Comments on: Are Reclaimed Pallets Safe for Raised Bed Gardens?

By: Angela

Angela — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:13:00 +0000

Your husband’s logic sounds crazy to me. Never would I grow food on property that previously operated as a gas station. All gas stations have contamination. I can only hope you completed a Environmental Site Assessment before being handed the property. Free—is not always free. Your property definitely came with a price.

By: Nightrain70

Nightrain70 — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:03:00 +0000

Thanks Dee. I have made a very nice pallet garden and read this and at first was like oh no. Your comments put me at ease

By: DrPH

DrPH — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 19:25:00 +0000

Geez, people! She’s only being cautious. There’s no reason to be rude and insulting. While we may find sources of E. coli randomly in our yards, the reality is the the strains found in nature are those to which we have been exposed and developed an immunity or effective immune response. The strains of E. coli found in things like frozen meats transported to market can be some nasty bugs for sure. Some of them are resistant to antibiotics and if you’re using the pallets to grow food, this could present a problem. Furthermore, reclaimed pallets are those that the user has no further use for, presumably because they have been well-used, read: exposed to these sources repeatedly for a prolonged period of time. Depending on the exposure, e.g. Oils, chemicals, this could pose a real health risk.

The best advice given here is “know your source.”

And since we’re throwing out credentials, I hold a PhD in public health, with a specialization in food studies, which means I study where food comes from (including home gardens or subsistence gardening) and the various threats to our supply from terrorism to lead in soil.

By: stupid to require a name

stupid to require a name — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:38:00 +0000

If your garden and compost pile do NOT “find part of their life out of doors exposed to water, all manner of vermin and insects, not to mention bird droppings and other nastiness” then you might want to consider keeping pallet wood away from them.

By: valeri blossom

valeri blossom — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:28:00 +0000

ack! i have always wanted to use pallets for indoor projects but been squicked out by the idea of the contaminants from all sources, whether treatments or the products shipped that may have spilled – and even as someone else mentioned, they sit around in parking lots and are just ick. every now and then i come across newer looking ones but after reading this, i’m not going to risk picking some up for indoor purposes because you’ve only helped reiterate what i was already thinking.

By: Ke'lona Hamilton

Ke'lona Hamilton — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:27:00 +0000

I wonder, could you line the pallets with something that would prevent any chemicals from leeching into the soil/plants of your raised garden bed?

By: Sean Green

Sean Green — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:52:00 +0000

I used some stockade fencing that was knocked down by hurricane Irene last year to build my compost bin. Anyone know if that is chemically treated? My guess is yes since it withstands years of weathering