|
|
Post by salixisme on Apr 24, 2014 17:27:48 GMT -5
we are planning on building some raised beds to do square foot gardening this year - the aim is to be able to grow as much as we can as economically as we can. So to save money on the raised beds themselves, we picked up 2 loads of pallets that were being given away free on Kijiji...  2 loads netted us a total of 30 of these, most of which have useable timber. And they only cost us around $5 in gas. |
|
frecs
Junior Member
Posts: 80 
|
Post by frecs on Apr 25, 2014 9:16:41 GMT -5
That's some nice looking wood! Pallets I find around here don't look nearly so good! You scored!
|
|
|
|
Post by victoriap on Apr 25, 2014 12:37:26 GMT -5
A great book is Lasagna Gardening......I think it is similar to square foot gardening.
|
|
frecs
Junior Member
Posts: 80
|
Post by frecs on Apr 28, 2014 7:01:51 GMT -5
A great book is Lasagna Gardening......I think it is similar to square foot gardening. Similar but different. The focus of square foot gardening is close planting to optimize what you can grow in a given space and to reduce weed growth. The focus of lasagna gardening is deep mulching an area (basically composting in the garden bed) and, after letting it age, planting into the deep mulch. It is also a "no till" method of gardening. If you have the time to do so, you just build your compost pile in your raised bed, let it age for a season and then plant as usual. |
|
|
|
Post by Carolyn on Apr 28, 2014 14:31:08 GMT -5
Great find! I don't think pallet wood is treated with any chemicals, but be careful if it is, you don't want that stuff leaching into the soil.
Leaf lettuce and carrots are probably great square foot gardening plants as they don't take up too much room.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
|
|
|
|
Post by Erin on Apr 28, 2014 21:21:17 GMT -5
Great find! I don't think pallet wood is treated with any chemicals, but be careful if it is, you don't want that stuff leaching into the soil. I read that pallets are sometimes, if not often, fumigated with Methyl Bromide. That's why I haven't built those cute pallet gardens with the pallets I have... :/ Here is a good post to help determine if your pallets are treated or not... www.instructables.com/id/How-to-determine-if-a-wood-pallet-is-safe-for-use/ |
|
|
|
Post by salixisme on Apr 29, 2014 15:46:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the link Erin. All of these are single-use pallets. I checked and they have not been fumigated with the methyl bromide, so I am feeling fairly happy to use them.
|
|
Stell
Junior Member
Cooking? Again? Didn't I just do that?
Posts: 54
|
Post by Stell on Apr 30, 2014 8:26:24 GMT -5
I turned my front flower bed (in actuality: giant weed patch and hideous eyesore) into a square foot vegetable garden last year, supplementing with straw bale gardening along the drip line of the house. Worked fabulously.
Right now (while I wait for it to not be so cold all the time, and for the rain to stop) I'm working on making self-mulching seed mats that will let me plant and newsprint-mulch the entire 4-ft bed all at once. A roll of newsprint, some Elmer's white glue, and a package of cheap paper napkins!
|
|
