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You can quickly construct an herbal snack bar using a shipping pallet. We made two different gardens using pallets. The chickens love pecking off just what they need for a tasty treat that is good for them, too.

Materials Needed

• Pallet. Choose a used pallet with the HT designation stamped on it. This indicates that it was heat treated and not chemically treated. Some newer pallets are not stamped at all since chemical treatment has been discontinued in most shipping uses.
• Black weed control cloth
• Potting soil
• Wire mesh to cover the garden
• Staple gun
• Herb plants or seeds

How to Assemble the Herbal Snack Bar

I chose a pallet that had space to fit my hand into the sections to attach the black weed cloth. Measure the size of the pockets you will need for each section. Double that measurement. I double layered the cloth for extra durability.

Fold the cloth section in half.

Working from the back of the pallet, attach the cloth, forming a small grow bag or pocket.

Repeat the process until you have many pockets made and the pallet is ready to be filled with potting soil.

Continue to make the pockets and staple in place from the back of the pallet.

Flip the pallet to the right side. Fill the pockets with soil.

Pack lightly.

Begin adding the seeds or plants to each pocket.

If you are using plants, choose smaller-sized plants to start the garden. These will fit under the protective wire better and they will grow through the wire quickly.

Cut a piece of ¼-inch welded wire mesh to the measurements of the pallet plus four inches on each end for attaching to the pallet.

Do not apply the wire tight up against the pallet. Let it bow outward somewhat. This will keep the chickens from pulling the plants out by the roots. In our example, the wire sits an inch or two away from the pallet. The wire is slightly bowed out from the plants.

On the sides, bend the wire covering down and firmly attach to the pallet. You can use larger staples or nails bent over to hold the wire in place.

Repeat for the other side.

If you planted seeds, let the pallet garden lay somewhere safe from the chickens until the plants are sturdy and growing well. This will give the seeds time to germinate without washing away. Water carefully. Herbs like water but they do not like to be soaked.

We leaned our pallet against the wall, at an angle, to keep it from falling. You could also attach the pallet to the fence using screws or bolts and washers.

Are you interested in more projects like this to enrich your chickens’ habitat? Check out my recent book sold in the Countryside bookstore, 50 Do it Yourself Projects for Keeping Chickens, Skyhorse Publishing, 2018.