Published on 20 April 2020

Make a pallet planter for small spaces

DIY pallet planter boxes are all the rage. If you have some pallets lying around on your property, turn them into Pallet Planters, make use of them and add a unique look to your yard or garden.

Follow this guide and make your very own.

Getting started

All pallets are different so when you get a pallet stand back, take a look at it, and see what might work best for making it into a pallet garden bed. Alternatively figure out what kind of pallet bed you want and go out and search for the right kind of pallet.

Look for Heat Treated Pallets (they have HT written on them somewhere), these have not been chemically treated so they will not leach nasties into your garden. Best to ask businesses before you take pallets, unless they have a sign up saying free pallets. Breweries, industrial areas (Seaview/Petone), Plumbing world, Common Sense Organics are all good spots.

Linings you can use hessian sacks, which some coffee companies are happy to give away, or once again breweries have large plastic bags. OR you can buy weed-mat.

Safety

Wear covered, sturdy shoes, preferably steel caps. Eye protection (sunnies will do) and ear muffs or plugs, gloves to protect from splinters.

Don’t leave planks of wood with nails in them lying with the nail side up.

Move slowly, especially when working with another person and let them know if you are going to be doing anything noisy.

How to make a planter box

Step one: Remove the middle plank, using your crow bar

Tip: Remember the crow bar works best when you give it leverage, so if you are struggling put an extra piece of wood under the crow bar to help with leverage.

Step two: De-nail the middle plank you removed

Tip: Hold the hammer further up the handles for power and closer to the head for better control. If you bend you nail you can straighten it with the fork in the hammer.

Step three: Measure your pallet to find the centre, and mark the line where you want to cut your pallet in half.

Step four: Cut your pallet planter in half. It should look like this

Step five: Cut your removed plank in half/ish and attach the halves to the inside of the planter box, so there is no gap at either end.

Tip: If using screws, you can put them half way in before you then attach them to the inside, which makes it a little easier. Don’t forget to apply pressure to screw driver

Step six: Remove some planks from your second pallet.

Tip: if you want to make a planter box out of your second pallet then best to remove the middle ones again. Also easier to remove as you can use the planks either side as leverage. fork in the hammer.

Step seven: Measure the gap at the bottom of your planter box and cut your spare planks into the correct size to fill the gaps.

Tip 1: Once you have cut to the correct size, use this to measure the rest (see pic).

Tip 2: it is good to leave some gaps in the bottom for drainage.

Step eight: Attach planks to the bottom of your planter box with a screw driver or hammer.

Tip: If attaching width ways, use a screw at opposite ends and opposite corners of the planks

Step nine: Cut your hessian sacks or plastic bags and attach them with a staple gun.

Step ten: Stand back and admire your new planter box. Fill her up with compost/soil etc and plant some edibles.