Beautiful, Practical Pallet Raised Garden Bed

Gardening is great, but it can be a pain in the… back! Heck with that lower back pain! Make this Pallet Raised Garden Bed instead! It’s an attractive and practical addition to your backyard.

My Pallet Raised Garden Bed – Supplies Needed:

• five pallets of identical size
• ten door hinges
• five 2 x 6″ boards s of sufficient size to match pallet length
• fifteen cinder blocks (or other rot-resistant material to set as the base under pallets)
• ten 1 x 4″s of sufficient size to fill in the sides of the pallets
• two shower curtain liners
• adhesive caulk for outdoor projects
• stain and spar varnish
• rotten logs, manure, compost, or whatever material of choice to fill the garden bed with soil

My Pallet Raised Garden Bed – Prep:

• Step 1: Cut the pallets in half (well, mostly), leaving the middle beam of the pallets intact.
• Step 2: Take the top pieces of wood from the pallets off. Nail or screw them back into place on the half pallets with the remaining middle beam on it so that the pieces are touching and there is a solid surface.
• Step 3: Cut the 1 x 4s to a sufficient size to close off the open ends of the pallets. Nail or screw them in place.
• Step 4: Stain the finished half pallets and 2 x 6s.
• Step 5: Prepare the location – level the ground where the cinder blocks will be placed. Cinder blocks, or whatever material used, should be the same length as the pallets that will be placed on top of them. Place cinder blocks.

My Pallet Raised Garden Bed – Let’s Get Building:

• Step 6: Place stained half pallets on top of cinder blocks. Secure to cinder blocks using caulk. Secure half pallets to each other using hinges.
• Step 7: Cut shower curtain liners to a size that will hang from the top of the pallets and drape down over the inside of the pallets to the ground. Fasten to the tops of the pallets using nails, screws, staples, and/or caulk. (I used the shower curtains to prevent the garden soil coming into contact with the pallets and slowly to rot them.)
• Step 8: Fasten the 2 x 6s onto the tops of the pallets, covering the shower curtain.
• Step 9: Fill the garden bed with soil.

My Pallet Raised Garden Bed – Final  Thoughts:

I got the cinder blocks for free off of an ad on Craigslist. Additionally, I got the compost to fill the garden with for free from a lawn and leaf collection facility nearby. I would recommend ReStore for hinges because they sell for about a quarter each there in my local area. It took two shower curtain liners, which I picked up for $1 each at the Dollar Tree. I completed the entire project for under twenty dollars, and you can too if you’re resourceful.

**Editor’s note – for garden projects, it is recommended to use food-safe plastics to prevent leeching of chemicals into the garden bedding. Ensure any chemicals (such as sealants) are either indirect-food safe or aren’t used in direct contact with your bedding material to prevent chemical leaching.