Garden Planning

Since this time last year, I have been mulling over how I might both protect my current gardening efforts from my local forest creatures as well as expand those efforts toward a larger portion of my total food supply. I have become more and more serious lately about trying to turn my little slice of the city into a place which can have a real impact on my self-sufficiency.

Last year, I put two inexpensive beds in my front yard for vegetables. At the time, I was learning a bit about the “lasagna method“. (More on that later.) Although I did get a few armfuls of bell and banana peppers, plus a handful of standard tomatoes and some small salad tomatoes, I had quite a bit of trouble with rabbits and squirrels picking off my young plants and early vegetables. Since then, I have been experimenting in my head with some ways I might build some all-over protection against the animal onslaught.

Front Yard Beds - Cinder blocks, "lasagna" method.

This year, I’m starting by expanding my planting to include both the beds in the front yard and six tomato plants in 5-gallon buckets in the back. I’ve used the bucket approach in the past, but never both. To help guard my bucket tomatoes, I plan to add beefier cages around the buckets an then chicken wire around the sides, with a lid of sorts on top.

In the front beds, I’m considering building some box-shaped cages with chicken wire and PVC pipe. I’ll post again when I begin that process. I may end up building them out of wood instead as I have plenty of that on-hand without the need to buy PVC at Lowe’s.

Back yard, tomatoes in buckets.

I am also looking at clearing brush and debris from another part of my property, erecting a privacy fence around it and setting up another expansion to the garden there. I may use this future space for beans, lettuces and potatoes, but a fair amount of work will be necessary this year to prepare the area for planting next year.