Last summer (2018), was my fifth year trying to garden at the local Community Gardens. I really gave it the old college try, but, when my uphill garden neighbor put down rubber roofing for weed block and it rained 14" in a space of 10 days, it became very apparent THAT location was not for me.
Originally, I ended up at the Community Gardens because I live in a wooded area and have to contend with shade issues and lots of forest critters, especially whitetail deer. I've tried gardening in the dirt, along with raised beds, but finally conceded to those critters and ended up growing in containers on our deck. Don't let anyone fool you....whitetail deer will eat ANYTHING if they are hungry enough. Here's proof. This is a 12-foot holly tree next to my home that was wrapped in 3/4" grid bird netting this winter.
And a crabapple tree that my late Dad planted from a sucker off my grandmother's crabapple. Notice all four feet are off the ground.
So, after the moron and the monsoon at the Community Gardens, I relinquished my two 30'x30' plots. And, last fall, we did a massive landscape project in the front yard, removing 7 huge tulip poplar and oak trees. Where there was shade, now there is NONE! After 26 years, I have sun! So, I set to create my garden. A deer- and critter-proof garden. Here is what happened this week:
We basically have no dirt, so this is a container garden. If you want to plant something here, get ready to move shale, clay and rocks. And buy dirt. So, I asked for dirt for Christmas.
What you're looking at is a modified golf cage. Since everything is visible from the street, there's a pretty end and a business end. Up front is a 6'x6' entrance containing a couple of attractive planters and trellises, followed by 2'x4' raised beds and, behind that is another 8'x10' area that joins the front one. That's Phase I. Phase II will be another attached 8'x10' area in the back. Everything is covered in 750 pound deer netting with hardware cloth around the base of the perimeter. The top of the fence is tensioned by cable ties that extend from the top horizontal to the top of the net, where a shade cloth grip is fastened in case that becomes an eventuality this summer. Outside the rear of the cage is where my small cold frame has been moved, along with a 2Hx3Wx2dD "nursery" enclosure sitting on hardware cloth and wrapped with bird netting, which will eventually be covered with a frost blanket and shade cloth, to harden off this year's starts. The whole area has a southwest exposure, so it gets pretty intense come August.
All in all, I'm pretty excited and pleased with how everything's coming together. I want a useful garden, but it needs to look nice, too. When all the i's are dotted and tee's crossed, all the structure above ground level will be painted a flat black that will blend in a lot better than shiny EMT conduit pipe. There's an area to the left of the front gate that I sprayed yesterday, just to see how it would look.
So, that's my garden this year! I am so stoked to be able to grow at home. Speaking of growing, I have some onions starts that need to be planted!
Originally, I ended up at the Community Gardens because I live in a wooded area and have to contend with shade issues and lots of forest critters, especially whitetail deer. I've tried gardening in the dirt, along with raised beds, but finally conceded to those critters and ended up growing in containers on our deck. Don't let anyone fool you....whitetail deer will eat ANYTHING if they are hungry enough. Here's proof. This is a 12-foot holly tree next to my home that was wrapped in 3/4" grid bird netting this winter.
And a crabapple tree that my late Dad planted from a sucker off my grandmother's crabapple. Notice all four feet are off the ground.
So, after the moron and the monsoon at the Community Gardens, I relinquished my two 30'x30' plots. And, last fall, we did a massive landscape project in the front yard, removing 7 huge tulip poplar and oak trees. Where there was shade, now there is NONE! After 26 years, I have sun! So, I set to create my garden. A deer- and critter-proof garden. Here is what happened this week:
We basically have no dirt, so this is a container garden. If you want to plant something here, get ready to move shale, clay and rocks. And buy dirt. So, I asked for dirt for Christmas.
What you're looking at is a modified golf cage. Since everything is visible from the street, there's a pretty end and a business end. Up front is a 6'x6' entrance containing a couple of attractive planters and trellises, followed by 2'x4' raised beds and, behind that is another 8'x10' area that joins the front one. That's Phase I. Phase II will be another attached 8'x10' area in the back. Everything is covered in 750 pound deer netting with hardware cloth around the base of the perimeter. The top of the fence is tensioned by cable ties that extend from the top horizontal to the top of the net, where a shade cloth grip is fastened in case that becomes an eventuality this summer. Outside the rear of the cage is where my small cold frame has been moved, along with a 2Hx3Wx2dD "nursery" enclosure sitting on hardware cloth and wrapped with bird netting, which will eventually be covered with a frost blanket and shade cloth, to harden off this year's starts. The whole area has a southwest exposure, so it gets pretty intense come August.
All in all, I'm pretty excited and pleased with how everything's coming together. I want a useful garden, but it needs to look nice, too. When all the i's are dotted and tee's crossed, all the structure above ground level will be painted a flat black that will blend in a lot better than shiny EMT conduit pipe. There's an area to the left of the front gate that I sprayed yesterday, just to see how it would look.
So, that's my garden this year! I am so stoked to be able to grow at home. Speaking of growing, I have some onions starts that need to be planted!
