My wife kindly helped start my pallet journey with a course on how to make pallet planters. These are amazingly practical and versatile planters for the garden or allotment. I make them in two lengths and they are really designed around the wood taken from a cut up Eurolight pallet. No waste!
The large planter uses seven large planks from a Eurolight pallet. My large planters slope, to allow for a greenhouse style lid, so one side has four planks and the opposite side just has three planks. The sides are made up on each side of three planks— either the small or medium planks from the same pallet. It provides a choice of width depending your space. You need one diagonally saw cut plank for each end to complete the four sides.
The smaller planter is made from the twelve medium sized planks a Eurolight pallet provides and forms a square shape. You really want a height of three planks on each side so one pallet provides the perfect number of planks.
For both planter sizes you require four bits of wood for the internal corners to join it all together. You could use the small planks from a pallet and cut in half. I have used both nails or screws to attach it all together. I normally make the four sides into boards and then attach the four sides together and have used angled cuts to make a fancier corner, or a straight overlap joint. I prefer the straight overlap joint as after all it is pallet wood and designed to be rustic – the fancier corner was a waste of time! I have used both clear and green treatment. The green is a pain, you need to redo every year- but it looks nice.
I have also made different shaped planters, a corner planter and used pallets for vertical growing strawberries with recycled gutter and an olive barrel to irrigate powered by a solar pump.
Large planter from two Eurolight pallets:
7 long planks (length)
6 medium planks (width)
1 medium plank diagonally cut (width)
4 small planks (internal upright)
Small planter from one Eurolight pallet:
12 medium planks (width)
4 small planks (internal upright)
Cool Upcycled 