are heat treated pallets free of nasty preservatives hugh? dont want to be picky but i wouldnt use those corner blocks for it, its basically the same as particle board with nasty glue, but if the boards are clean its a good idea to re-use them.
@@thegreenman4898 Heated Treatment (HT) is, as the name implies, a process whereby lumber is heated in a closed chamber until it reaches a core temperature of 56°C for at least 30 minutes in order to kill pathogens such as insects, fungi, or micro-organisms. There are no chemicals involved.
Other safely made pallet types are KD which is kiln dried or DB which is debarked. The one to absolutely stay away from is MB which has Methyl Bromide which is a strong pesticide and absolutely not safe to work with or be near plants intended to be eaten. If the pallet doesn't have the initials HT, KD or DB on it, just steer clear to be safe - and thanks for another fabby video! :) :)
Thank you!! This is perfect for me. I barely have any money at all and I really, really want to make a garden this year. I managed to get a pallet from a neighbor so I'm looking forward to following your instructions. 😁
When I was a youngster, my brothers and I used to collect bent nails from construction sites and straighten them. They were a bit dodgy to use, but if we took the extra time to be careful, it could be done. I remember getting my fingers pinched quite a few times until I started using needle-nose pliers to hold them. We used to make little shack-like forts from scrap wood with those nails.
When I was a youngster my dad saved all the rusty and bent nails whenever he demolished anything . When he reused the screws he rubbed them on a bar of soap so they would screw in easier .
And I remember from my childhood that we were making washers for the insulating the roof from beer crown caps. You needed to put one cap on an anvil and hammer if flat. Then it was ready to be used on a rooftop. :-)
I appreciate how simple you’ve made it. No fancy tools. Very intuitive☺️. I’ve never thought of using the blocks. I have a ton of them. I’ll give it a shot on my next build
Saw another how to build a raised bed with wooden pallets (heat treated lumber) and so happy to have come across this exciting video. Have 8 pallets to start with and looking forward to making them. First time for this female to build and I'm positive all will be well. Thanks for such a great tutorial. P.S. Lowe's gives away free pallets. I kindly asked a gentleman to separate the HT marked ones from all the others and he so generously did so. Such a blessing!
Hi ya the pallet splitter works better if you put it on the 3 runners going the opposite direction. That way it gives you straight nails and slightly more pallet wood with less broken planks/strips. This was a tip I found after breaking loads of pallets. Thanks for your videos
Love how you share freely and show just how to. I purchased a pallet buster so I need to get it ready for some pallets. My worm beds are being eaten by the worms so this is a perfect project. Thanks Huw for helping us learn.
I don't have the fancy pallet dissembler, just crowbars, claw-hammer and tongs and pulling apart pallets is my least favourite part. I resorted to cutting the nails with a reciprocating saw and it works faster, with fewer split boards, but there is an extra step of removing nail heads. New nails are fairly cheap, but for straightening old ones, the cubes from pallets are good, just put the nail on top and hold it and rotate it, while hitting it with a hammer. At hardware stores, there are parts for joining things at a 90-degree angle (two 10cm flat rectangles with holes, joined at a 90 degree angle, don't know what they're called). They're cheap and they're a viable alternative to using cubes to hold the sides together. These can be reused when the wood rots. My bottleneck for raised beds has always been long reclaimed boards (I want 3.5-4m long ones), but this modular approach can work too and when making rows of these, 1.2m is a good width. It should generally be better to make rows South-North, rather than East-West, because both sides of the longer raised bed will get similar amounts of sun that way.
I looked at a million videos and looked all over Pinterest reusing pallets for raised beds for inspiration, and I absolutely hated all of the ideas, they never made sense, I kept wondering why people didn't do it THIS way, and finally I found your video here , and you did it, exactly how it always made sense in my mind, and it came out beautifully! ❤️
(From a 74yr old) That really inspired me Huw; however what I've learned is that there is a range of types of pallet construction some of which were an absolute nightmare and defeated me. Providing a video as you suggested, about splitting pallets would be really helpful. The strongest ones had been nailed probably by machine and proved impossible to deconstruct. I agree the one you demonstrated with was easy so I suggest other watchers would be well advised to get that flimsier type of pallet to use for raised beds. Then its as much fun as you had and removing and re-using nails is very satisfying.
Thank you for the video. I was wanting to make some raised garden beds for my wife but I had no idea how to do it. This pallet method is not only economical but very easy to do. Thanks for making the video.
You're the real deal Huw - absolutely no fluff - I mean, you have actually done this and all the things you present in your other videos and it is not all just a demonstration - please stay the same and you will be a success at whatever you do. Love watching your progression with your channel.
Hello Huw I have watched 1 video where instead of using a dedicated pallet splitter they took an old garden fork which had a bend tine. The tine was cut away using a hand grinder which left a gap in the fork wide enough to fit over the bottom stringer board and lever against the top slat board. Seemed to work quite well for them. Best wishes, Pete.
