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Making Garden Signs From Old Barn Wood

The pallet markers are a great way to add a little order and interest to the garden paths

The pallet markers are a great way to add a little order and interest to the garden paths

We have used pallet wood and the left over barn wood from the two barns we tore down to do just about everything.  This past week – Mary came up with one more great idea.  We wanted a way to mark the various rows of our gardens – mainly for appearance and to help identify plants and rows for visitors to the farm.

It was actually a simple project.

A quick sanding of the boards and a little paint – and the signs were ready to go

We still have a fair amount of the barn wood left over – including a lot of small 24 to 36 slat and floor pieces.  We trimmed them all down to be about 3″ wide by 20″ long – and then added a simple rounded curve on each end with a jigsaw before stenciling in the names of our plant rows.  We then pre-drilled a couple of holes on each end.  Th

en then drove 3/4″ x 18″ stakes into the ground. After that – we attached the painted boards to the stakes with some inexpensive course black drywall screws (We figure if they rust a little it will just add character) and we were finished!

The markers all up and in the garden – we just attached them to a simple small stake and drove them in the ground

The result –  a creative way to identify our garden with unique signs – created for free from our stash of old barn wood! We thought about adding a clear coat to the signs, but figured it was best to let them naturally fade and bleach with the sun. All in all, a great way to use up some more of the wood and not have to spend a dime on signage for the garden. It took us about 2 hours to make and paint the 25 or so signs – and 15 minutes to put them up.

Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary

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