Easily Grow Strawberries, Lettuce, and More Using Pallets

Pallet gardening is a low-maintenance and affordable way to grow more strawberries, lettuce, and more using pallets. Using pallets lets you grow more in a few feet of space. Pallets are fantastic choices for those who live in apartments or have limited gardening spaces.

Sounds awesome? It really is! You can find pallets for free or super-cheap all over the place. Using a pallet requires less dirt than a typical garden bed, so you’re saving money there as well. I don’t know about you, but all of these are appealing qualities!

Why Should You Use Pallets for Gardening?

A quick scroll through Pinterest yields hundreds of articles talking about different uses for pallets. Pallets are all the rage right now. You’re probably wondering why you should use pallets for gardening.

For me, the top reason is that pallets make weeding easier. Really, it is! You just need to keep the weeds at bay around the plants, but you may not have to weed at all depending on what plants you use.
I also love that pallets make spacing your plants much easier. You can’t overcrowd the rows because they’re spaced out with the boards! That makes maintenance, watering, and harvesting much easier.
Pallets increase air circulation. Air helps to loosen the soil and encourages better growth. If your plants are too overcrowded, they won’t grow to their maximum potential. The natural spacing is ideal.
You can grow more in a small space with pallets. Whenever you take advantage of your vertical space, you’re growing more than you would have otherwise. That’s why pallets are great for urban dwellers or those with small spaces. Who doesn’t want to grow more veggies and strawberries? I know I do!
Pallets rock for succession planting. Never heard of succession planting? Let me tell you; it’s a key to growing more veggies than you ever thought possible! The idea is simple. You plant a row or two of veggies each week rather than all at one time. For example, you plant a row of lettuce each week. The first row will become ready for harvest sooner, and you eat that row first. Then, you clear it out and plant new and move onto your next row to eat. It’s a way to plant and harvest throughout your entire growing season.

Pallets make it so much easier to remember where your last row of veggies was planted for succession planting! It’s easy to forget otherwise.

What Plants Grow Well in Pallets?

Not all plants are candidates for pallets, so pick wisely. Otherwise, you won’t have much of a harvest. The ideal plant will be small with bushy habits, grow vertically, and doesn’t take up much root space. It’s even better if you pick varieties that are typically resistant to pests and odors.

Here are some great plants for you to grow in pallets:

Strawberries
Lettuce – all varieties
Spinach
All Herbs
Tomatoes – Compact versions. If you have the pallet vertical, you’ll need to plant in the top section because they’re so tall
Peppers – You’ll need to plant in the top section if vertical
Cucumbers – If you opt for trailing cucumbers, make sure you plant on the bottom section if vertical
Zucchini – Plant on the bottom row so the zucchini can trail outwards
Peas – Need to be planted on the bottom row as well
Green Beans – Pick the compact, bush varieties
Cabbage – Compact varieties

Most root crops, like carrots and onions, won’t do well in pallets. They aren’t deep enough to give the root crops place to spread out unless you pick miniature versions of the root crops. I suggest not using pallets for those types of veggies. The only root crop that might work well for pallets is radishes!

Tip: pick determinate tomato plants. They’re more compact and will produce better for you in pallets.

Pick the Right Type of Pallets

The most important thing is to use the right type of pallet. Any shipping pallet should work for this project, but you want to avoid pressure-treated wood. Those chemicals that treat the pallets might damage your plants.

You don’t want to take all that time to prepare the planter and plant your veggies, only to have them die because of the chemicals. Not cool!

Plus, you’re going to eat the strawberries, lettuce, and whatever else you grow in the pallets. Who wants to eat veggies that soaked up chemicals from who knows what? You don’t want that!

Now, you can purchase new pallets. You might be able to call your local lumber stores to ask. Most new pallets cost around $9 to $10.

You can live on the wild side and see what you find outside of local stores. Hoping for the best works sometimes!

Living on the edge may not be your thing, so here are some tips for getting the right pallet for your garden.

