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Thread: waist high garden boxes from pallets

  1. #1
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    Default waist high garden boxes from pallets

    bending to garden is getting harder on us the older we get, DH is 6'6 and he has a long way to go to the ground, lol.
    we want to be able to keep on raising our own food and are planning ahead ways to do so as we age.

    We got alot of free heavy duty pallets and he made waist high garden boxes that he lined with window screen and layers of cardboard to hold the dirt in and allow drainage.

    here are some pics of just built ones and one filled with soil and transplanted strawberries, wow, no more grass and weeds,
    he is always my hero, I luv my vet!
    Last edited by luvmyvet; 03-29-2012 at 10:45 AM. Reason: add a pic

  2. #2
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    Default

    So I'm assuming the bottom slats do not fit tight against each other so as to leave cracks for drainage? Or drill some holes in the bottom for drainage?

  3. #3
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    Apr 2011
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    Could you post more pictures, or pm some pictures to me? Was the cardboard lining used to retain moisture or to block the soil from running out? I also have a bunch of wooden pallets and this looks like a great idea for using them and saving my back.

    Thanks,
    nwalk
    The Bible is the book of God's words. Nature is the book of God's works.

    Sir Francis Bacon

  4. #4
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    Goatlady,

    the pallet slats are pretty tightly spaced, but perfect for drainage so no need to drill holes. The side areas had more space, so we used window screen and recycled soda cartons to line it with and help reduce the amount of soil needed to fill them.

    nwalk, I will add a couple more pics that show how nice they actually look when filled and planted. A crafty person could paint and decorate them..
    Will mention to DH to come along and post the steps he took to make them, he made it look simple, but that's easy to say when I was only watching, lol

    in the background of one of the pics, you can see the water catch system he set up off the side of our old barn to run over to the garden.

    ETA: DH is making other boxes less deep to reduce the amount of soil needed to fill them with. Many things don't need alot of depth to grow, but I wanted a variety of sizes. Just make sure you put them where you want them or build them nearby, they are heavy buggers even unfilled, lol
    and welcome to the Tree, Nwalk!

  5. #5
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    Nov 2007
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    Those are really nice!

    For those of us who need to grow a lot more stuff than we can in planters like that, something like this can help a lot:

    http://www.google.com/products/catal...28684929680259

    Also, something like this can be REALLY handy for picking long rows of beans or peas...
    http://www.amazon.com/Step2-5A0000-G...3815700&sr=8-1

    My son made me a homemade padded "kneeler" out of an old small sled with heavy foam tacked on top. Very simple, very effective. Not quite as good as the bench, as it doesn't have handles to help you climb back up from a kneeling position, but my knees aren't really bad. I often sit on it while picking beans and peas, or weeding wide rows, and "scoot" it along the ground, which saves me getting up and down.

    I've gone to growing tall varieties of peas, but we still prefer bush beans for productivity and the varieties... most of the pole beans seem to be the flat "roma" types. But we use stock panels for the Tall Telephone peas to climb on, and it's SO nice to be able to pick buckets of them standing up!

    Summerthyme
    Last edited by Summerthyme; 04-07-2012 at 11:22 AM.

  6. #6
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    Sep 2008
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    Summerthyme, that first one is just about perfect! I would probably have to pad it more to kneel on. After knee surgery I just don't have the padding there to kneel. Those handles on the sides are perfect for getting back up. I refuse to give up gardening even with the knee and back problems. Here's what I do with larger seeds like squash, corn and beans. I make my trough with a hoe, then use a piece of PVC pipe about 2" in diameter and drop the seeds through. It takes a little longer to drop seeds and move the pipe, but saves my back. I then go back and cover with the hoe.

    gardengal

  7. #7
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    Dec 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by luvmyvet View Post
    bending to garden is getting harder on us the older we get, DH is 6'6 and he has a long way to go to the ground, lol.
    we want to be able to keep on raising our own food and are planning ahead ways to do so as we age.

    We got alot of free heavy duty pallets and he made waist high garden boxes that he lined with window screen and layers of cardboard to hold the dirt in and allow drainage.

    here are some pics of just built ones and one filled with soil and transplanted strawberries, wow, no more grass and weeds,
    he is always my hero, I luv my vet!
    LMV...I did something similar but bigger...I made a 5ft X 10ft X 2 ft high
    raised bed garden and it's wonderful. I have a back injury and I can't lean over too much. This raised bed helps a great deal. I'm thinking of doing another one...all out of pallets and a lot of work. My biggest obstacle was the dirt I used in it. I don't have a truck so I loaded up 3 or 4-5 gal tubs and went every weekend to get dirt and fill up my garden. It took every Sunday, all summer long, and countless tubs of dirt and lots of work later and it was done. I had my first garden last year and considering it was my first one, it turned out great. rosie

  8. #8
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    Oct 2009
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    Mississippi
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    therosary,

    do you have any pics to share?
    would love to see what others do also.

    we talked about making larger ones as the pallets are 12ft, but wanted to see how they turned out. I have a feeling DH has alot of waist high garden boxes in his future, lol
    The one drawback of them is getting the soil, but once they are filled, even over time, the work/expense will be minimal.
    ours are in the back area of the garden nearest the compost bins...

  9. #9
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    Sep 2008
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    Iowa
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    Quote Originally Posted by luvmyvet View Post
    Goatlady,

    the pallet slats are pretty tightly spaced, but perfect for drainage so no need to drill holes. The side areas had more space, so we used window screen and recycled soda cartons to line it with and help reduce the amount of soil needed to fill them.

    nwalk, I will add a couple more pics that show how nice they actually look when filled and planted. A crafty person could paint and decorate them..
    Will mention to DH to come along and post the steps he took to make them, he made it look simple, but that's easy to say when I was only watching, lol

    in the background of one of the pics, you can see the water catch system he set up off the side of our old barn to run over to the garden.

    ETA: DH is making other boxes less deep to reduce the amount of soil needed to fill them with. Many things don't need alot of depth to grow, but I wanted a variety of sizes. Just make sure you put them where you want them or build them nearby, they are heavy buggers even unfilled, lol
    and welcome to the Tree, Nwalk!



    • “I am not afraid, because I was born to do this."

      Joan of Arc
    Mark 8:38 - Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Iowa
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    37,660

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    Quote Originally Posted by Summerthyme View Post
    Those are really nice!

    For those of us who need to grow a lot more stuff than we can in planters like that, something like this can help a lot:

    http://www.google.com/products/catal...28684929680259

    Also, something like this can be REALLY handy for picking long rows of beans or peas...
    http://www.amazon.com/Step2-5A0000-G...3815700&sr=8-1

    My son made me a homemade padded "kneeler" out of an old small sled with heavy foam tacked on top. Very simple, very effective. Not quite as good as the bench, as it doesn't have handles to help you climb back up from a kneeling position, but my knees aren't really bad. I often sit on it while picking beans and peas, or weeding wide rows, and "scoot" it along the ground, which saves me getting up and down.

    I've gone to growing tall varieties of peas, but we still prefer bush beans for productivity and the varieties... most of the pole beans seem to be the flat "roma" types. But we use stock panels for the Tall Telephone peas to climb on, and it's SO nice to be able to pick buckets of them standing up!

    Summerthyme
    I raise bluelake pole and bush beans and kentucky wonder pole and bush beans, neither of them are flat pods. Do these not grow well in your area?

    K-
    Last edited by Summerthyme; 04-07-2012 at 11:22 AM.
    • “I am not afraid, because I was born to do this."

      Joan of Arc
    Mark 8:38 - Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

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