How to Make a Pallet Herb Planter

Have you ever wondered what to do with your leftover pallet after a delivery? Most households will have a spare pallet kicking around in their garden or garage, but have no idea what to do with it.

We have teamed up with Instagram page Plot33E who has the perfect idea! With the rise of Grow-Your-Own and upcycling, we have compiled a How-to guide on making your very own Herb Planter! 

What You'll Need

  • 1 Pallet
  • Spare Wood (ideally a spare pallet)
  • 20kg bag of Quality Soil
  • 18 x Galvanised Nails (approx. 1 inch)
  • Weed Membrane
  • Stapler
  • Hand Saw
  • Hammer
  • Herbs/Flowers
  • Trowel
  • Strong Scissors

Step 1 - Prep your Pallet

Brush down your pallet and sand down if desired to remove any debris or markings. Stand your pallet up and work out which way you'd like it to stand. Find the best place for it to stand in the garden (you'll want a spot that gets plenty of sunlight). 

Step 2 - Measure Up

Measure the gaps on the underside of the wood, where your herbs will be planted. In this example, the gap was 10cm in width. You'll need to ensure the spare wood you have measures 10cm wide to ensure there are no gaps and it has a seamless finish. You'll also need to measure the width of the pallet and cut down the spare wood as needed. 

Step 3 - Nail It

Flip the pallet around so it is standing 'upside down' to make hammering the nails in easier. Begin gently hammering in the nails so you're joining each part of the wood. There should be three parts you're hammering into, in this example they hammered a total of 6 nails in per part. 

Step 4 - Check It

Flip the pallet over once you have hammered all three pieces of wood to the underside of where you'll be planting. Ensure you are happy with the sturdiness of the herb planter and there are no gaps between the wood. 

Step 5 - Staple It

Take your weed membrane and size it up against the gaps you'll be planting in. Roughly cut the fabric down to size so you're not working with too much material. Hold the fabric firmly against the inside wood and staple the fabric as tightly as you can. This step can be tricky so you'll likely need plenty of spare staples! Once you've stapled each part, cut away the excess fabric so there isn't any overhanging the edges. You can hammer a coupld of nails per compartment for extra grip.  

Step 6 - Add Soil 

You're now ready to start adding the soil to your herb planter! Take a small trowel and slowly half fill each compartment with soil. Water the soil if it's dry to prepare for planting your herbs.

Step 7 - Get Planting!

This is the more rewarding part - adding your plants! Before you plant each herb, be sure to check which herbs like more or less sun. The herbs that like partial sun should be planted towards the bottom and the herbs that like full sun should be planted at the top. Once each herb is planted, ensure you top them off with some extra soil to ensure they are well-established. 

Step 8 - Get Labelling

You'll need some sort of label for your herb planter so you don't forget which herb is which, and it just adds that finishing touch! In this example, they have bought small chalk boards and a liquid chalk pen from Amazon to write the herb names and attach to the wood. You could also paint each part of the wood black and then write/paint the names on in white.  

Step 9 - ENJOY!

All that's left to do is enjoy your homemade Herb Planter! As an optional safety measure, you can always secure your planter to a wall, but this isn't necessary.

We'd love to see your finished Herb Planter! Make sure you tag @stonezoneandlandscapingcentre in your Facebook posts so we can see!