New Project - Pallet Garden.

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Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
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Europe
Continuing the theme of gardening in a small space, I thought as I was in the garden moving grow bags. Why not set up a little demonstration of very small scale gardening.

So, I have one pallet, it's a standard pallet, about 3'x4' in size. On it I have put 3 grow bags, a deap window box, and a large terracotta pot.

So far I have planted 2 of the grow bags, plus the window box and the terracotta pot.

The window box contains Runner Bean - Pickwick, then in one grow bag I have two tomato plants + 1 pepper, in the other a mixed lettuce, onions, and beetroot (When the seed arrives).

The large terracotta pot contains an apple, variety is James Grieve, on a M26 rootstock.

All of this in the space of a standard pallet.

palletgarden01_sm.jpg

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Don't have the space for the pallet, select the part of it you do have space for? A window box of beans, a single apple tree, or a grow bag of salad?

This is an on going project, and as the summer goes on I will update you all on how things grow. And the harvest I get off it.

J
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Excellent project - absolutely loving it!

I would add if you don't have the space, stand the pallet on its edge and fill in the inside with compost and then plant through the slats (vertical gardening). I have seen some lovely cascading tomatoes and lettuce grown that way with the pallet propped against a South facing wall.
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
Excellent project - absolutely loving it!

I would add if you don't have the space, stand the pallet on its edge and fill in the inside with compost and then plant through the slats (vertical gardening). I have seen some lovely cascading tomatoes and lettuce grown that way with the pallet propped against a South facing wall.

Yep, if I can get another pallet that is on my list to try. I have an area of wall that is doing nothing, so want to see if I can make it productive.

I would have loved to make wall garden using wooly pocket wall containers, but after seeing the price, not something I can afford any time soon...

Looks good.
have you seen where folk stand the pallets up vertically and fill with soil then plant into the gaps?
another one I keep meaning to try is fitting drain pipes onto a fence and using them for herbs/salad items.
so many ideas only so much time in the day

The gutter garden is one on my list of things to try. Should give me a chance for lots of herbs, and salad crops.

Julia
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Neat :D Excellent to see :D
How do you manage to keep the clay potted apple watered enough though ?

Woolly pockets ? you mean something like two old blankets sewn into squares and slit in appropriate places ? could felt those up, and dye them with teabags, no bother I reckon.
Come to think on it, that might be a very good use for some of the stained old blankets that no one wants. Someone slops their tea twenty years ago and the blanket looks utterly gross now, but it's only tea.

cheers,
Toddy
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
Neat :D Excellent to see :D
How do you manage to keep the clay potted apple watered enough though ?

Carefully... Or more seriously: regularly. I use a watering can, and water my container trees most days, especially in the middle of summer when it is exceptionally hot. Some days, I may water the trees twice in one day.

This is the major downside of container gardening, you do need to water a lot more than if you have say a raised bed.

You can get things like self watering containers, but I am not sold on them. I have a pair of self watering hanging baskets which are currently home to a Tumbler tomato plant in each one. The plants are doing amazingly well, currently hanging from the curtain rail in my living room until I can get them outside onto the hooks I put in the wall. In theory the sails blurb says you only have to water them once a week. My conclusion is no, not at all, that's ****. I have been watering them every 2-3 days, Admittedly this is less frequently than the non "self watering" type that I had before, that needed watering upto 3 times a day in mid summer. But it's not as I hoped, enough to leave it a week between watering when I go walkabout.

Because I live in the 1st floor flat, I don't have mains water in the garden. I have a 500L loft tank that fills off the roof, but that isn't necessarily enough to get me through a whole summer. Fortunately from empty it will fill over night with a half decent bout of rain. I then just dunk the watering can into the tank when I want to fill it, and walk round the garden. It's kinda theraputic, walking round, watering the plants, talking to them, chatting the the Robin. I also use it as a chance to pick up any snails I find and get rid of them

Woolly pockets ? you mean something like two old blankets sewn into squares and slit in appropriate places ? could felt those up, and dye them with teabags, no bother I reckon.
Come to think on it, that might be a very good use for some of the stained old blankets that no one wants. Someone slops their tea twenty years ago and the blanket looks utterly gross now, but it's only tea.

Alas not. Wool is actually used as a fertiliser for the growing of rhubarb. It takes about 3 years to break down in the soil, which is about the usual productive life before rhubarb is lifted and divided in commercial farming. They use the bits of wool that wool processors remove from the fleece when cleaning them. This means that if you did try to make a plant container out of a wool blanket, by the second year, you could well be having the plants fall out the bottom.

When I say woolly pockets, I mean these things they are made from polyester, same as your fleece jacket, but with a bit of water barrier in there etc...

Julia
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
The bits that we remove when we skirt a fleece, the dags, are a brilliant fertilizer....mostly because they're covered in sheep s... right enough :D
How about one of those cheap £ store tarps, make up the wooly pockets as I suggested and fold the tarp up and under the pockets. That would give you both sets of eyelets at the top to hang the pockets up, and the wool inside is great for the roots, soil holding, moisture balancing, etc.,

On t'other hand, old fleeces cost nothing, and recycle, reuse, is a very good ethos :D

atb,
M
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
So, two weeks after this project started, a little update:

  • Runner beans - Not above the surface yet, but evidence of germination coming through
  • Lettuce - Lots of tiny lettuce plants coming up.
  • Beetroot - A few very tiny beetroot plants are starting to appear above the soil, but you have to look real careful to find them
  • Onion - Nothing in evidence so far...
  • Apple - Blossom over, fruit set.
  • Pepper - Both fruit set, and some flowers in evidence.
  • Tomatoes - A bit of growth since planting, but no flowers yet.

I am still debating what to do with the remaining grow bag in the Pallet garden. It is tempting to swap it with another grow bag I have which contains ten strawberry plants. I am also pondering if a few Brassica plants would be a better choice. I am open to suggestions.

Thanks

Julia
 

Quixoticgeek

Full Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,483
23
Europe
Update:

I had been thinking of what to do with the 3rd grow bag, and after much umming and ahing, I took it off, and moved into it's place another grow bag I had already planted up with 8 strawberry plants. Which are in flower and a few have fruit set. Still 3 grow bags, but one I had pre planted before I started the project.

The lettuce are coming up nicely, and the beetroot are almost an inch tall. There is fruit on the Apple and the pepper (and the strawberries). Finally the runner beans have broken the surface.

The onions seem to have done a grand total of nothing, which is a bit annoying. I have over sewn them with some raddishes and think I may put some Kohl rabi in there too.


On the whole, it's all looking quite good.

J
 

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