Pallet frame for raised bed

You know them as a common tool for transporting loose goods on euro pallets. But pallet frames can also be very useful in the garden - as here, for example, to build simply constructed bed frames from them. Four boards of untreated pine are joined together by sturdy pallet hinges. For simplicity, two boards each are pre-assembled, so only the frame needs to be completed. To connect the two parts, steel pins are included, which are inserted into the hinges. Several of these pallet frames can be stacked on top of each other - immovable thanks to the metal tongues protruding from the hinges. The gardener thus has all kinds of design options, from a simple, flat bed border to a raised bed with multiple increased soil volume. Since the wood is processed untreated, we recommend lining the inside of the frame with a weed fleece made of water-permeable ribbon fabric (available in garden centers). A good water drainage is guaranteed if the frame or frames come to stand on a pallet - suitably - or on a few wooden slats elevated from the ground.

Especially when space is limited, the ancient horticultural technique of the raised bed offers the possibility of intensifying horticulture naturally and multiplying harvests without adding additional fertilizer; in southern China, cultivation on raised beds has been intensively cultivated for centuries, taking advantage of the special fertility and yield of this form of cultivation. A more recent development is the raised bed, which has many advantages to offer: the soil temperature is significantly higher than in the open field, due to decomposition processes and construction - the side walls are directly illuminated by the sun. The higher temperature allows up to three harvests a year, as seeds germinate faster and vegetables ripen earlier. Proper filling can produce the best quality soil as a prerequisite for optimal plant growth - regardless of the soil conditions that otherwise prevail in the garden. In gardens heavily infested with slugs or voles, a raised bed also offers better control and pest management options.