen, such as grass clippings and vegetable and fruit scraps, and brown materials that add carbon, such as leaves.

Other Uses

Besides garden planters and compost bins, pallets have many other uses in the garden. During summer, place garden containers on pallets to protect both containers and plants from sizzling pavements and improve air flow around the container. Or construct a cold frame out of pallets to protect plants during the wintry months.

Tips

Be picky when choosing pallets for your garden. Wood is treated in different ways and used for various purposes. Be careful of using treated wood for edible gardens. Fruit and vegetables may absorb chemicals in the wood, posing a food safety issue. Also pallets may have contained toxic materials and still have residue on the wood. Make sure any pallet you use has not been treated with chemicals or has been used in toxic application.

References

• University of Kentucky: Constructing a Wooden Pallet Compost Bin
• Life on the Balcony; How To Turn a Pallet into a Garden; Fern Richardson
• University of Maryland: Rooftop Garden -- The Diner
• Clemson Cooperative Extension: Container Vegetable Gardening
• Harvard Community Garden: Box Wine
• United States EPA: Create Your Own Compost Pile

Resources

• USDA Forest Service and Virginia Tech; Wood Pallets and Landfills – Status and Opportunities for Economic Recovery and Recycling; Philip A. Araman et al.