Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:28 pm
Raised beds have been the trend among home and hobby gardeners for some time. They are easy on the back and look good. We answer the most important questions and show how you can easily build a raised bed from pallets in five steps.
Raised beds allow you to grow your own fruit, vegetables or herbs. To realize the dream of your own harvest, it takes only five steps:
- Glaze wood
- Stack pallets
- Attach wire netting
- Attach protective foil
- Filling the raised bed
Raised beds have several advantages over ground beds:
They allow gardening at a comfortable height.
They are independent of the soil quality and can therefore also be placed on the balcony or in your own garden.
Raised beds are much more productive due to their structure.
Above all, it is a great project to build a raised bed from pallets.
Raised garden bed made of pallets – what to consider before building
The very first thing to consider is how you want the pallet raised bed to look. We want to build a classic raised bed from wooden pallets. How to build other alternatives from aluminum, stone or stacking boxes yourself, you can learn here.
To build a raised bed from pallets, you will need the following materials:
- One Euro pallet (120 cm x 80 cm).
- Four pallets (120 cm x 80 cm)
- Wood stain and brush
- Pond liner or bubble wrap
- Closely woven wire mesh against rodents
- A hand tacker
Before you start building, there are a few things to consider when choosing a location. First, the bed should be straight and have the short ends facing north and south. This way, the plants will get more sun throughout the day and won’t cover each other. Also, the raised bed made of pallets should not be exposed to direct midday sun, otherwise the plants may die. If you only have a full-sun location available, you should at least provide sufficient shade over the midday period. A conventional parasol or similar is suitable for this purpose.
Raised bed from pallets in five steps
- wood stain
To protect the wood from moisture, brush the pallets with wood stain. This will prevent the material from rotting and make it last longer. - stacking pallets
Before stacking the top pallets, you must first place the Euro pallet with the short sides to the north and south. The europallet serves as an elevation for the raised bed. Alternatively, stone slabs can be placed under the tops. This makes it harder for pests to get to the plants and the bed lasts longer. The pallets are then stacked flush on top of the raised bed. - attach wire mesh
To protect the raised bed from rodents, moles and co., a close-meshed wire mesh is attached to the bottom. This is stapled to the Euro pallet and the lowest top pallet or fastened with wire staples. Cut off the protruding pieces. - attach foil
To keep water in the raised bed and still protect the wood from weathering, line the insides with pond liner or bubble wrap. Bubble wrap provides additional drainage as it drains away excess water. However, a conventional pond liner will also suffice for raised beds.
After application, cut off the protruding remnants. The film should then be flush with the pallets.
- fill raised bed
To avoid wasting gallons of expensive plant soil, the raised bed is filled in the style of mound culture. This reduces costs and increases efficiency.
The layered structure accelerates the decomposition process and the raised bed fertilizes itself. In addition, the decomposition generates heat, which promotes the growth of plants.
The bottom layer consists of twigs, brushwood and small branches.
On top of these are leaves, grass clippings or turned sod.
This is followed by coarse compost and garden soil.
The top layer is filled with plant soil and mature compost.
The finished raised bed from pallets is now ready to be planted. How to do this, as well as many other tips on the subject of raised beds, you can read here.
Whether made of wood, stone or metal and plastic – gardening in a raised bed is fun. Thanks to its back-friendly height, it is also suitable for almost every hobby gardener.