You can build a stable raised bed from four standard Euro or transport pallets in no time at all, which you will enjoy for years to come. What's special: If you add soil to the individual layers between the inside and outside of the pallet, you can plant strawberries and herbs in there. So you not only use the actual bed, but also the vertical side walls.

A raised bed made of pallets is stable and inexpensive

What you need to build a pallet raised bed

Of course, for a raised bed with a floor area of approx. 1.5 square meters, you should first get four Euro pallets (€29.99). You can buy these cheaply in specialist shops or on the Internet, or ask various companies and forwarding agents whether they have any to sell. You will also need several narrow boards that you can saw or have sawed to size as floors for the plant boxes in the side walls.

Other materials and tools:

  • Wire grid (150 x 200 centimeters, maximum mesh size 12 millimeters)
  • Pond or bubble foil (sufficient for both the plant boxes and the bed)
  • Weed protection fleece (optional)
  • cordless screwdriver
  • Spax screws (12 each for the raised bed with 40 and 12 millimeters, 4 short per plant bed)
  • 12 metal angles
  • Wire pliers, tacker and matching staples
  • gloves

Of course, you can also use normal screws instead of Spax screws, but then you will need a drill (€97.00) to drill the screw holes. Spax screws have the advantage that they are self-tapping and therefore no pre-drilling is necessary.

Building instructions for a raised bed made of Euro pallets

First of all, you build the plant boxes by inserting the boards that have been sawn to fit as floors in the side parts. You need six short and narrow boards per pallet. Then line the resulting plant boxes with pond liner so that the earth filling does not come into contact with the wood later - otherwise rot will result. Once that's done, you can start building the actual raised bed:

  • First place two pallets against each other at right angles.
  • Connect with three metal brackets.
  • One each goes down, in the middle and up.
  • The long Spax screws go into the thick end pieces,
  • in the thin boards the shorter ones.
  • Build a box out of four Euro pallets in the manner described.
  • To do this, climb into the inside of the bed to be able to attach the lower brackets.

Finally, staple pond or bubble wrap to the pallet wall on the inside of the raised bed. The bottom of the raised bed is covered with wire mesh (€14.99) so that vermin such as voles cannot get in. Place the bed on a weed-free, level surface, which you can seal with a weed fleece to prevent weeds from penetrating.

This is how the pallet raised bed is filled and planted

Fill the plant boxes on the sides with potting soil, potting soil or herb soil, depending on which plant species you want in there. The raised bed itself is traditionally filled with a mixture of coarse and fine organic material. As the bottom layer, coarse material such as hedge and shrub cuttings, branches and still green harvest residues (e.g. from cleared summer flowers, perennial stalks) go into the raised bed. The material must be firmly trampled before you finally fill in about 20 to 30 centimeters of raw compost, sod and chopped material. The top layer is fine, mature and well-rotted compost mixed with garden or potting soil.

Plant side walls of the pallet raised bed

The plant boxes on the side walls add up to around four square meters - plenty of space to plant herbs, for example. Please note that the different herbs have completely different requirements in terms of location and substrate. Mediterranean herbs such as oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme need a dry, lean substrate and a sunny spot - they are therefore better planted in potting soil mixed with sand or herb soil in the upper boxes. Nutrient-rich soil, on the other hand, requires many kitchen classics such as parsley, chives or lovage. Furthermore, the plant boxes are ideal for growing exotic plants such as coriander and Thai basil or herbs such as nasturtium, watercress, sorrel, wild rocket / rocket etc.

How to plant the pallet raised bed

As in every raised bed, heavy-feeding plants come into the pallet raised bed in the first year, then medium-feeders in the second year and finally weak-feeders in the third year. This order has to do with the fact that the nutrient content of the inner layers decreases from year to year - and usually has to be replaced after three to four years anyway. So that you can also use the space in the raised bed effectively, you should always combine plants with different growth forms. In addition to lettuce, which tends to grow more widely, there is a row of kohlrabi that is striving for height, as well as one or two rows of carrots and a row of one or two zucchini or pumpkins and bush beans. It is best to place climbing plants directly at the edge, then they can climb down the side walls - but of course they should not get in the way of any side planting.

tips

If you cover the raised bed (e.g. with a construction made of squared timber and a covering with transparent film or plexiglass), it can even be used as a cold frame or mini greenhouse. A roof also makes sense if you are cultivating tomatoes and want to protect them from the dreaded late blight.

Category:

Vegetable garden