It's a very labour intensive process but so worth the effort in the end. My dad has been building with pallets since before I was born. So, over 18 years. We just found a new on-going source.
Thank you so much for you video. My husband has tons of pallets at work so he’ll bring some home for me Monday and I’ll start this project. Can’t wait!
I'm just starting a veg garden with raised beds, I'm planning and creating it now for next Spring. I've asked for both your books for christmas. Fingers crossed Santa brings them. Great videos, I'm slowly working through them from the start. Keep up great work.
Just to say thanks for this video. My hubby made his first ever raised bed and it looks a treat! We discovered he really needed the pallet buster tool 'cos what he had wasn't good enough and was hard work. A lot easier with the right tool. Might get him to make a second one now! :-D
I love how you do everything with bare hands. Who so afraid of the splinter? Lol not you. ALS no glasses. I felt your method was the best of all I have seen. Thank you for this.
I am moving and putting in a garden against advice of others they think I will have trouble keeping what I grow from others. I want to make beds like these and plant extras for a kind of front yard free tomatoes etc. knowing how to build out of pallets will really help!!
I’m excited to try this. I wanted to this as I’m not super confident with power saws and this is pre cut wood to me! I have to figure out a way to do a cover to prevent deer 🦌 and rabbits 🐇 eating my veggies 🌽 then it will by perfect.
Thanks Huw for such a great video, practical and educational. Watching it for the third time, while triumphantly pulling apart 3 crates, What a wonderful sound that first crack and creak of the first nail pulling out the board! (I had to saw the first two, I was so disappointed, but the third one provided that very satisfying creak, and going very successfully!)
Book pre-ordered! Can’t wait. This is perfect timing for me. I don’t have much room or time to grow at home but this vid plus your book will hopefully bring me some success this year. I have a couple of wrecking bars too, they are great and make light work of this type of thing, but if people want to know you can get a variety of these starting from £6 ish (little ones but still worth a try) big ones £25ish from Screwfix and Toolstation. Toolstation free delivery over £10. Screwfix you have to spend over £50 for free delivery or a fiver if you spend less. I know it’s not cheap but still cheaper than buying beds and they are great tools to have. I’m always really careful where I store them so I’m not arming a thief that may get into my shed a way to get into other sheds or houses!
I've watched many channels and this guy has made it look so dam easy and with very little effort, I will definitely try this, one thing I learned if anyone is on a budget it's better to go on a channel with a young kid on, they're most likely to make something with zero money!
Excellent video, you have a great way of breaking things down and explaining to beginners. This is gonna help a lot of people in the next two months quickly create planting space
If you want a very low cost eco friendly way of preserving the wood for longer you can use the Japanese method of shou sugi ban. Essentially you char the wood and it helps to seal it from the elements and deters pests and other things that break down the wood. I use a propane torch for weed control to char my boards and it works very quickly.
This is a brilliant idea of using recycled pallets unto a more sustainable living; we've been gardening for years and it's incredibly therapeutic for us all! Kudos to your success, Richards! ~John El Hanafi
Omg I just subbed and realized this other guy I watch for gardening stuff is you. Just older lol. You looked so innocent here and now look mature. lol thank you this is my fav pallet raised bed vid. Thx!
Great work done on the same , just one thing as is major concerned if you can get free pallets from food store or simpler make it easy that they good to grow vegetables , as you eat them and even flowers
Cool man! I already broke down all my pallets and was trying to think of what I could do with them outside. Mine are all randomly assorted so I'm going to paint and seal them, then line the inside with a barrier cloth or food safe plastic to make them last.
I remember salvaging timbers in exactly this way, back in the mid 70's. When my Dad was putting a veg garden in at the time as oil prices sky rocketed. All the jars of nails and screws lined up. Very satisfying work for a child 😂
Great video as always.Many thanks for your valuable time and attention.Your channel does makes a big difference in Natural organic farming and life style.
Concern to the "feet" of the pallet - which you are using for the corners: You will face a serious problem. There are two types of used material for the feet - one is massive wood - which you could use easily, but second, and that´s what you have here - they are made of pressed sawdust with some glue component, which is not water proof. So when they are getting wet, they are instantly crumble into saw dust. Just to mention that. For the bent nails: Just use a hammer and make them straight for to reuse them. :) Beside of that - fantastic design, great idea and very skilled done! Just an additional suggestion from my experience: It´s always a good idea to use some strengthening from the inside, from wall to wall - either a strong wire, additional posts or similar. Soil, especially when wet, is a very heavy medium and can push out the walls very easy. In the end, all the walls can be bulged out without support from the inside (or maybe wih additional supporting posts from the outside, hammered into the ground.
