How to make greenhouse plant shelves from pallets

As DIY projects are low on my agenda right now, having just had a baby, I wanted to bring you some fab DIY ideas from others. This week, Natalie from All Homesteading, reveals how to create shelving for a greenhouse out of two pallets. You can check out her blog where you can find tips on homesteading as well as gardening and craft projects.

If you’re wanting to upgrade your greenhouse this summer, a small polytunnel for your garden would be the perfect addition to create the optimal environment for growing your crops.

Hi I’m Natalie!

I had needed extra shelving in my greenhouse for a while and plant staging can get expensive, especially if you want something robust and long-lasting. My neighbour had a couple of wooden pallets in his garden that he was getting rid of, so I snapped them up to save myself some cash and make my own shelving unit.

Materials you will need:

• Two pallets
• Hand saw
• Electric screwdriver
• Spirit level
• Screws
• Tape measure
• Wood stain or paint (optional)

Step 1: Cut your pallets for the shelves

I decided to go with three tiers of shelving for my unit. But the great thing about this project is you can divide the depth of each shelf depending on how many pallets you’ve managed to find.

I went with four slats for the bottom shelf, three for the middle shelf and one for the top. Making a gradient like this means you can have plants of different heights on each shelf.

Divide your two pallets into what will be your three shelf tiers by sawing the batons behind and between the slats to separate them. I used four slats off one pallet to make the bottom shelf and used the second pallet for the middle and top shelf.

Step 2: Create the main structure

Once you have cut the pallets for your shelves, you need to use the rest of the pallets to create the side batons for support. You will only need four slats for this but try to make sure two are the same height and the other two are a little longer. The longer ones will be for the front supports.

Starting with the bottom shelf, screw one baton to one edge of the bottom shelf, and then repeat on the other side. You should now have a structure that resembles a ‘U’ shape.

Step 3: Attach the remaining shelves

Now you will need to decide the height of your second shelf. Measure the back batons and mark out where you want to attach the shelf. The shelves should be about equal distance from each other but this is up to you!

Screw in the middle shelf at your chosen height and then finally the top shelf, being sure to check they’re straight using a spirit level.

Step 4: Attach the final two long batons

Once you have your shelves attached to the two shortest batons, you want to add the two slanting ones for extra support. These need to go on at a 45-degree angle.

Step 5: Paint (optional)

Painting is an optional step, but something I would recommend to protect the wood since the staging will be in a wet and humid environment.

Before painting, I roughly sanded the shelving to even out the surface and then painted a few coats of white wood paint to match my greenhouse.

 

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