How do you mean to place them? As a floor? No, for lots of reasons. Do you mean to place them on their sides to form the frame? That could work but I'd cut them in half, the full pallet will probably be too tall and cumbersome. If that's it, how will you keep the soil in?

Oh, read through that again - - maybe you mean you will lay them on the ground, fill the 'empty' spaces with potting soil and then plant. Hmmmm, that could work but in that case I *might* stack them two high for more depth - I would likely decide when I saw it. You would still have the 'dirt fallng out the sides' in this scenario too though. Try it! Let us know how it works. Eventually, all the amended soil you use will wiggle down into the soil below and you will be improving year-by-year.

hi mary, and thanks for your response. i was planning on laying them on the ground, just one layer high, but two deep would probably be better. i haven't gotten them yet, still in the "thinking" stage. i know there is some kind of landscape cloth you can get to hold soil in, and figured i'd use that to keep the "good" soil in the pallet. i will let you know if i try it.

burlap would work well and disintegrate eventually. That landscape cloth gets ugly after a while. Heck, even cardboard, which is free. Then if this doesn't work and/or needs modification, you're not out any $$. You may decide to relocate the garden and the cardboard will just be absorbed into that clay, helping to break it up. Stuff shredded paper between cardboard 'walls' to insulate the shallow soil depth.

cardboard! great idea!

Here's an interesting idea. It's a vertical pallet garden. You basically staple landscape fabric and then fill with soil and plants.

thanks for the photo, toucan. i've bought 3 used 4x4' wooden pallets, and have a source for some 4'x8' pallets, which i will check out soon. here's a photo of my back patio. i'm not sure if i want to put the pallets on the grass (haha, what grass?) part of the yard, or on the gravel part behind the patio. advice welcome!

p.s. my backyard is on the north side of the house, and most of the patio and about about 5' of the gravel gets full sun all day long