You can create beautiful vertical gardens using pallets. However, some preparation is required before you can plant your pallets. You can find out how to do this step by step here.
How can I plant a pallet for my garden?
To plant a pallet for the garden, sand it, close the bottom, paint it with weatherproof glaze, add fleece or foil, set it up stable, fill it with soil and plant flowers, vegetables or herbs of your choice.
Where do I get pallets?
Getting used pallets is not that easy. Buying them online is usually out of the question as the transport costs are quite high. The only thing left to do is to become mobile. If there is a commercial area in your city, go there and look around. If you see stacks of pallets, just ask if you could get one or two. They don’t necessarily have to be Euro pallets. So-called disposable pallets or pallets with different dimensions can also be wonderfully planted. You can of course also buy new pallets at the hardware store. A rough Euro pallet costs less than €20 here.
The principle of the planted palette
Pallets are mostly used for vertical planting, although horizontal planting is also possible in principle. For vertical planting, the pallet is placed vertically with the long side down and then the usually three divisions at the bottom are closed by screwing a board underneath. This creates three flower boxes. These are then covered with weed fleece, pond liner or similar so that the soil cannot fall out.
What tools and material do I need to prepare the pallets?
The pallets are sanded, glazed and converted into flower boxes before planting. To do this you need:
- Sandpaper and ideally a sander
- environmentally friendly, weatherproof glaze or varnish as well as brush
- Drill, screws
- three boards per pallet to close the bottom of the pallet
- Weed fleece or pond liner
- Tacker
Planting a Pallet: The Guide
1. Sanding the pallet
So that you don't get splinters when planting and caring for your pallet garden, you should sand unplaned pallets. The smooth wood also offers less attack surface for moisture, dirt and pathogens. The back of the pallet is particularly important visually, as it will later face the front.
2. Close bottom page
To close the flower boxes, you have two options: You can buy boards in the required size at the hardware store or you have a second Euro pallet at hand and remove the three long boards on the back of the pallet and use them. Screw the three boards to the bottom of each of the three divisions to create three boxes.
3. Painting
Now take an environmentally friendly, weatherproof glaze (€19.00 on Amazon) or varnish and use it to paint your Euro pallet or palette to protect it from the weather and moisture. You can choose a transparent varnish or you can add color to your palette. You can also paint each division a different color. Then wait until the paint has completely dried out.
4. Lay with fleece or foil
If you fill the pallets with flower pots, you save yourself having to line them with foil
Now the three boxes are lined with foil or weed fleece. This is stapled to the top edge. If the weed fleece is permeable to water, you do not need to provide additional drainage. However, if you have decided on pond liner or another waterproof plastic, you should then poke several holes in the bottom so that excess water can drain away. You can save yourself this step if you only want to place pots in your pallet.
5. Stabilize
To prevent your Euro pallet from falling over, you should provide it with feet or anchor it at an angle. Of course, this step is not necessary if you want to hang the pallet on the wall. However, if you want to set up the pallet vertically, saw two boards of the same length and screw them across the right and left under the pallet so that it cannot fall over. Another option is to place the pallet slightly at an angle, for example against a wall and use stones or something similar to prevent it from slipping. Now place your pallet in its final location so that you no longer have to move it.
6. Fill pallet with soil
Place one to two centimeters of gravel in the flower boxes as the bottom layer. This serves as a drainage layer. Then fill the divisions two-thirds full with soil.
7. Planting a Euro pallet
Now place your selected plants in the pallet and fill the remaining spaces with soil up to just below the edge. Water your pallet garden.
Tip
Do you want to create a larger vertical garden? Then simply screw two pallets on top of each other!
What to plant on the pallets?
Pretty much all typical balcony plants can be used for planting on pallets, such as:
- Pelargoniums (geraniums)
- Begonias
- Fuchsias
- Elfspur
- Petunias
But pallets can also be used for growing fruit and vegetables. Growing wonderfully here:
- Salad
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Radish
- cress
And if you like to cook deliciously, you can plant your pallet with a variety of delicious herbs, e.g.:
- Oregano
- Basil
- Thyme
- Chives
- Rosemary
- Mint
Tip
Pay attention to the site conditions when planting your Euro pallet. Most plants need a lot of sun to thrive.