How to make a raised bed from old pallets Raised beds are much more than the latest gardening trend. They enable food production in places that are not ideally suited. Most importantly, raised beds make gardening tasks easier. Why to choose a raised bed Raised beds are a great solution for anyone who has problems bending over, as they raise the work surface and bring it closer to you. Raised beds are suitable for smaller gardens and areas of land, as they do not take up a lot of space. Raised beds create an airier and more fertile surface, which can be adapted to your chosen seedlings, vegetables and other environment-specific plants. The elevation also provides better sun exposure and protection from pests such as voles. In addition, a raised bed prevents waterlogging. Raised beds can easily be converted into a greenhouse in the autumn or winter, where the heat allows plants to thrive inside the raised bed throughout the year. The transformation into a greenhouse can easily ensure a harvest in the second half of the year too. What should a raised bed made of old pallets look like? Before installing a raised bed, you need to choose the appropriate place for it. A raised bed from old pallets is best placed in an area with a sufficient amount of sunlight. It should also have access to a breeze. The size and shape of a raised bed depends mainly on the space available and your own wishes and needs. Given that you are using old pallets, these need to be suitably protected to ensure they last for as long as possible. We recommend using the colourless Lasur coating, which is dry in 8 to 12 hours under normal conditions (20 °C, 65% relative humidity). For the best possible protection of the wood, apply it to the old pallets at least two or three times on the surface, remembering that each coating can be applied after 24 hours, or when the previous coating is completely dry. The optimal temperature for coating and drying is between 15 and 25 °C. The drying time is a lot longer at lower temperatures, as well as at higher relative humidity. What do you need to install a raised bed from old pallets? To install a raised bed from old pallets, you will need the following: 4 old pallets (or more for a bigger raised bed) Sandpaper or sander Protective foil for the inside of the pallets Protection film against pests or stainless steel mesh Garden fork Screws or nails Drill Brush Lasur Base wood impregnating agent Procedure: When installing a raised bed from old pallets in the garden, first level the ground if uneven, remove the grass turf and loosen the surface with a garden fork, Check that the wood is dry, Sand the surface of the old pallets with sandpaper to clean the wood, Impregnate all sides of the pallet with Base, which preventively protects the wood from blue stain fungi, rot and wood insects. Use biocides safely. Always read the label and product information before use. After applying the impregnating agent, coat the wood of the old pallets with Lasur in 2-3 layers; mix well before use and apply to the wood undiluted with a brush, Drill holes along the sides of the old pallets, which should be positioned at the top, bottom and in the middle; for better stability you can drill additional holes, Use screws or nails to connect the old pallets to each other in a square or rectangle (depending on the size you want), Place a protective net against voles or a stainless steel mesh at the bottom of the raised bed, followed by a protective net above it, which will offer additional protection against pests, On the inside, protect the raised bed with foil, to prevent the wood from collapsing due to direct contact with the ground, After laying the basic structure of the raised bed, you can start filling the layers and then planting your chosen vegetables or plants. Belinka’s additional tip: A wooden element such as an old pallet, which is exposed to the weather and has been coated with Lasur, should be coated with one restorative layer of Lasur one year after the first protection. This will repair any mechanical or weather damage to the coating or damage that occurs in wood (cracks) and micro-cracks on the coating. This significantly extends the service life of the coating and the wood. Check the coating every year and repair any mechanical damage. If the coating deteriorates too much, you can do a complete restoration. Prior to the restoration, the surface of the old wooden pallets must be properly prepared. Lightly sand and dust the wooden surface (180-220 grit sandpaper). The number of layers required for the restoration depends on how worn the surface is. When restoring in time, coat the surface with one layer of Lasur. If the coating has really deteriorated and the wood is already chipped, we recommend sanding the surfaces down to the healthy and solid wood, then coating in the same way as for the first wood protection. The wood surface becomes darker with each restoration or re-coating. To soften the darkening, use a lighter colour tone of Lasur for the restoration or prepare a mix of coloured Lasur with a colourless coating. Installing raised beds is a brilliant way to take advantage of old or discarded pallets, which create something beautiful and also save you money! They also provide you with fresh and home-grown vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices. What an incredible thing to have at your fingertips!
