I decided to expand my garden this year. Last year it was 10 x 20, and was somewhat crowed with what I planted. This year I'm going to till a 25 x 25 or 30 x 30 area and fence it in similar to the picture shown. We're putting up 250 feet of privacy fencing, so I thought I would fence the garden as well. This was suppose to be one of the projects last year; but there are several trees that need to be taken out so we postponed the job. I need to call in a tree company to remove them. Hopefully, the ground will be hard enough to bring in a bucket truck soon and we can start the project.
I still need to figure out how to keep the groundhogs out. You remember my battles with them last season. I'm thinking of building a trench around the wood fencing and burying chicken wire a foot into the ground and than bending it under the fence and stapling it to the wood.
I'm going to set traps again this year. I have a college student who is willing to set-up traps for me while he's home for summer break. I'm hoping this will help with the problem. I trapped 6 last year. You have to continuously set the traps during the growing season. They were a royal pain in my __________ last year. They spread the word about my buffett, and had a major feast with my pole beans. I replanted at least 4 times and couldn't up with enough beans for a meal, lol.
Last year I used the row method for my garden. I'm actually contemplating raised beds this year. I love this layout behind the wood fencing. (Thanks to waldeneffect.org for the photo and idea).
It has been suggested that I use cedar for the boxes, apparently cedar will last a life time. I have a few months to make a decision. My soil is great, I was able to produce a high yield of veggies last year with very little amendment to the soil, so I'm wondering if the raised boxes will really be worth it. Since I've never used a raised bed, I really have no Pros to weigh against the Cons. Do you have raised beds? I would love to hear what you think about one method over the other.
I will definitely incorporate the arbor, stepping stones and the marigolds around the border, but replace the raised bed in the middle with a bench. I want to be able to sit and admire the fruits of my labor, lol. What do you think about my garden layout plans?
I think it's lovely, Rhonda. A real Diva's Garden!
ReplyDeleteWe do have raised beds. At the old house, we had wooden borders, but here with such a large garden we haven't installed the wood. Raised beds keep the garden so tidy and I think better week control, but I don't know about ground hogs. We have cotton tails that so far have left the garden along, thankfully. I think you would enjoy the structure that raised beds will give your garden. We didn't use redwood, but we did use treated lumber. Good luck. Let us know.
ReplyDelete@Ann - I do like the structure and uniformity of the raised beds. I'm hoping that getting the wire deep enough into the ground will keep the groundhogs from burrowing under it. Adding the traps will be an added measure. My neighbor said groundhogs cracked the foundation of her barn.
ReplyDeleteI think the raised beds would look great! I agree with Ann's previous comment about the weed control ... the raised beds would certainly make that easier. I enjoyed your post! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis looks great
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