Show Me Your Pallet Projects!

[gtaus]

No problem! I know the drawing is a bit small inside the post. Maybe I'll make the post width a bit bigger.

I'll be updating the photos in the blog post when I put flowers in it. Very excited for that.

Or, maybe if you update the post, you could add the 30° angle cuts (both on the 2x4's and the end planks) as text in that section of the narrative. Then you would have that detail covered twice and an old guy like me is bound to notice it at least once!

BTW, I especially liked that collage of pictures of the project at the bottom of the post. Did you use any particular program to make it? I would like to add that skill to my toolbox if possible. That collage is really nice...

Again, that is a professional looking blog post and instructional on how you built your old-fashioned well planter. I hope others will take advantage of your excellent instructional and build one for themselves. Thanks.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Or, maybe if you update the post, you could add the 30° angle cuts (both on the 2x4's and the end planks) as text in that section of the narrative. Then you would have that detail covered twice and an old guy like me is bound to notice it at least once!

View attachment 3803797

BTW, I especially liked that collage of pictures of the project at the bottom of the post. Did you use any particular program to make it? I would like to add that skill to my toolbox if possible. That collage is really nice...

View attachment 3803812

Again, that is a professional looking blog post and instructional on how you built your old-fashioned well planter. I hope others will take advantage of your excellent instructional and build one for themselves. Thanks.

Sure, I can add that right now! I made the collage template myself in Affinity Photo. I can recommend Affinity. I made my logo in Affinity Designer.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Or, maybe if you update the post, you could add the 30° angle cuts (both on the 2x4's and the end planks) as text in that section of the narrative. Then you would have that detail covered twice and an old guy like me is bound to notice it at least once!

Okay, it has been updated! I also added a few more details. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[gtaus]

Sure, I can add that right now! I made the collage template myself in Affinity Photo. I can recommend Affinity. I made my logo in Affinity Designer.

I will check that out. Thanks.

Okay, it has been updated! I also added a few more details. Thanks for the suggestion!

Very nice update. I think it's even better with the new additions. Love to see someone who can put together such a great presentation and is open to suggestions from others as well.

 

[gtaus]

Just found a couple packs of pole beans leftover from last year. Turning over a few ideas in my head what to do with them.

A few years ago, I tried growing some pole beans alongside my chicken run fencing. I just dug/tilled a small furrow alongside the fencing and planted my beans. They did OK, but nothing great. Mainly got crowded out by lawn grass creeping into the beans. I think a big part of my problem is that my native lakeside soil is just too sandy for good plant growth.

Last year I did not even plant any pole beans.

I am stuck inside today because it's raining outside. I got my first idea on this potential project from a question I put into the Google search and got this result...

Since I found a couple of unopened packs of pole bean seeds today, I'm thinking maybe I could build 16-inch high, 4-foot long, 6-inch narrow raised beds alongside my chicken run fencing. I would fill the bottom half of the pole bean raised beds with hügelkultur wood and top it off with my mix to topsoil and chicken run compost mixed 1:1.

I am thinking that 16 inches off the ground - on the outside of the chicken run - would be high enough that the chickens would not reach into the raised beds and pluck out the seedlings as they start to grow. Starting off with quality topsoil and compost in the raised bed should be much better than my native lakeside sandy soil in the ground. Also, I would not have much of a problem with lawn grass and weeds creeping into the pole bean raised beds. I think I might have better success with the narrow raised beds idea.

Found a google picture of something close to my idea. Just imagine some 4-foot-long narrow raised pole bean raised beds alongside the chicken run fencing...

Of course, I am saying 4-foot-long because that makes it easy for me to use the pallet wood 2X4's. Each raised bed section could be placed end to end for 8, 12, or 16 feet in total length. I would still use the basic design of my 4X4 foot 16-inch-high pallet wood raised bed v2.0. It would just be only 6-inches wide.

And, if the pole bean raised beds alongside the chicken run fencings does not work out, I could easily take it apart and convert it back to my standard 4X4 foot raised bed design.

Picture of my standard 4X4 foot 16 inch high pallet wood raised bed v2.0 design...

Well, I am not fixed on the notion of only a 6-inch-wide raised bed alongside the fencing. I could go 1-foot-wide or even 2-foot-wide, planting beans along the fence side but planting other non-vining crops in the rest of the raised bed.

If anyone has used their chicken run fencing as a trellis, please let me know what worked for you, or not. Thanks for any suggestions and/or feedback.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I have finally put together a post about how I built my pallet old-fashioned well planter! Here is the link for anyone interested: https://rusticrobinworkshop.blogspot.com/2024/04/old-fashioned-well-planter.html

@ChicksnMore @fuzzi

Wonderful tutorial! I tried to comment on your page but it wanted more computer skills than I have

Thank you so much for sharing

 

[ChicksnMore]

Thanks so much! Yes, the angle is 30° - I noted this in the drawing. The 2x4s were cut with the miter saw and the pallet slats at each end also have a 30° bevel cut with the table saw.

Miter saw I have but no table saw. Could it be built without that 30° on the slats and still be stable?

 

[ChicksnMore]

Just found a couple packs of pole beans leftover from last year. Turning over a few ideas in my head what to do with them.

A few years ago, I tried growing some pole beans alongside my chicken run fencing. I just dug/tilled a small furrow alongside the fencing and planted my beans. They did OK, but nothing great. Mainly got crowded out by lawn grass creeping into the beans. I think a big part of my problem is that my native lakeside soil is just too sandy for good plant growth.

