Another added bonus to using the logs in the bottom is that they give off some warmth as they decompose that helps plants get going faster in cooler weather.I just finished a new pallet wood raised bed build and posted the pictures on the thread Show Me Your Pallet Projects!. As usual, I invite anyone interested in pallet projects to check out that thread and all the pallet projects members have shared.
Here is a copy of my post as it also relates to this garden thread...
Pallet Wood 4X4 Foot, 16 Inch High, Raised Garden Bed - New Design
Time to upload some pictures of my newly designed pallet wood raised garden bed. I was plenty happy with my old raised bed design, but I specifically wanted to redo this design to use the pallet wood notched 2X4 stretchers without cutting them. With that in mind, I took apart some pallets that had 4 foot long 2X4's, all of the same thickness, or very close to it. The beauty of this step is that you don't need to have the 2X4's nail free in this build. That means, you can use a reciprocating saw to cut off the pallet planks if you want and just leave the nail bottoms in the 2X4's. Or you can use a circular saw to cut off the edges of the planks and just use the shorter 16 inch long slats for the sidewalls. Both those methods make pallet breakdown fast.
First pic, you can see how I framed up the raised bed with the notched pallet wood 2X4's.
Notice how I orientated the 2X4's so the notches on both the top and bottom have the notches in the middle. That becomes important later when I nail on the sidewall slats.
For those of you that know something about putting butt joints together, they are not considered a very strong connection. Here is what I mean...
As you look at the above picture, you can see the screws go into the end grain of the other 2X4. Although this is a strong connection today, it will not stand up over time and those screws can (and most likely will) pull out of the end grain wood.
Knowing that this butt end connection is the weak point in this design, I made some corner posts out of 2X4's, attached to each other, and then attached them to the outside frame - screwing from the inside.
That should make the basic frame a lot stronger and not fall apart over the years to come.
Now I added all the 16 inch pallet planks I have cut from my pallet wood breakdowns. This process took very little time as the planks were already cut to 16 inches long. I simply started at one corner and started laying down wood planks working my way to the end of that side. I used my 18 gauge brad nailer to fasten the planks to the 2X4's. An 18 gauge brad nail is not that strong, but in this design, all it needs to do is to attched the plank so it does not fall down. When I fill up the garden bed with soil, the weight of the soil will be pushing outwards, so the weight of the soil will assist in holding the planks in place. Also, using the brad nailer takes no time at all to bump and shoot. Of course, a person could either nail or screw those planks in place if you don't have a nail gun.
As you can see, I attempted to alternate between light and dark colored planks, because that is the look I wanted. Notice that one corner on each side has a gap board missing.
When I laid out the planks, I made sure that the gap was an even distance from the 2X4 corner pieces. That meant I did not have to make any special taper cuts. So, I just had to rip final boards for 2 inches, 2-1/2 inches, 1-1/4 inches, etc... All straight rips that were very easy to measure and cut on the table saw.
Besides the aesthetics of having the notches in the 2X4's facing each other, it makes it very easy to nail the planks on the sidewalls just about an inch from the top/bottom where you know there is no notch to worry about. I did not want to shoot a nail into the notch void and then have to remove the nail.
Final boards added to each corner...
OK, the build was done at this point and all in all, I would say that it was faster and easier than my previous designs.
Here is a picture of the new pallet wood garden bed design compared to the pallet wood garden bed design I built last year.
Time to setup the garden bed, and I got most of it done today. I use the hügelkultur method in my raised beds. I recently cut up some pines trees that died and fell over this past winter. I used the tree trunk logs to line the bottom of the raised bed. The idea is that the wood will act like a giant sponge and soak up water, releasing it later to the plants when they need it. As the logs decay over the years, their effect as a giant sponge improves. Eventually, the wood breaks down and feeds the soil, which in turn feeds the plants growing above.
After the heavy logs, I tossed in some smaller branches and dumped in a load of aged wood chips I needed to clear out. Here is where I ended today....
What's left is the top ~8 inches which I will fill with a high-quality topsoil and chicken run compost mixed 1:1. I used to be able to get vermiculite for my raised bed mixes, but I can't get large 3 cubic foot bags of commercial vermiculite anymore. Small bags of garden vermiculite would be far too expensive - on my budget. So, I talked to the main guy at our local nursery, and he told me just to mix the chicken run compost and topsoil 1:1.
I had a little more time before it got dark, so I filled up my new 8 cubic foot "Gorilla-like" cart with some chicken run compost - you can see the chicken coop and run in the background of the first picture. Anyways, take a look at this black gold compost from my chicken run...
I have to say that I get really excited about my chicken run compost because it's just so much better than what I used to buy at the big box stores. Mostly, it's a combination of leaves, grass clippings, maybe some wood chips or paper shreds from the coop litter, and of course, chicken poo mixed in. If you like the smell of rich, dark, earth, you would really like this compost.
I will be sifting this compost with my cement mixer compost sifter and then mixing it with the topsoil. Then, I'll top off the new garden bed(s) with about 8 inches of the compost/topsoil mix. I plan on building at least one more pallet wood garden bed this spring but would really like to make four new beds in total.
If you made it this far, I would love to hear some feedback on this new pallet wood raised bed design. I put a number of hours of thinking into this project before I put it together but would love to hear any comments others may have. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Later....