I have your book Veg in One Bed and am hoping to create raised beds for my garden but need all the tools as well. Really want to start growing my own. Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge 🙏
Thank you so much for this video! I think I can handle this on my own and not have to bug my hubby! This is the year I get raised beds! 🙌🏻 so glad to have found your channel! 🙌🏻🌱🇺🇸
thank you for doing this video...makes me think that just maybe i will be able to do this in my garden....since I have been desiring to have raised beds...(I can dream can't I?)
Speaking of pallets. I live in the city (Chicago) and am considering ways of starting an urban farm. There are SO MANY developers that are just sitting on vacant land for future sale or developments. My idea was to have a mobile urban farm and provide a sort of custodial service to the developers, grow produce at a profit for my effort, and be able to pick up and relocate if/when the land changed hands. My idea (so as to NOT reinvent the wheel) was to make raised beds out of pallets. This way, with just a pallet-jack, I can rearrange them on the property when needed; or load them on to a truck for relocation. I want them to be wheel chair height so I can employee disabled people. I imagine I can make one bed out of every 3 or four pallets. I'd use one for the base, take wood from the others to make the sides, and use the supports from those to reinforce the main base. Since pallets are typically 48" I imagine the first 30" can be the 'in-ground' production bed, the back of the pallet-bed can be built up to provide a trellis (using even more pallet wood or something lighter) for veining crops; and herbs can possibly be planted in whatever leftover space is in between. Only thing is, I don't know if I should use a giant grow bag inside, or if the sides can be built up well enough to support the inside pressure of the dirt and water. I've calculated that 7 of these in a row would be just over the length of a standard 25 foot bed. Perhaps you could give it a try? At the very least you'll get some content out of it.
Brilliant video I have an allotment and have always wanted to have a go at making these,this video makes it luck to simple to make them,ill definitely be having a go at making them
You are adorable and your video was so very helpful! (Our US pallets are a tiny bit different with twisted "fas-n-tite" nails that are miserable to try and remove manually.) Definitely going to do this project and look into your gardening book! Thank you!
Great video , thanks Huw, i just built a few in last few weeks, i used reclaimed scaffolding boards, but if i run out i sure will use this idea. Thanks so much for sharing.
ArcticCareBear ohh ok thank you but I think I’m still going to make something similar mainly because so many people have done it and it didn’t affect them so 🤷♀️
@@eveoriordan305 thats a very ignorant viewpoint,Eve..The pesticides and insecticides used to treat pallets might not cause you to drop dead immediately but it can surely affect yr health.Imagine having a spoonful of pesticides for dinner once a fortnight.Anyway,if u insist on using them,look for the HT,KN or DB logo and STAY AWAY if it has the letters MB on them
@@elephantsong7782 thanks for the advise but all I’m trying to say is that loads of people have made raised bass from wood and I didn’t seem to cause that much damage by the look of it . Sorry if I came across rude the first time 😅
@@HuwRichards you're welcome! It is 7:38pm my way and boy my hands hurt! I had hammer and the bar... certainly a mans job lol... but I did it! Thanks again...
Lining the inside wood of these raised beds with old compost bags or similar protects the wood and makes these beds last a lot longer. Just a little tip to make them last a long time.
@@HuwRichards Don't be silly, of course. It does help. Treating the wood on the outside with any preservative is another tip. My big "letter E" keyhole-stye raised bed from pallet wood is now 5 years old, still as strong.
Thank u! Thank u! Thank u! 🎊🙌🏼🎉 Thus is just what I was looking for🎊 I'm getting 10 pallets 2morrow 🎉 I'm so excited 🎊 Gonne start my own veggie garden 💃💃💃💪
Great video!!! This comes very handy as my son's school is planning a sensory garden with very limited budget, this is a great idea to get raised beds, thanks xxx
love this! Did you stain or add a finish to yours? Just built mine but worried about weather deteriorating the wood. What non-chemical stains can I use?
I wish the pallets I picked up had nails that easy to remove. The ones I got had nails that had the faintest screw-like spiral that made the disassembly of the pallets (especially in a single plant and not splintered to hell) a very toilsome task resulting in me having just barely enough planks, luckily I picked up a 96 inch plank I picked up from home depot on the off chance the pallets wouldn't yield enough wood and/or I accidentally destroyed them in the process of breaking them down.
I don't have the pallet tools and just used a claw hammer for everything. I found the square blocks were the trickiest to get off without breaking. Would you treat the wood to stop it rotting? I have used plastic tubs in the past and they've lasted years.
This video took away all the intimidation i would of had to do this! thank you so much! i just need to get my tools in line and raised beds here I come!
