13. Wooden Pallet Herb Garden Planter
What This Idea Means
Wooden shipping pallets are abundant and frequently discarded by local stores. Repurposing a wooden pallet into a lean-to vertical herb garden organizes culinary herbs into neat tiered rows while using minimal floor space on balconies or patios.
Needs to Make This
- Clean, untreated wooden shipping pallet (look for HT stamp: Heat Treated)
- Landscape fabric / weed barrier fabric
- Heavy-duty staple gun and staples
- Sandpaper and outdoor wood sealer
- Quality potting soil and vegetable/herb starts
How to Make It
- Sand down all rough outer surfaces of the wooden pallet to prevent splinters.
- Seal the back, bottom, and sides of each shelf tier using heavy-duty landscape fabric, stapling it every inch to form sturdy containment troughs.
- Apply a coat of non-toxic outdoor wood sealer to protect the pallet from weather exposure.
- Lean the pallet against a sunlit wall or secure it upright with brackets.
- Fill each fabric trough with rich potting soil and plant your favorite culinary herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil.
Tips and Variations
- Aesthetic Tip: Use white chalkboard paint on the front slats of each tier to write out the names of the herbs in hand lettering.
- Variation: Use the pallet as an indoor vertical display for small potted trailing plants like pothos and philodendrons.