Vegetable Gardening and Me (#3)

As I mentioned in my first post on gardening, I want to make this a weekly post. I am not an expert gardener, and I have made plenty of mistakes, but my adventures may help others have more fun and success. 

Today I discuss the importance of planning, my new raised bed, and a solution for the rabbit problem.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional. All my posts are for informational and entertainment purposes only. I reserve the right to change, edit, or correct any of the content found on the blog at any time without notification. Use at your own risk. 

The Best Laid Plan of this Foolish Gardener

Planning is key to a highly productive vegetable garden. It could be as simple as making a list of the plants you want to grow, and designing a layout in your mind. Or, as complex as creating a spreadsheet of planting, transplanting, growth, and harvest times; detailed maps of each plant's location in the garden; and a calendar indicating every step in the timeline. I would love to do the latter. The reality is I have barely done the former.

Okay, in place of a list, I have a pile of seed packages lying spread out on a table; instead of a mental layout, I have dreams of the bountiful harvest I will gather by fall.   

Unfortunately, I have let a number of things get in my way. I have only just now figured out how to deal with the rabbits in an efficient, but effective way. Most of my seeds did not come in until about three weeks ago. I finally bought the lumber, cut it up, and screwed it together for the raised bed; it still needs to be sealed, put in place, and filled with dirt. Three of the four rows have been prepared, with the fourth requiring full treatment. But I am also considering a fifth one, if there is enough dirt left. And seedling I began inside the house weeks ago do not look so good.

That is part of my problem. I dream up all these ideas, and spend weeks researching ways to implement them. Sometimes, months. Then when I  am ready to follow through, I let a problem derail it. Like the rabbits. And the pandemic. Oh, and the fence designs, some of which look great in my head, but produce nothing but problems while building them. 

However, I am changing some of my old habits (I was always good at giving up, or doing a half-ass job). Instead of letting go in the face of adversity, I am starting to step up and meet the challenge. Today, I did just that: the raised bed is almost complete, and have a final design for the temporary fencing.

I got around to making the raised bed. My old ones were made of three-quarter inch thick cedar boards, which were not adequately braced either in the corners or along their lengths. So, they eventually fell apart. This time I am using 2x8 Douglas fir boards, reinforced with 2x2 wooden pieces in the corners, and in the middle of the longest sides. To prevent rotting (at least in the short term), I will be staining them with an organic sealer. While I had planned on using dovetails to join the corners, after some trial and error, I decided to rely on exterior screws and the braces. Finally, I am keeping final dimensions to 3'x8', so that I can install a six-foot trellis along the entire back side, but still be able to reach in from the front. The final height is about fifteen inches, but the braces were kept longer to allow a fence to be installed around the entire top edge.

I am quite satisfied with the results.

But, the most important step I needed to take was solving the rabbit issue. Whatever fence design I chose, it needed a few features. First, I had to be able to access the plants, so it needed to be removable. Second, I did not want to invest too much money, so I tried to recycle as much material as I could. Third, chicken wire was out, so I had to find something that was better. Finally, time forced me to design something that was temporary, AND would allow me to reuse the fencing part in a more permanent design down the road.

I settled on a coated metal fencing, four feet wide. It looks nice (the color is green, and the openings are rectangular, so it looks clean). Because I only needed the fence to be two feet tall, I cut the fencing in half down the whole length. In order to use the same fencing in a future upgrade, I sized everything into 2'x8' sections. The sections are stapled to wooden stakes three feet long, with each section getting three stakes. The material for the wooden stakes are from scrap wood I collected over the years. Finally, it turns out that despite the final height of fence (two feet), I can still reach in and easily access the garden without removing anything (the beds themselves sit six-eight inches tall, and are only three feet deep which helps). 

The end product is sturdy, and prettier than chicken wire. And when I am finally ready to create a better looking fence, I can easily remove the stakes, and reuse the metal sections. 

I just have to finish making the rest of it. That is on my to-do-list for tomorrow.

The "successful" temporary fence design.
The section to the left only has two stakes.
It was the prototype.

A closeup of the "successful" temporary fence design.

A closeup of where the two sections meet.

This is what I would like the permanent design
to look like. But it is too much work for now.
It will be easily removable.

This is the chicken wire prototype.
I hate chicken wire.
So much.

A closeup of the chicken wire prototype.
Notice the top-right corner.
Yes, I created a special joint for added strength.
Was not worth it in the end.

I would have preferred to have started all this months ago. But, well, I was not prepared, and I had not made adequate plans. Yet, I am moving along, which is a big change for me. So, on some level, I feel good. The last frost date for my region was about five days ago, and nightly temperatures have been on the cooler side, so there is still time to plant. 

In the end, I made some mistakes, but I have also learned from them. 

Here's to a bountiful harvest all summer long and well into autumn.

(And garden without rabbits and chicken wire.)

(To be continued...)