I took a couple days off last week from my other duties to focus on the garden. May is quickly passing and we need to get the plants in the dirt.
We decided to build the same style of beds as we had in our last location, raised beds built with patio blocks. They have the advantage of never rotting and we like the working height. Not being low to the ground is a real back saver.
Out here it seems you can’t buy the size of patio blocks I wanted, they just don’t sell them and no one would even agree to have them ordered in special. Every thing here is a smaller size, so we had to improvise a base platform for the smaller blocks to sit on. This turned out to be cindercrete. These days cindercrete blocks are no longer made from ash, just concrete, so they are safe to use for this purpose. The only other change I made were the top rails. I used radiused deck boards instead if 2×4’s for a wider and hand-friendly rail.
Also needed to run another 300′ of deer fence to enclose the garden and the small orchard we have started. So far only pears and hazelnuts. The apple is in the future and the cherry is planted up closer to the house.
Still some work to do to finish up. I need to pin down the bottom of the deer fence (deer with try to crawl under if they real want to get in), and set the posts and install a proper gate. Later this summer we plan to install a cistern and collect rainwater for the garden. Until then I have to run out 300′ of hose from the house.
Eventually I will build some type of potting bench for Kelly. I left room up close to the gate for one. I am also toying with the idea of moving my tin shed from up by the house to down by the garden.
My Elysium 