Hi, I am going to make some raised beds, but like many of your subscribers, I will have to buy in the topsoil to fill the thing up. Estimating the size of your [free] raised bed, I reckon it to be about 5' x 4' x 1' where I live [Essex M25 area] it will cost about £75, thats a lot of carrots I gotta grow to justify the outlay. Just Saying
Amazing idea. I have a few questions, and I hope you can answer: I am planning on putting this raised bed straight onto concrete, so what base would I use when I fill it with compost? Any suggestions? Also, will i need to raise the bed? I will be growing carrots and potatoes. ☺️
Thank you for this. It is a good way to make raised beds if you can’t afford the materials. Pallets are very accessible for me. I don’t think I have seen ones with the blocks in them, though. I will have to search and see if I can find any. I have my strawberries in beds I made from pallets. I have had trouble with many more earwigs and pill bugs in the raised beds. They seem to hide between the wood and the soil. Is there a good remedy for that? That is one reason I haven’t used raised beds as much.
Line the raised beds with strips of old compost bags. Nail or stable them to the top and drape them over the inside before you add your compost/soil. This should help stop bugs using your raised bed as a food source. Hope this helps!
Hmm...that’s an interesting idea. Are you saying that would be like a barrier that would make it hard for them to get in the bed in the first place? Or that they wouldn’t like the plastic to hide near?
@@cynthiafisher9907 Ear-wigs and pill bugs are only interested in the rotting wood, you are then putting a barrier between them and your crops, protecting your crops. Hope this helps.
I don’t know, John, my earwigs and pill bugs eat my strawberries. I wouldn’t mind them just eating the wood, it’s the fruits and veggies I grow that I want to keep them from. The earwigs climb up my fruit trees and eat my apricots as well. Last year was a bad year for them and I’m afraid, with our warm winter, they will be even worse this year.
@@cynthiafisher9907 The old compost plastic sacks should protect them as a barrier. Try it, we call pill bugs - woodlouse (or slater in Scotland), they are found nesting/resting in wood but will eat soft fruits. Putting a barrier between the wood and the fruit will help, maybe not cure it but certainly will help.
Also I forgot to mention to use pallets which have been heat treated😁 Look for the HT symbol!
hi huws hello,apa kabar 😊
are heat treated pallets free of nasty preservatives hugh? dont want to be picky but i wouldnt use those corner blocks for it, its basically the same as particle board with nasty glue, but if the boards are clean its a good idea to re-use them.
@@thegreenman4898 Heated Treatment (HT) is, as the name implies, a process whereby lumber is heated in a closed chamber until it reaches a core temperature of 56°C for at least 30 minutes in order to kill pathogens such as insects, fungi, or micro-organisms. There are no chemicals involved.
Other safely made pallet types are KD which is kiln dried or DB which is debarked. The one to absolutely stay away from is MB which has Methyl Bromide which is a strong pesticide and absolutely not safe to work with or be near plants intended to be eaten. If the pallet doesn't have the initials HT, KD or DB on it, just steer clear to be safe - and thanks for another fabby video! :) :)
Thanks for mentioning the HT factor. Regards.
This video is so wholesome, my heart is so full. Green things growing, salvaging wood, careful workmanship, frugality, a beautiful world
I think you spoke to my soul with your comment!
Life is too short to be sarcastic.
Right?! I think I love him
Y❤
Calm down lol
Thank you!! This is perfect for me. I barely have any money at all and I really, really want to make a garden this year. I managed to get a pallet from a neighbor so I'm looking forward to following your instructions. 😁
When I was a youngster, my brothers and I used to collect bent nails from construction sites and straighten them. They were a bit dodgy to use, but if we took the extra time to be careful, it could be done. I remember getting my fingers pinched quite a few times until I started using needle-nose pliers to hold them. We used to make little shack-like forts from scrap wood with those nails.
Ron Yerke that sounds so wholesome and awesome
When I was a youngster my dad saved all the rusty and bent nails whenever he demolished anything . When he reused the screws he rubbed them on a bar of soap so they would screw in easier .
@@charlesroberts6490 nice! The ol bar a soap trick. Happy building cheers
Your comment is a prove that not long ago children lived lives full of nurturing and wholesome experiences 😊
And I remember from my childhood that we were making washers for the insulating the roof from beer crown caps. You needed to put one cap on an anvil and hammer if flat. Then it was ready to be used on a rooftop. :-)
I appreciate how simple you’ve made it. No fancy tools. Very intuitive☺️. I’ve never thought of using the blocks. I have a ton of them. I’ll give it a shot on my next build
Saw another how to build a raised bed with wooden pallets (heat treated lumber) and so happy to have come across this exciting video. Have 8 pallets to start with and looking forward to making them. First time for this female to build and I'm positive all will be well. Thanks for such a great tutorial. P.S. Lowe's gives away free pallets. I kindly asked a gentleman to separate the HT marked ones from all the others and he so generously did so. Such a blessing!
Hi ya the pallet splitter works better if you put it on the 3 runners going the opposite direction. That way it gives you straight nails and slightly more pallet wood with less broken planks/strips. This was a tip I found after breaking loads of pallets.
