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darkwing_gw

Newbie looking for advice

darkwing
14 years ago

I've read Mel's original book and am going through the updated one now. I've been trying to plan out my garden and keep getting stuck on a few things.

Light: house is on a street which runs SW to NE, so if I build the boxes parallel with the house (any other way would look rediculous) then N would be at one of the corners. This will cause sunlight to be blocked by the trellises.

Animals: we have a lot of wild ones roaming around. Squirrels, cats, rabbits (last fall there was a nest in the middle of the lawn), and a groundhog are frequently sited (not to mention birds). These guys must be kept out. How can this be done with trellised vegetables?

Plants that I would like to grow: tomatoes (wife loves em), bell peppers, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, cucumbers, basil, rosemary. I also would like Swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, and scallions if possible.

My current thinking is to build one or two 4x4 boxes and fill them with shorter vegetables (lettuce, bush beans, herbs, would peppers fit?) and cover with the wire tops mentioned in the book. I also could easily provide shade over the box to try and grow lettuce and spinach throughout the summer.

I will also build a long bed (10x3 or so) for vertical crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, peas) and fill in other crops in the extra spaces. Around this box I would set up a fence a few feet high. Do you think this would be sufficient to keep out the rodents? I know it wont work for squirrels, but the rabbits and groundhog it should.

If you have any tips/advice I would really appreciate it!

I need to have everything planned before I start anything. Guess I'm a little OCD :-)

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