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Varmint Proof Raised Beds
I thought I could do without the vegetable garden. That was until I had to eat store bought lettuce through the winter, and use tasteless, commercial greenhouse grown tomatoes in the summer. The price of a few fresh sprigs of basil was absurd. It was time for a new vegetable garden. I'd given all the bricks to a friend, who was in the process of building a new house, so I had to come up with some new raised beds. I didn't want to use bricks again because they were heavy to move, difficult to set and hard on the shins when I banged into them. I will admit the block beds produced some very nice vegetables over the years and they were incredibly durable.
I've always had trouble with the local wildlife, especially in the summer, when the round-tailed squirrels and birds go after the vegetables and foliage. And every so often the javelina would really make a mess of the vegetable garden after they bullied their way under the fencing. I'd had wood built raised beds in the past and knew they would eventually rot where they came in contact with the soil and moisture. Using wood, the beds wouldn't be permanent, but the material was reasonably prices, easy to work with and it didn't look too bad if I gave the outside a coat of linseed oil. I didn't want another fence which restricted my movement in and out of the garden and snagged the occasional lizard or snake that I'd have to set free if I found it before it succumbed to the summer heat. I decided each new raised bed would have its own fencing.
To make sure the beds were easy to handle by one person and easy to plant I decided each bed would be about four foot square and 12 inches tall. A two by four top rail was added to support the cover cages. Corners were reinforced using 4 by 4's. In the garden the beds were spaced 26 inches apart. The hinged covers were 23 inches tall to accommodate lettuce, chard, onions, and bush beans. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant would probably be too tall for the cages. All the exposed wood was coated with a water sealer to offer a little bit of protection from sun and moisture. By the time I finished constructing the garden eight, four by four beds were built. Three seven foot by 31 - inch beds were also constructed. And there's still room for four more four by four beds in the garden if needed. Some of the beds had a chicken wire bottom to discourage wildlife tunneling. The beds were filled with homemade compost, well composted steer manure, bags of potting soil, vermiculite and whatever else I could find at a reasonable price. he soil will be continually improved with more compost and steer manure before each new plantings. Fertilizer was also added so the garden is not totally organic nor does it use planting methods favored by square foot gardeners. Generally, I prefer rows of vegetables to accommodate the drip irrigation system I use. The first winter growing season the beds were watered with a hose because the beds didn't dry out as quickly as they would in the spring and summer. Before the summer crops were planted a drip irrigation system was added to each bed. Some beds used drip hose while others had emitters for single plants. Each bed had its own on off valve so they could be watered at separate times.
A Few Changes to the Beds
To alleviate the problem I built hinged tops for the cages themselves. That way the cages could be lifted for soil improvement and planting. Then just the top of the cage could be removed to harvest or turn the watering system on or off. Also I added shade cloth or light weight insect barrier to the top of the cages for the taller crops such as Swiss chard and bush beans because the birds would nibble on the plants as they neared the top of the cages.
Oops!
Some time in the future I might build an extension to a couple of the cages with doors that open from the side to grow determinate tomato plants so I don't have to worry about their height. I also might have rushed a few spring crops and planted them before some of the winter crops were removed. I was quick to put in some jalapeno pepper plants in a bed of rainbow Swiss chard that kept growing and didn't seem to want to go to seed. When I finally pulled up the chard, I did disturb the roots of the pepper plants and might have slowed down their development a bit. Next time I will pull up the chard before I plant spring transplants. If I had the project to do over again I might make the cages another six inches taller to allow for a bit more growth. If I had the room I'd also make the rows between the raised beds four to six inches wider for easier movement of a wheelbarrow The caged beds were not perfectly varmint proof either. I did find one or two round-tailed squirrels in a couple of the cages and watched as they squeezed their way out through the chicken wire. I also found a mouse or two that had no trouble getting through the wire barrier. The javelina wandered through the garden and never tried to raise the protective cages, although I'm sure if they stuck their snouts under the edge of a cage they could make their way to the vegetables. I also purchased one of those "garden scoots" - an adjustable tractor seat on four wheels - thinking it would be perfect for working comfortably between the raised beds to plant and harvest. Unfortunately the one I received from Gardener's Supply Company was poorly welded. The welds were so misplaced it couldn't be assembled. I did get my money back, but shame on Gardener's Supply for letting it leave their warehouse. l may try to get another one at sometime in the future because I do think it would work well in the vegetable garden for anyone who gets tired of standing. Was it worth the time and money spent building a new raised bed vegetable garden? Oh yeah! You just don't know how good your home grown crops are until you have to buy the same things from the grocery store. (2009) |
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