DIY Pallet Wood Potting Bench

DIY Pallet Wood Potting Bench

Use a wood pallet to create a potting bench

If you’re frugally minded then pallet wood, and pallets themselves, can be a versatile and useful material. I’ve used them to make strawberry planters, wooden trugs, and my boyfriend has even used them to create a stunning herringbone table. That got me to thinking — I actually need a potting bench in the greenhouse. Nothing fancy but something to keep trays of seedlings off of the ground. I got Josh back on the case.

The surface is literally half of a pallet

Within an hour, he had a basic table made for me that’s perfect for my size greenhouse. I didn’t want it to stretch all the way across since I have some taller plants I’d like to fit in beside it. If I change my mind about how I want to use that space we can make a second potting bench from the other side of the pallet and set them side by side.

Josh started by cutting a standard wooden pallet in half with a jigsaw. There were some little wooden bits left on the sides that jutted out so he knocked some of them off with a hammer. The others he went back and trimmed with the jigsaw.

Fitting the pallet table top with legs

The legs came from my old chicken run and so we actually didn’t end up spending any money on this project. They’re 2x2x30″ (5x5x75cm) lengths of pine and they’re screwed in from the top and side of the pallet. If you wanted to give them more stability, you could fit them with steel or wooden brackets. The table comes to my waist and the plants that sit on top have enough height to grow.

An Easy and Practical DIY

I’m over the moon with my new pallet potting bench! I actually love how rustic it looks and the fact that we’ve recycled materials to build it. It’s come at a good time too since seed sowing will soon be on us. Keeping seedlings off the ground will protect them from any slugs and beasties that invite themselves into the greenhouse.

Until then, I have pots of succulents, and trays of Sweet Williams and garlic spread across the top and two geraniums underneath. It’s amazing how useful and attractive a ‘hack’ can be.

Original article and pictures take lovelygreens.com site