Thrifty Consumer or Stage 1 Hoarder

I love Pinterest.  Some of my favorite things to source on Pinterest are DIY projects using shipping pallets.  I'll be the first to admit that 98% of the things that I pin never come into being.

I've made the odd recipe and I attempted a gingerbread cityscape in a jar for my mom for Christmas. Complete with antique blue glass jar and snapping glass top - very classy.  The jar was beautiful, the cookies were delicious (mostly because I added cocoa powder), but in my haste I cut all of my little skyscrapers too big and not one of them fit inside the jar!  I was forced to give her the cookies on a plate with an empty jar...less than stellar.

 

Mine looked exactly like that - just picture all of the cookies on a plate and an empty jar and voila!

So, when I approached my husband about the possibility of building a small fence out of recycled shipping pallets he was, at the very least, dubious.


Caleb: "Where are you going to get them?"

me: "The dump."

Caleb: "You're kidding right?  And, where will you put them?  I seriously hope you're not planning on stacking them up in the back yard.  What  are we hoarders now?  Just because it's free doesn't mean it's good."

me: "I could always put them in the basement."

Caleb: "..."

I admit, this is a solid argument against "collecting" pallets.  They are cumbersome and moderately unattractive especially when piled up in your too-small backyard.  But (and this is a big BUT), their inherent value can't be denied.  For the most part, they are structurally sound, often single-use shipping pallets which are made of solid wood and can be easily modified or broken down entirely. 

Build a pallet fence by Clay Sawyer.

I've moved on from the idea of building a fence since we a) don't need one and b) don't own this house but, I never gave up on the pallets.  In fact, I'm quite sure we can easily break them down in order to construct our raised beds.  My looming concern now is that I am ill-equipped to tell whether or not the wood has been treated.  The last thing I want is to build an edible garden bed out of wood soaked in toxic chemicals which then leach out into the organic uber-soil that I just spent multiple dollars and hours preparing.

Any must see Gardening Boards out there?  I'm always looking to feed my addiction.

One of the many DIY Pallet Boards I follow can be found here.

The Plot, Smart Pots and Dragon Carrots

Following more advice from My Square Foot Garden I made a plan using Excel.  I also used her companion planting guide which I highly recommend and can be found here.  It's very easy to use and was a big help figuring out what should be planted where.

There's also early and late crops which get rotated but I have yet to tackle that beast.  It is, after all, only February.

I sourced a lot of the seeds that I want to use at Seed Savers Exchange which is a reputable source for hard to find heirloom varieties - their catalog is here.  I will not end up getting all of my seeds from their site - the ones I just planted were from my local garden center - but there are a few which I would have a hard time finding locally like the Mexican Sour Gherkin, Parisian Pickling cucumbers and Dragon Carrot.  Others are more readily available, often organic or at least heirloom and almost always cheaper at local stores.  The catalog is still a great resource for unique heirlooms and I have to stop myself from purchasing six different kinds of everything.  Their descriptions are also wonderful and give an idea of the final taste as well as all the other pertinent growing information.

The Mexican Sour Gherkin - seedsavers.org

Organic Parisian Pickling Cucumber - seedsavers.org

Dragon Carrot - seedsaver.org

I decided to do all of the herbs in containers at my house for easier access when I'm cooking.  I've been looking around at different options and I know I want something inexpensive and also portable so I can make the most of my available light.  I came across the Smart Pot which you can find here and it's probably my first choice.  It seems like a large felt bag with handles for $10 per 3 gallon pot - which seems a little steep but it is very lightweight and also has handles for easy transport.

  
I'm curious if anybody has firsthand experience with these pots and if they are worth the investment?  They have another product which looks intriguing called the Big Bag Bed which is a circular raised bed made out of the same material.  I saw a video of the bed here on YouTube and it looks great.