Thanks for your videos
This is so good, thank you for showing with this level of detail! Makes it a whole lot easier for a beginner to get started. Thank you!
Love how you share freely and show just how to. I purchased a pallet buster so I need to get it ready for some pallets. My worm beds are being eaten by the worms so this is a perfect project. Thanks Huw for helping us learn.
I don't have the fancy pallet dissembler, just crowbars, claw-hammer and tongs and pulling apart pallets is my least favourite part. I resorted to cutting the nails with a reciprocating saw and it works faster, with fewer split boards, but there is an extra step of removing nail heads. New nails are fairly cheap, but for straightening old ones, the cubes from pallets are good, just put the nail on top and hold it and rotate it, while hitting it with a hammer.
At hardware stores, there are parts for joining things at a 90-degree angle (two 10cm flat rectangles with holes, joined at a 90 degree angle, don't know what they're called). They're cheap and they're a viable alternative to using cubes to hold the sides together. These can be reused when the wood rots.
My bottleneck for raised beds has always been long reclaimed boards (I want 3.5-4m long ones), but this modular approach can work too and when making rows of these, 1.2m is a good width. It should generally be better to make rows South-North, rather than East-West, because both sides of the longer raised bed will get similar amounts of sun that way.
I looked at a million videos and looked all over Pinterest reusing pallets for raised beds for inspiration, and I absolutely hated all of the ideas, they never made sense, I kept wondering why people didn't do it THIS way, and finally I found your video here , and you did it, exactly how it always made sense in my mind, and it came out beautifully! ❤️
I feel the same! Other posts/videos just make it seem so overly complicated and inefficient. His is actually what I was looking for!
(From a 74yr old)
That really inspired me Huw; however what I've learned is that there is a range of types of pallet construction some of which were an absolute nightmare and defeated me. Providing a video as you suggested, about splitting pallets would be really helpful. The strongest ones had been nailed probably by machine and proved impossible to deconstruct.
I agree the one you demonstrated with was easy so I suggest other watchers would be well advised to get that flimsier type of pallet to use for raised beds. Then its as much fun as you had and removing and re-using nails is very satisfying.
Thank you for the video. I was wanting to make some raised garden beds for my wife but I had no idea how to do it. This pallet method is not only economical but very easy to do. Thanks for making the video.
I found friendly nails once, was such a nice expirience.
I will never forget those guys.
This 😂
RIP Paul Conquering Bear, my baby made me several of these years ago when he was still alive.
Wonderful repurposing of pallets!
Thank you! Needed to make bed for my allotment using free pallets. My favourite youtuber!
You're the real deal Huw - absolutely no fluff - I mean, you have actually done this and all the things you present in your other videos and it is not all just a demonstration - please stay the same and you will be a success at whatever you do. Love watching your progression with your channel.
The man is a saint
Building a new bed for my garden this year and my job had lots of pallets... thanks for the video💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿
Hello Huw
I have watched 1 video where instead of using a dedicated pallet splitter they took an old garden fork which had a bend tine. The tine was cut away using a hand grinder which left a gap in the fork wide enough to fit over the bottom stringer board and lever against the top slat board. Seemed to work quite well for them.
Best wishes,
Pete.
It's a very labour intensive process but so worth the effort in the end. My dad has been building with pallets since before I was born. So, over 18 years. We just found a new on-going source.
Thank you so much for you video. My husband has tons of pallets at work so he’ll bring some home for me Monday and I’ll start this project. Can’t wait!
Be careful. These wood could be treated. Don’t use it for vegetable plant
I'm just starting a veg garden with raised beds, I'm planning and creating it now for next Spring. I've asked for both your books for christmas. Fingers crossed Santa brings them. Great videos, I'm slowly working through them from the start. Keep up great work.
Just to say thanks for this video. My hubby made his first ever raised bed and it looks a treat! We discovered he really needed the pallet buster tool 'cos what he had wasn't good enough and was hard work. A lot easier with the right tool. Might get him to make a second one now! :-D
This is the kind of video we like, a real help one that's easy to follow
I love how you do everything with bare hands. Who so afraid of the splinter? Lol not you. ALS no glasses. I felt your method was the best of all I have seen. Thank you for this.
Thank you so much for this video I’m saving about $120 in raised beds by doing this. Can’t wait to share how they’ll look in the spring time
I am moving and putting in a garden against advice of others they think I will have trouble keeping what I grow from others. I want to make beds like these and plant extras for a kind of front yard free tomatoes etc. knowing how to build out of pallets will really help!!
Fabulous use for pallets! I must say your pallets look better than any pallet I have ever received. Will be trying this, though. Thank you so much!
I’m excited to try this. I wanted to this as I’m not super confident with power saws and this is pre cut wood to me! I have to figure out a way to do a cover to prevent deer 🦌 and rabbits 🐇 eating my veggies 🌽 then it will by perfect.
