Banary plastic flower boxes are taboo on the creatively designed balcony. The trend is to use plant pots made from natural materials to build your own balcony box. Resourceful gardeners with a talent for DIY have discovered Euro pallets as a starting point. These instructions will explain step by step how to convert a Euro pallet into a flower box.
How do you build a flower box from Euro pallets?
A flower box made of Euro pallets can be made yourself by sawing off the lower part, sanding the edges, drilling holes for hemp rope, closing the bottom with pallet boards and lining it with garbage bags or pond liner. In addition, a labeling board with blackboard paint can be attached.
Material and tool list
- 1 Euro pallet (new or used)
- 1 black, large garbage bag or pond liner
- Hand stapler
- Jigsaw or hand saw
- Hammer
- Nails
- 2 m hemp rope
- Sandpaper or orbital sander
Euro pallets are usually made of pine wood that is impregnated with heat and without the use of chemicals. Throughout Europe, the pallets are used for transport purposes according to a cross-border exchange system. Time and again, some of these pallets fall out of the system and can be purchased by private individuals. Please note that even a discarded Euro pallet is worth money and is not a waste product. Don't just pick up a pallet on the side of the road, ask the owner whether he will give it away for free or for a purchase price.
Instructions for the renovation work
The following instructions explain step by step how you can convert a Euro pallet into a small balcony box that you can hang on the wall or a railing. How to do it right:
- Saw off the bottom part of the pallet
- Sand the resulting edges
- Using the wood drill for the hemp rope, drill holes in the upright wooden slats
- Pull the rope through, knot it and fix it with the all-purpose glue
- Close the flower box from below with one or two pallet boards
- Cut the boards to size and nail them in place
If the pallet boards close the flower box flush, please drill two small holes in them for water drainage. Only then do you line the box with the cut garbage bag or pond liner. Staple the foil on all sides. Finally, cut the lining over the floor holes in a cross shape so that irrigation water can drain away unhindered.
Decorative board calls plants by their names – This is how it works with blackboard paint
A Euro pallet as a balcony box is ideal for planting herbs in. So that you don't have to puzzle later about which species thrive here, mark the plants using a board. This is easy to do with special blackboard paint. The liquid paint hardens within 24 hours and can then be rewritten again and again, similar to a school blackboard.
Sand the front of the balcony box smooth and mark the painting area with masking tape. Blurred edges can be easily corrected later with sandpaper. After the blackboard paint has dried, form a decorative frame from the remaining hemp rope by attaching the rope all around with all-purpose glue.
Tip
In order to make a Euro pallet flower box winter-proof, the natural appearance does not have to be affected by bubble wrap. Cover the balcony box with winter fleece made of sheep's wool or coconut mats, protect the plants from frost damage and still not break the style.
