Pallet Gardening

My loofa is still growing

 My garden is finally starting to show some reward for all my hard work. My lettuce is almost ready to eat, my spinach is starting to actually look like spinach, my carrots are making progress, my mystery squash has quadrupled in size, and my tiny broccoli is finally in the ground.

I got a request on Instagram to explain how I used wood pallets to create a raised bed garden, so I thought I would share a little about what I did and how it's working. It was really easy and has worked out great! I first cleared the ground of weeds and smoothed out the existing dirt to create a level surface. I then arranged the pallets and filled them with a 50/50 mix of compost and top soil. I filled the pallets by pouring the mixture onto the pallet and then raking the excess into the spaces with a shovel. I lightly plugged the ends with wood pieces and bricks to keep the dirt from washing away. I used one pallet to plant lettuce and spinach and the other to plant carrots. It worked well because it created perfect rows and the surrounding wood seems to add some protection and weed control.

I ended up using the space between the pallets to plant my garlic and squash, and the space on either side to plant my broccoli. I also laid pine chips on the ground where I did not plant to provide drainage so there is plenty of room to walk around the garden without getting my feet in the mud.
Now I just can't wait until my carrots are ready to harvest.

 See my other garden posts here