Garden fence build

[EddieWalker]

In 2018 my wife had Colon Cancer. Since her recovery, she has become very sensitive to the stuff that's added to the food that we buy at the stores. Frozen meals are the worse, but a lot of canned stuff is also really bad. We try to buy what we know is safe for her to eat, but the only thing that is 100% safe is grown in our garden.

Our goal is to grow enough to not have to buy anything from Aldi's, Walmart, Sam's or Brookshires, but we know that's impossible. So the more we can grow ourselves, the fewer issues that she will have.

Right now we have 24 raised beds. We're adding buckets and planters for potatoes this year. Our long term goal is to have twice as many raised beds.

 

[gsganzer]

Isn't this true of most things you can grow in the garden? At backyard garden scale I don't think much is actually cheaper to grow. It sure is nice being to walk out and grab fresh veggies or herbs when needed though.

No doubt. Especially with tomatoes, corn, squash etc. An onion, not so much. I'll leave onions to someone else to grow and reserve my labor for the more perishable/rewarding stuff.

 

[gsganzer]

Eddie,
I know you and Karen do a lot of canning. Have you looked into the freeze drying? I see a lot of homestead folks touting it. The dryers are crazy expensive though.

 

[EddieWalker]

We haven't looked into it. Between working full time, adding on to our house, projects on the land, the dogs, the animals, and keeping the garden going, it's a struggle just to get everything canned. But I have to admit, her salsa and spaghetti sauce is really good, and worth the effort!!!

 

[drumminj]

But I have to admit, her salsa and spaghetti sauce is really good, and worth the effort!!!

Any recipes you'd be willing to share? We hadn't gotten to that point yet, but I suspect spaghetti sauce and salsa are likely this year.

 

[drumminj]

I don't recall the home gardening shows that used to be on TV having a fence as nice as yours.

Thanks, I think? . Let's just hope it both keeps critters out and stays up for a while!

We definitely have deer (six were a few feet from our front door the other morning), a red fox, armadillos, possums (at least two) and three rabbits in close proximity to the house. Oh, and the turkeys. As long as they don't tear up the garden I'm happy to have them around -- it's fun seeing them on the cameras.

 

[EddieWalker]

Any recipes you'd be willing to share? We hadn't gotten to that point yet, but I suspect spaghetti sauce and salsa are likely this year.

I'll have to ask her if there is anything written down. She does most things from taste and memory. I should also say that I'm just the helper. I do the building, lifting, the carrying and the stacking. I don't get involved in anything actually involved in cooking or creating food. Last year we had 100 tomato plants. I'm pretty sure there will be more this year.

For Valentine Day, I'm giving her a dozen grow bags and two dozen sacks of Compost Soil.

 

[drumminj]

Went and got cedar for the raised beds before the snow hit us yesterday evening. Rought-cut cedar is so dang pretty (and smells nice . Almost hate to put it outside and allow it weather.

 

[EddieWalker]

I hope the cedar works for you. I used PT wood and it was great for about ten years, but now it's rotting at the ends and starting to come apart. I'm going to use cinder blocks to rebuild the beds, but I might start building new ones first. That way we won't lose anything in the existing beds.

 

[drumminj]

I'm going to use cinder blocks to rebuild the beds

What do you mean by using cinder blocks?

We had considered using those cement corners that hold lumber in place to make it easier to swap out a rotted board (like these: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oldcastle-...in-x-8-in-Actual-5050-in-x-7-75-in/1001156396) but it didn't look like it would accomodate the rough cut lumber thickness.

I'm hoping the 2" thick cedar will hold up as long as your pressure treated did. I built a raised planter out of the same material a few years ago and so far no signs of issues, but I haven't looked closely at the inside part exposed to the soil.

As far as "coming apart", I plan to not just screw through the face grain of one board into the end grain of another at the corner, but use 2x2 braces as well to have a solid connection. This'll also hold the two stacked boards together (going to do 2-high 2x6s for veggies and 2-high 2x4s for flowers). I lose a little volume in the bed but hopefully a fair trade for longevity.