COOPERATIVE KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY FACT SHEET
Information about the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Program 2020
Making Pallet Gardens
By Dr. Leigh Whittinghill, Assistant Professor of Urban Agriculture
Material
For one horizontal pallet garden, you will need:
1 pallet. Be sure that the wood is safe to use. Refer to Kentucky State University Fact Sheet "What Wood is Safe to Use in My Garden" for more information.
Enough landscape fabric or weed cloth to cover the bottom, sides, and ends of the pallet.
Scissors
A staple gun and staples.
Enough potting mix to fill the pallet. How much you need will depend on the pallet size and how densely you fill the pallet. For one 40 x 48-inch pallet (standard size) you may need up to 5 cubic feet of potting mix.
Plants.
For a vertical pallet garden, you will also need:
Plywood for the back and bottom of the pallet.
You may need a skill saw and saw horses to cut the plywood to fit the pallet.
Screws (look for ones labelled for outdoor use) to secure the plywood to the pallet.
Chicken wire. This is an option for the front of the pallet to help stabilize plants.
Depending on where your vertical pallet garden will be displayed, you may also want brackets or feet to stabilize the pallet and prevent it from falling over.
Instructions
The front of the pallet garden is the side larger side that plants will go in. Opposite this is the bottom in a horizontal and back in a vertical pallet garden. In a vertical pallet garden the top and bottom are the two open smaller edges.
Measure the landscape fabric or weed cloth to fit your pallet. Fabric for the front is optional and should be placed first (A). Fabric for the back should be large enough to cover the bottom with about 1-inch overlap of the sides for a vertical pallet or the front for a horizontal pallet garden (B). Depending on the size of your pallet and the dimension of the landscape fabric, you may need to use two pieces.
should be placed first (A). Fabric for the back should be large enough to cover the bottom with about 1-inch overlap of the sides for a vertical pallet or the front for a horizontal pallet garden (B). Depending on the size of your pallet and the dimension of the landscape fabric, you may need to use two pieces.
Use the staple gun to secure the landscape fabric in place. Make sure to secure the corners and any seams on the back (for a horizontal pallet go to step #7).
Optional: cut chicken wire to fit over the front of the pallet and secure with staples.
Measure the plywood to fit the back and, if desired, the ends (top and bottom) of your pallet (C).