Pallet Garden

This project was actually from this spring but I didn't get it posted.  I still wanted to get it recorded on our blog so the kids will remember it later and say "oh yeah, I remember that," years from now.

The project was a vegetable garden project for Spark to make for 4-H to put in the fair.  It is a garden that can stand up along side a wall to grow vegetables in a small space, say an apartment patio.

The base of the project is a pallet, by looking around town at manufacturing places it is easy to find them for free.

The pallet should be just plan wood, not green treated or have any other chemical on it since food will be grown in it.

Measure enough landscaping cloth to cover one side, the side with the biggest gaps, twice.  Cut it to fit the side of the pallet plus some to wrap around the sides.

Using a staple gun, tack the first layer of cloth on.

Staple the second layer on right over the top of the first one. Fold the cloth on neatly and make nice corners.  Look at the concentration on his face.

This is how the back will look.

Lay the pallet close to where you are going to be keeping it because it will be heavy.  Put 50 pounds of dirt on the top of the pallet.

Get it in all the cracks to fill up the inside of the pallet with dirt.

Realize that 50 pounds isn't even close to enough dirt and dump on another 50 pound bag.

Use a stick to knock the dirt firmly into all the spaces.

The stick is helpful but your hands really work the best for this job.   Keeping the pallet on it's side tightly plant bedding plants or densely plant seeds in all the spaces.  Keep it laying down for a couple of weeks until the roots have a good hold after which time it can be stood up on it's side and the dirt won't fall out. 

Here is where there should be a picture of the insanely successful project full of green vegetation that we are harvesting basket after basket of produce from.  Instead it is where real life took over and we had golf ball size hail that shredded and flattened the whole project right down to the last lettuce leaf.  It did rebound a bit over the summer but nothing that was picture worthy.  Google pallet garden and you can see other people who grew successful pallet gardens.  We hope to join their ranks next year.