Last year I did not even plant any pole beans.

I am stuck inside today because it's raining outside. I got my first idea on this potential project from a question I put into the Google search and got this result...

View attachment 3803955

Since I found a couple of unopened packs of pole bean seeds today, I'm thinking maybe I could build 16-inch high, 4-foot long, 6-inch narrow raised beds alongside my chicken run fencing. I would fill the bottom half of the pole bean raised beds with hügelkultur wood and top it off with my mix to topsoil and chicken run compost mixed 1:1.

I am thinking that 16 inches off the ground - on the outside of the chicken run - would be high enough that the chickens would not reach into the raised beds and pluck out the seedlings as they start to grow. Starting off with quality topsoil and compost in the raised bed should be much better than my native lakeside sandy soil in the ground. Also, I would not have much of a problem with lawn grass and weeds creeping into the pole bean raised beds. I think I might have better success with the narrow raised beds idea.

Found a google picture of something close to my idea. Just imagine some 4-foot-long narrow raised pole bean raised beds alongside the chicken run fencing...

View attachment 3803977

Of course, I am saying 4-foot-long because that makes it easy for me to use the pallet wood 2X4's. Each raised bed section could be placed end to end for 8, 12, or 16 feet in total length. I would still use the basic design of my 4X4 foot 16-inch-high pallet wood raised bed v2.0. It would just be only 6-inches wide.

And, if the pole bean raised beds alongside the chicken run fencings does not work out, I could easily take it apart and convert it back to my standard 4X4 foot raised bed design.

Picture of my standard 4X4 foot 16 inch high pallet wood raised bed v2.0 design...

View attachment 3804009

Well, I am not fixed on the notion of only a 6-inch-wide raised bed alongside the fencing. I could go 1-foot-wide or even 2-foot-wide, planting beans along the fence side but planting other non-vining crops in the rest of the raised bed.

If anyone has used their chicken run fencing as a trellis, please let me know what worked for you, or not. Thanks for any suggestions and/or feedback.

I have some cats claw growing up my chicken run and I put a 2' tall sheet of plywood between the plants and the wire at ground level. Otherwise the chickens destroy the plants even through hardware cloth. Determined buggers when it comes to green! Mine are bantams...bigger chickens would need a barrier a little higher than they can jump.

 

[gtaus]

Miter saw I have but no table saw. Could it be built without that 30° on the slats and still be stable?

That's a good question. I have both sliding miter saws and a table saw, so those details did not pose any questions for me.

If you have a sliding miter saw, you might be able to cut half of the 21-inch-long plank on one side, then flip it over and cut it on the other side. But I know not all miter saws are built the same and some have more capabilities than others. Still, I imagine there is a way if you get creative.

I "rip" slats less than 2 feet long all the time on my sliding miter saw that way using a standard 90-degree cut. Not the best method, but I currently have my table saw in winter storage in another garage. So, I make do. It works for me.

Another easier thought comes to mind. Do you have a small circular saw that you can dial in an angle cut? Even my oldest and least expensive Ryobi 18v circular saw can cut at an angle.

Here is good Google picture of a circular saw cutting off a board at an angle...

You will not need a table saw if you have a circular saw to cut that 30-degree angle. All of my circular saws have that angle cutting feature, but to be honest, I don't think I've ever used that feature but maybe once or twice in my lifetime! I forgot about until thinking about your question!

If you don't have a circular saw, you might want to invest in one. I use my circular saws all the time. Even an inexpensive circular saw would be a good investment. I prefer my battery circular saws for portability, but a corded circular saw will cost less in most cases.

For example, Harbor Freight has this 7-1/4-inch electric circular saw currently on clearance...

That particular saw has the ability to make a bevel cut from 0-45 degrees. You only need a 30-degree cut for this project.

At any rate, a circular saw is a lot less expensive than a table saw. It's also much easier to store a circular saw in a small space. Like I said, I have to put my table saw in winter storage in another garage because it takes up too much room in my main garage where I need to park my cars in the winter.

 

[gtaus]

I have some cats claw growing up my chicken run and I put a 2' tall sheet of plywood between the plants and the wire at ground level. Otherwise the chickens destroy the plants even through hardware cloth. Determined buggers when it comes to green! Mine are bantams...bigger chickens would need a barrier a little higher than they can jump.

I would have thought that a 16-inch high raised bed, on the outside of the fence, would be tall enough to protect the beans. But that's why I asked if anyone has experience with this idea.

I think that if my chickens are able to get at the beans 16 inches high in the raised bed, I would just add some pallet wood planks on top of the raised bed and against the fencing to get it over 2 feet high.

Also, the more I think about building narrow raised beds for pole beans along the chicken run fencing, the more I am thinking about making the beds 2-foot-wide.

It takes about the same amount of time for me to build a 6-inch-wide, 1-foot-wide, or 2-foot-wide raised bed. But a 2-foot-wide raised bed would allow me to grow lots of other stuff as well away from the fence.

Well, all those reasons plus I already built a 2X4 foot pallet wood raised bed this winter and still not have found a place for it. I think it would work great alongside the chicken run fence along with a few more.

Picture of my 2X4 foot pallet wood raised bed looking for a place to call home...

I think I will move it back to the chicken run fence (in the background) and see how it looks. Probably the perfect place and fit for that smaller raised bed.