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Lockdown Projects at Coombe Mill.
Lockdown Projects at Coombe Mill.
Lockdown project 1 – Electricity Meters Removed In order to keep up with the times and make our guests stay as easy and as comfortable as ever, our first lockdown project was to remove the electricity pound coin metres in all of our six lodges. We are certain that this will be a popular improvement for all our returning guests, but hope that we can all continue to be conscientious about…
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What I did on my Summer vacation, part 1
What I did for my Summer vacation, part 1
I know, I know, it’s been forever since you’ve heard from us. We were in full-on farm improvement mode for the entire month of June. Then we had a family reunion. Combine that with lots of visitors and out-of-town trips for both of us and we’ve had what amounts to an insanely busy summer. I haven’t quite worked out how to get it all done. I’ll let you know if I can ever figure that out, but…
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Using upcycled pallets on the farm.
Infrastructure can be a major financial setback for first time farmers. Building materials are not cheap and are often manufactured hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the farm. Permaculture teaches that materials should be sourced on-site, or as close as possible whenever possible. Sustainability is a main objective in permaculture as well. In researching sustainable building methods for my farm I discovered the usefulness of upcycling pallets.
150 million pallets find their way to landfills every year in the United States alone. Any business that receives large shipments will be glad to give their pallets to anyone who is willing to take them off their hands. There are posts in the "free" section on Craigslist regularly offering pallets to whoever is willing to pick them up. I take home about five or six pallets from my employer every week. The locally owned farm and garden supply store that I frequent also gives me their old pallets free of charge. They're out there and they're not difficult to locate.
The most basic use for pallets on the farm is as panels in fencing. You can use them to construct corrals, sections in compost bins or to even fence in fields or gardens. This use requires no alteration to the pallet whatsoever. Simply line the pallets up side by side and nail or staple them together. For s sturdier barrier bury the pallets in a few inches of soil or line the bottom with stones. I've found that pallets are sturdy enough to stand alone however. It's a quick and easy method to construct barriers on the farm.
Pallets are ideal for use in raised bed gardening. Raised beds constructed from upcycled pallets are easy on the back, no bending required. Materials needed include pallets, soil, landscaping fabric or similar material, and nails or staples. I have substituted dumpstered cloth banners for landscaping fabric in my raised beds, further cutting down on cost. Any sheet of nontoxic permeable material that will hold soil will work. Here's a link to a video on constructing raised beds from pallets that I found useful when designing my raised beds: http:/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvpIfbfVER8
When pallets are taken apart they provide many uniform pieces of lumber which can be used in a number of projects. A simple search on the internet will provide hundreds of different pallet projects. Pallet boards make for beautiful wooden furniture when finished and polished. Perhaps the most relevant use for deconstructed pallet boards is in poultry/rabbit tractor construction. Check out this video for an example of constructing chicken tractors from pallet boards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp8z2FC90HI
The uses for pallets are limitless. I haven't had the time to experiment with pallets on my farm beyond using them as raised beds and barriers, but countless ideas are out there. I plan on using them to construct a shed this summer. I've also thought about using them to build cabins for vacation rentals or intern housing. This video demonstrates how pallets can be used to construct housing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M2j5SIPC6U
I hope you found some useful information here. I know I'm not the first person to explore pallet upcycling as is evidenced by the videos I have cited. Their uses on my farm have been so practical that I felt compelled to write about them. Updates on my pallet projects will be posted here and on Lookout Mountain Farm's Twitter and Facebook pages. Thanks for reading!
-Adam Foster