Thank you for this video. Not only you reuse a natural material, which is recyclable, and you save money. Greetings, Ingrid, Norway.
Thank you so much! I have watched so many videos on how to make garden beds from pallets. And this by far is the easiest and most effetive by far!
Thanks Huw for such a great video, practical and educational. Watching it for the third time, while triumphantly pulling apart 3 crates, What a wonderful sound that first crack and creak of the first nail pulling out the board! (I had to saw the first two, I was so disappointed, but the third one provided that very satisfying creak, and going very successfully!)
Thank you for the video. It is a perfect guide for a beginner who isn't very handy at these kind of works. Showing all the details helps a lot.
Book pre-ordered! Can’t wait. This is perfect timing for me. I don’t have much room or time to grow at home but this vid plus your book will hopefully bring me some success this year. I have a couple of wrecking bars too, they are great and make light work of this type of thing, but if people want to know you can get a variety of these starting from £6 ish (little ones but still worth a try) big ones £25ish from Screwfix and Toolstation. Toolstation free delivery over £10. Screwfix you have to spend over £50 for free delivery or a fiver if you spend less. I know it’s not cheap but still cheaper than buying beds and they are great tools to have. I’m always really careful where I store them so I’m not arming a thief that may get into my shed a way to get into other sheds or houses!
I've watched many channels and this guy has made it look so dam easy and with very little effort, I will definitely try this, one thing I learned if anyone is on a budget it's better to go on a channel with a young kid on, they're most likely to make something with zero money!
Excellent video, you have a great way of breaking things down and explaining to beginners. This is gonna help a lot of people in the next two months quickly create planting space
If you want a very low cost eco friendly way of preserving the wood for longer you can use the Japanese method of shou sugi ban. Essentially you char the wood and it helps to seal it from the elements and deters pests and other things that break down the wood.
I use a propane torch for weed control to char my boards and it works very quickly.
This is a brilliant idea of using recycled pallets unto a more sustainable living; we've been gardening for years and it's incredibly therapeutic for us all! Kudos to your success, Richards! ~John El Hanafi
Omg I just subbed and realized this other guy I watch for gardening stuff is you. Just older lol. You looked so innocent here and now look mature. lol thank you this is my fav pallet raised bed vid. Thx!
I listened to the recommendations from the ducks probably 10 times in a row!
Great work done on the same , just one thing as is major concerned if you can get free pallets from food store or simpler make it easy that they good to grow vegetables , as you eat them and even flowers
Of the various tutorials on this topic, I find this video to be the easiest to understand and least stressful.
I absolutely love this and I really love the simplicity of it all. Thank you!!!
Cool man! I already broke down all my pallets and was trying to think of what I could do with them outside. Mine are all randomly assorted so I'm going to paint and seal them, then line the inside with a barrier cloth or food safe plastic to make them last.
I was just about to mention the HT logo --- then I saw your comment!
Nice bed.
Steve
I remember salvaging timbers in exactly this way, back in the mid 70's. When my Dad was putting a veg garden in at the time as oil prices sky rocketed. All the jars of nails and screws lined up. Very satisfying work for a child 😂
Great video as always.Many thanks for your valuable time and attention.Your channel does makes a big difference in Natural organic farming and life style.
Concern to the "feet" of the pallet - which you are using for the corners: You will face a serious problem. There are two types of used material for the feet - one is massive wood - which you could use easily, but second, and that´s what you have here - they are made of pressed sawdust with some glue component, which is not water proof. So when they are getting wet, they are instantly crumble into saw dust. Just to mention that. For the bent nails: Just use a hammer and make them straight for to reuse them. :) Beside of that - fantastic design, great idea and very skilled done! Just an additional suggestion from my experience: It´s always a good idea to use some strengthening from the inside, from wall to wall - either a strong wire, additional posts or similar. Soil, especially when wet, is a very heavy medium and can push out the walls very easy. In the end, all the walls can be bulged out without support from the inside (or maybe wih additional supporting posts from the outside, hammered into the ground.
Crumble into sawdust? Mine is still standing strong, watch my 17 hacks video as an example :)
They look fantastic and it's a great idea. I think I would add some metal strips to the corners to reinforced it.
This is great I am just getting the key for a plot on an allotment tomorrow so this video is excellent, Thanks for sharing.
Tiny tip: Wet the pallet first (let it sit for a while), then the boards tend to split less when you remove them! 😊
I have your book Veg in One Bed and am hoping to create raised beds for my garden but need all the tools as well. Really want to start growing my own. Thank you for sharing your valuable knowledge 🙏
This is perfect. Thank you for sharing. It's gonna help me build a plot for my new garden.
I have tools galore but I would prefer to do it simply as green as possible and better yet free! Thank you for doing everything from scratch🙋♀️
Love the idea. Thank you very much for sharing your brilliant planter. We'll definitely make a few of those.