Look for pallets that have HT stamped on the pallet. HT stands for heat treated rather than pressure-treated with chemicals. It’ll usually have HT and several numbers stamped on one of the sides.
Don’t assume your pallet didn’t come in contact with unsafe chemicals, even if it heat-treated. It’s a good idea to scrub down the pallet with some hot water and bleach or hot water and vinegar. Allow the pallets to fully dry before planting anything in them.
Remove any rusty nails or staples.

Preparing The Pallets for Planting

The first thing you should do after you find the right pallets is to measure the pallets. Then, cut a rectangle of landscaping fabric to cover the bottom and back of the pallet. All you have to do is staple the fabric in place with a staple gun. Don’t skimp on the staples because this fabric has to hold in a lot of soil.

You should also cut a heavy piece of plastic and staple it to the back and bottom of the pallet. Doing so helps to keep soil that wants to leak out of the pallet from staining your house or fence.

Once the plastic and fabric are in place, place the pallet on the ground or a table. In a bucket or wheelbarrow, mix fertilizer and good-quality potting soil together. You can also add compost if you prefer. Then, fill the pallet with your soil mixture. Tap on the pallet or shake it a bit to help the soil settle evenly.

You’re ready to start planting!

Read your seed packet or the information on each plant to see how far they should be placed from one another. Some plants only need a few inches, while others do need several inches or a foot between each one.

Plant your strawberries, lettuce, or whatever else you decide to grow into the soil inside of the pallets. It’s a smart idea to keep the pallet on the ground for at least a week or two, even if you plan to hang it vertically. You want to make sure the roots are firmly attached to the soil before make it hang vertically. Otherwise, the plants could come out!

Picking the Perfect Placement for Your Pallet Garden

Pallet gardens become more than just a garden container. It can be a focal part of your patio! They serve as decoration and a functional piece of your outdoor decor.

The most common place to put a pallet garden is against the wall of your house. That can be a great location for it, but you can also try leaning the pallet against your fence.

Either way, make sure that spot you pick gets plenty of sunlight. All plants need some sort of sunlight to grow!

It’s a good idea to secure the pallet to the wall of your house with brackets. Otherwise, a bad storm or a strong gust of wind could knock down all of your hard work.

You don’t have to place the pallets vertically. Pallets work just like regular raised beds that you can lay horizontally on the ground.

Can You Grow Root Crops in Pallets?

For the most part, gardeners typically don’t grow root crops in pallets, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do so. If you want to grow root crops, cover the ground under your pallets with cardboard or newspaper to help kill the grass a few days before planting.

Then, lay the pallets horizontally on the ground and fill with garden soil, just as you would planting something else.

At first, you want to pick smaller root crops to give the grass time to die. You can try some smaller radishes or mini-carrots. Next time you plant, you can grow a normally sized root crop. The only troubles you might have is that you may have to remove the pallet to harvest because some root crops are large and won’t come up in the open space between pallet boards.

Taking Care of Your Pallet Garden

Maintaining your pallet garden is pretty easy! You need to water often because the water does drain out easily. If wind knocks out too much potting soil, you’ll need to fill it in. Check for weeds and pull as needed, but you won’t have to spend hours on weeding with pallets!

Fertilizing pallet gardens can be tricky because you can’t access all of the soil. It’s best to use liquid-based fertilizers. You can even make your own compost tea to fertilize your veggie plants! Fertilize once or twice throughout your growing season.

Pallet Gardens Let You Grow More

Pallet gardens are more than just a cool trend on Pinterest. They’re a functional, practical method to using what is cheap to grow more food. Urban homesteaders and gardeners love pallets, especially those with limited space.

Putting together pallets for gardening is so easy! It takes about 30 minutes of work to cut and staple the landscaping fabric and plastic. That’s it! They are easier than raised beds. Having a productive garden that doesn’t take hours is a dream!

Have you ever tried pallets to grow strawberries, lettuce, and other plants? Let us know of your experiences in the comments!