Friday, April 19, 2013

DIY Pallet Veggie Garden- Free Container Garden 101


It is FINALLY warm enough to start the garden!!!  I am super excited about growing veggies this year with Madisyn- she is so interested in everything, I just know she will enjoy helping me water and enjoy the fruits of our labor!

My Current Situation

For the past two years I've made due with one small 2.5' by 20'ish space to grow vegetables in.  (We have a small back yard and not much of it gets full sun because we have a tall fence and neighbors' trees filtering every-which-way (as you can see below)


So this strip is the only place it worked to clear out some grass and devote it to edibles.)  I tried to jam pack everything I could in that small space the first year, and it was clear what would do well and what wouldn't.  So the second year I stuck to what I knew worked= Beans, Tomato and Zucchini   I tried one of the really cool Gutter Gardens for lettuce I found on Pinterest, but I had a hard time keeping it wet enough for the seeds to germinate, and if they did, they soon shrived from thirst.  

Inspiration


We do not have anywhere else we can put in ground gardens.  BUT, we do have a basketball court, that we only use for entertaining.  This is a perfect place with a section of full sun to introduce some container gardens!  
Pallet Gardens are all the rage lately, and I thought what better place to grow lettuce, spinach, kale and more?!  We 

So here's our ---------------------------------

Materials:

  • 2 Pallets in Good Condition
  • Weed Mat, or other porous material to contain the dirt
  • 8 bags of Top Soil
  • 2 bags of Manure
  • Staple Gun and Staples
  • Shovel
  • Gardening Gloves
  • Soaked Seeds
  • Scrap Wood
  • 3" Screws
  • Drill
  • Chop Saw

Step 1

We measured the open edge of our pallets so we knew how long we needed to cut our scrap wood to [box in] where the dirt would go.  We cut the scrap wood with our Chop Saw.


Step 2

We used 3" screws and attached the scrap wood to the open end of the pallets to form a [box].


Step 3

We laid down our pallets top side down and rolled out our Weed Mat over the bottom.  The space underneath the weed mat is where the dirt will go.
Then we used a staple gun and stapled down the weed mat on all sides, making sure to not leave any large spaces un-stapled because we need it to hold the dirt in!



Step 4

We mixed 4 bags of Top Soil with 1 bag of Manure in the wheel barrow for each pallet.  We flipped over the pallets and started filling them with dirt.  Making sure to pack the dirt into the sides and underneath each row.  Don't you love how the pallet automatically creates planting rows?!



My Pallet Garden Layout



This was a very quick and easy project, that allows almost ANYONE to have a garden (even on an apartment patio!)  I hope you'll make one and learn how rewarding it is to grow you own food.

I am so excited to watch these grow!  I will be sure to share photos as they sprout and start to produce!


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