Honestly, if you’re running a community garden on a shoestring budget (and let’s face it, most of us are), you don’t need to spend $200 on a fancy teak bench that someone might worry about getting dirty. You need something solid, weatherproof, and so cheap it almost hurts. After building seats for three different community plots in my neighborhood, I can tell you without a doubt: the absolute cheapest durable option is a heavy-duty wooden pallet bench.
Now, before you picture splinters and wobbly slats, hear me out. You can’t just toss a raw pallet on the ground and call it a day—that thing will warp and start falling apart after one rainy season. The trick is using the right kind of pallet and doing a few simple upgrades that cost almost nothing. You’re aiming for a heat-treated pallet (look for the “HT” stamp, not “MB” which is chemically treated). These are usually free to collect from hardware stores, garden centers, or local businesses.
For the actual build, you’re looking at maybe $15 to $30 in extra materials if you don’t already have them. Grab a box of exterior decking screws, a small can of weatherproof wood stain or an outdoor-safe paint—grab whatever “oops” paint is on clearance at the hardware store, it’s perfect for this—and two concrete blocks or cinder blocks. The blocks act as legs, lift the wood off the damp ground, and prevent rot better than any fancy footer could for the price. Secure the pallet on top of the blocks, add a second pallet stacked if you want a backrest, screw everything together, then sand any rough spots so no one catches a splinter. A coat of paint not only makes it look loved and intentional but seals the wood enough to handle sun and rain for years.
The real durability secret? Maintenance that the community can help with. At the end of the growing season, someone takes the bench inside a shed or just flips it upside down so water doesn’t pool in the joints. Even if it lives outside 365 days a year, you can easily replace a single slat from another scrap pallet when one eventually cracks—try doing that with a store-bought bench. I’ve had a painted pallet bench sitting beside a compost heap for four years now, and all it needed was a fresh coat of paint last spring.
So to answer your question directly: a ground-contact-protected, painted pallet bench on concrete blocks. It’s practically free, you build it in an afternoon with volunteers, and if someone spills a wheelbarrow of wet mulch on it, no one cries.