DIY Pallet Container Garden - Large Version

Pallet Container Garden

A few weeks ago I posted about a DIY container garden I made from a pallet.  Then just a few weeks later I was at the Garfield Park Conservatory and saw this very large option, up-cycled pallets,  in their vegetable garden.  

Please do not attempt to put this design on a porch! This must weight a ton. Especially after the rain or a good watering. 

That said, if my yard had extremely poor soil, or I was growing a root crop, this would be in my yard most certainly!

Same basic considerations are used create this architectural element for the garden as in my smaller version. 

Wine Crate Container Garden - DIY up-cycle

Earlier this week I was giving a presentation on container gardening with a focus on Herbs. When I give garden workshops I like to have something live to use as demonstration so I decided to up cycle a wine crate into a container garden. 

Wine Crate Herb Container Garden - DIY

There are a number of how-to websites that simply treat - drill holes - plant. This didn't seem to be quite sufficient for a container that I hoped would last all summer outside. I keep in mind that wine crates are designed for one time use; they are not the best wood out there and are usually not constructed very well. Therefore, I decided to do a few things differently than others propose. My technique includes:

DIY Upcycled Coffee Bags - Gunny Fashion

DIY Upcycled Coffee Sack Pouf (Footrest)

I have a few friends that are just head-over-heels for burlap. One is doing her whole wedding around this fabric - yes, it's even in her bridal bouquet! Thus, when I came into a large supply of jute coffee sacks, I just had to explore the opportunities to up-cycle, recycle, reuse and repurpose them!

Gunny sacks, Burlap, Jute, all very fun to use for crafts and DIY projects.

Coffee sack burlap/Jute is a great sustainable material. It’s a natural, biodegradable, and strong fabric.  In my garden I use it to layer-in a weed barrier prior to planting in the flower beds or vegetables. I use it for mound gardening and mulch with it too.  I drape some of the old fabric and threads on shrubs for birds to use for nesting. Using the coffee sacks for crafts was a little messy - so I have been cutting it outside. 

The most ambitious project was the creation of the burlap pouf - footrest shown in the photo on the right. I really like the look of the item and custom made to just the right height. This project required precision so that all the pieces matched up and the writing on the coffee bags all faced the same direction :) (BTW that beige chair was rescued from curbside and my neighbor reupholstered it!)