Well done, what great idea, I’ve got some to make Monday, but I’ve got plenty of pallets, but you give me lots to think about
Heck yes im inspired! AHHH! Im so excited!!! And possibly over caffeinated but it's all good!!!
Thank you so much for this video! I think I can handle this on my own and not have to bug my hubby! This is the year I get raised beds! 🙌🏻 so glad to have found your channel! 🙌🏻🌱🇺🇸
Great video. Make sure you use HT ( heat treated ) only. They aren't treated with chemicals.
thank you for doing this video...makes me think that just maybe i will be able to do this in my garden....since I have been desiring to have raised beds...(I can dream can't I?)
did in fact start my raised beds using old pallets few years ago. they still are intact and with minor repairs.
I got a lot of palets that my husband brought home going to make a few myself thanks for helpful tips
Great video.
I use pallet collars as raised beds. I put 2 and 3 in height.
I use a small jigger pick to dismantle pallets, so quick and easy
Speaking of pallets. I live in the city (Chicago) and am considering ways of starting an urban farm. There are SO MANY developers that are just sitting on vacant land for future sale or developments. My idea was to have a mobile urban farm and provide a sort of custodial service to the developers, grow produce at a profit for my effort, and be able to pick up and relocate if/when the land changed hands. My idea (so as to NOT reinvent the wheel) was to make raised beds out of pallets. This way, with just a pallet-jack, I can rearrange them on the property when needed; or load them on to a truck for relocation. I want them to be wheel chair height so I can employee disabled people. I imagine I can make one bed out of every 3 or four pallets. I'd use one for the base, take wood from the others to make the sides, and use the supports from those to reinforce the main base.
Since pallets are typically 48" I imagine the first 30" can be the 'in-ground' production bed, the back of the pallet-bed can be built up to provide a trellis (using even more pallet wood or something lighter) for veining crops; and herbs can possibly be planted in whatever leftover space is in between.
Only thing is, I don't know if I should use a giant grow bag inside, or if the sides can be built up well enough to support the inside pressure of the dirt and water. I've calculated that 7 of these in a row would be just over the length of a standard 25 foot bed.
Perhaps you could give it a try? At the very least you'll get some content out of it.
Brilliant video I have an allotment and have always wanted to have a go at making these,this video makes it luck to simple to make them,ill definitely be having a go at making them
I just made a mini "raised bed" with a split area for compost.
Do you have a video? That sounds brilliant
Thank you Huw for sharing your version of making a raised bed with pallets.
My pleasure! :)
You are adorable and your video was so very helpful! (Our US pallets are a tiny bit different with twisted "fas-n-tite" nails that are miserable to try and remove manually.) Definitely going to do this project and look into your gardening book! Thank you!
awesome job Huw !! and if you line the bed with old compost bags it will lat even longer
Yes please, to making a video on just spitting pallets! I keep watching this one :) very satisfying. You are on track with your video content!
its 5 years ago but it helps me today...
Great video , thanks Huw, i just built a few in last few weeks, i used reclaimed scaffolding boards, but if i run out i sure will use this idea. Thanks so much for sharing.
Excellent video. Thanks for sharing the whole process. Now I need to muster the courage to tackle this!
Got pallet buster today getting pallets this week, thanks for the ideas and tips, you are awesome.
Please make sure that you use pallet's that you know the history of. Lots of pallets are used for chemical transportation and should not be reused
ArcticCareBear is there any way of cleaning it first or something?
@@eveoriordan305 I don't believe so, as even sanding would result in airborne particles of contaminates if the pallet has that origin
ArcticCareBear ohh ok thank you but I think I’m still going to make something similar mainly because so many people have done it and it didn’t affect them so 🤷♀️
@@eveoriordan305 thats a very ignorant viewpoint,Eve..The pesticides and insecticides used to treat pallets might not cause you to drop dead immediately but it can surely affect yr health.Imagine having a spoonful of pesticides for dinner once a fortnight.Anyway,if u insist on using them,look for the HT,KN or DB logo and STAY AWAY if it has the letters MB on them
@@elephantsong7782 thanks for the advise but all I’m trying to say is that loads of people have made raised bass from wood and I didn’t seem to cause that much damage by the look of it .
Sorry if I came across rude the first time 😅
Best video thus far... I just picked up pallets for raised bed project... thanks for the tips ❤
Awhh thank you so much!
@@HuwRichards you're welcome! It is 7:38pm my way and boy my hands hurt! I had hammer and the bar... certainly a mans job lol... but I did it! Thanks again...
Hey nothing like getting stuck into it!!:) I hope you grow some lovely food in it!
Perfect. Just the information I needed for starting my first allotment. I’ve also just ordered your book from Amazon. Thank you.
FINALLY - a great way to build raised beds without super-duper (💰💰💰💰💰) chop saws and the like! Thank you so much, Huw!
