AN AFTERNOON AN AFTERNOON
Be careful when selecting your pallets because the blocks that separate the two frames are sometimes made of solid wood and other times of reconstituted wood pulp. Some are already broken, others not, and some have tops with no gaps, which means there’s more good wood to be used.
Also remember that pallet wood is never pressure treated, so you will need to either treat it yourself or think carefully about what you plant in it—never plant anything that requires a lot of water, and place the container somewhere that avoids a lot of rainfall. This is why I have chosen an olive tree to plant in this container; it can cope with full sun and some wind, and it needs very little water—perfect for a pallet.
Protective clothing, including gloves and goggles
Shovel/crowbar
A pallet or two (You will need to cover the sides of a box at least 12 inches [about 30 cm] cubed. You can cut the wood off the framework of your pallets or you can pry them off and cut them to size, in which case you will need fewer pallets.)
Saw
Hammer
Screws and screwdriver
Staple gun
Permeable membrane or liner
Washed horticultural sand
Multipurpose soil
Olive tree
Landscape rock
Gravel mulch (optional)
1.Using your shovel, pry the pallet wood apart until you have separated the planks from the supporting framework. This can be a tricky process; for best results, put your pallet on a stable surface. If this is too difficult, and the wood splits before it comes off the pallet, cut the wood off its framework, but be aware that this will give you much shorter planks.
2.Hammer any nails out of the wood so that it is safe to handle.
3.Construct a cube from the thicker supporting lumber originally used for the frame of the pallet. The cube must be big enough to hold the root ball of your tree and preferably at least a third bigger to give the roots room to grow (usually at least 12 inches [30 cm] cubed).
4.Cut the pallet planks to a length that’s just above the height of your cube and then screw them to the cube you’ve made—they can be horizontal or vertical, depending on your personal preference.
5.Screw the pallet planks to the underside of your cube, making sure that you leave gaps between them for any water to escape through.
6.Turn the cube the right way up and then, using a staple gun, attach the liner to the inside of the container.
7.Mix the gravel with the soil in either a 50:50 mix or with slightly more gravel than soil.
8.Put a few inches of gritty soil in the bottom of the container. Place your olive tree in the container and fill all the gaps around it with the remaining soil. Water well and then top off with landscape rock.
Rock rose
Chaenomeles speciosa
Nandina domestica
Abelia x grandiflora
Olearia macrodonta
Elaeagnus ebbingei
Eucalyptus gunnii
Koelreuteria paniculata
Cercis siliquastrum
Callistemon citrinus
Acacia dealbata
Melianthus major
Sorbus aria