Thats a quick and easy raised bed, I got plenty of pallets. Thanks and cheers!
Brilliant! Thanks for the tips. Will make mine this Saturday!
Thanks for the tutorial on making raised bed. Great presentation.
thanks Huw for this video. i was able to build 4ftx10ft bed out of 2 pallets following this. im waiting for your book to arrive cant wait to start
Lining the inside wood of these raised beds with old compost bags or similar protects the wood and makes these beds last a lot longer. Just a little tip to make them last a long time.
Hi John, thank you so much! Do you mind if I include this in a video?
@@HuwRichards Don't be silly, of course. It does help. Treating the wood on the outside with any preservative is another tip. My big "letter E" keyhole-stye raised bed from pallet wood is now 5 years old, still as strong.
Thank u! Thank u! Thank u! 🎊🙌🏼🎉 Thus is just what I was looking for🎊 I'm getting 10 pallets 2morrow 🎉 I'm so excited 🎊 Gonne start my own veggie garden 💃💃💃💪
You're very welcome! Best of luck with your veggies :)
Excellent video. I can't wait to get my hands dirty building mine 😁
Great video!!! This comes very handy as my son's school is planning a sensory garden with very limited budget, this is a great idea to get raised beds, thanks xxx
This method definitely looks easier than other methods. Thanks!
Yess! I have so much of these in my yard piled up and wanted a box garden for so long!
love this! Did you stain or add a finish to yours? Just built mine but worried about weather deteriorating the wood. What non-chemical stains can I use?
Boiled linseed oil. Made from flaxseed and available at any hardware or paint store
I wish the pallets I picked up had nails that easy to remove. The ones I got had nails that had the faintest screw-like spiral that made the disassembly of the pallets (especially in a single plant and not splintered to hell) a very toilsome task resulting in me having just barely enough planks, luckily I picked up a 96 inch plank I picked up from home depot on the off chance the pallets wouldn't yield enough wood and/or I accidentally destroyed them in the process of breaking them down.
I don't have the pallet tools and just used a claw hammer for everything. I found the square blocks were the trickiest to get off without breaking. Would you treat the wood to stop it rotting? I have used plastic tubs in the past and they've lasted years.
This video took away all the intimidation i would of had to do this! thank you so much! i just need to get my tools in line and raised beds here I come!
Hi, I am going to make some raised beds, but like many of your subscribers, I will have to buy in the topsoil to fill the thing up. Estimating the size of your [free] raised bed, I reckon it to be about 5' x 4' x 1' where I live [Essex M25 area] it will cost about £75, thats a lot of carrots I gotta grow to justify the outlay. Just Saying
Look at bulk soil delivery if you're making some raised beds. Just saying.
Compost and straw/hay?
Amazing idea. I have a few questions, and I hope you can answer: I am planning on putting this raised bed straight onto concrete, so what base would I use when I fill it with compost? Any suggestions? Also, will i need to raise the bed? I will be growing carrots and potatoes. ☺️
This is brilliant, exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
Thank you for this. It is a good way to make raised beds if you can’t afford the materials. Pallets are very accessible for me. I don’t think I have seen ones with the blocks in them, though. I will have to search and see if I can find any. I have my strawberries in beds I made from pallets. I have had trouble with many more earwigs and pill bugs in the raised beds. They seem to hide between the wood and the soil. Is there a good remedy for that? That is one reason I haven’t used raised beds as much.
Line the raised beds with strips of old compost bags. Nail or stable them to the top and drape them over the inside before you add your compost/soil. This should help stop bugs using your raised bed as a food source. Hope this helps!
Hmm...that’s an interesting idea. Are you saying that would be like a barrier that would make it hard for them to get in the bed in the first place? Or that they wouldn’t like the plastic to hide near?
@@cynthiafisher9907 Ear-wigs and pill bugs are only interested in the rotting wood, you are then putting a barrier between them and your crops, protecting your crops. Hope this helps.
I don’t know, John, my earwigs and pill bugs eat my strawberries. I wouldn’t mind them just eating the wood, it’s the fruits and veggies I grow that I want to keep them from. The earwigs climb up my fruit trees and eat my apricots as well. Last year was a bad year for them and I’m afraid, with our warm winter, they will be even worse this year.
@@cynthiafisher9907 The old compost plastic sacks should protect them as a barrier. Try it, we call pill bugs - woodlouse (or slater in Scotland), they are found nesting/resting in wood but will eat soft fruits. Putting a barrier between the wood and the fruit will help, maybe not cure it but certainly will help.
Wish I wouldve found you earlier in the year and will definitely be purchasing your new book tomorrow. As thought veg in one bed was great
I have some raised beds for veg in thicker wood, but think I’ll make a couple of these for flowers, we can easily get free pallets here...
Really good video. Explained in detail and good for us dummies.