Hello. First time here and I have a question.

[Raven]

I live in southwestern NH and I want to build a vegetable garden. I have places around the house that get full sun for most of the day so that's not a problem. I think I should build a raised bed garden but I have not the faintest idea of how to go about it. Any instructions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I should consider some fencing since there are lots of critters up here...deer, moose, red fox and bears. Thanks, in advance!

[TygrBright]

1. How much $$ do you want to spend?

There's a good many ways to do it. You can buy plastic gadgets that will link 2"x8"s or 2"x10"s, using good rot-resistant lumber and do them in an afternoon. Alternatively, you can dig foundations, pour cement footings, and build them with masonry blocks. Or dig a trench, put in 3" of gravel and 2" of sand, and use fit-together blocks to construct them. Or get 4"x4"s and rebar from the lumberyard and drill anchor holes and stack the 4"x4"s. Or pay a stonemason to make them for you, or a handyman to build them.

With any of those options, you'll need to kill off the grass (layers of newspaper or cardboard held down with rocks and left for a few weeks should do it,) and then turn under the dead sod for drainage.

Or go to the feed store and get a few of the big stock tanks (with drainage valves) and just fill them with 6" of gravel and then soil on top of that.

All of those work. It depends on how much time, effort, and money you want to put into them, and what you want them to look like.

One of my neighbors has done a very nice "kitchen garden" with half a dozen of those stock tanks painted dark green, and gray gravel paths between them. At our old house in Maryland I had a mason put together a lovely raised bed from oblong paving cobbles, and a round one just for strawberries, and laid crushed marble around them and edged the whole show in more of the cobbles set endways into the earth. That was a bit pricey, though. I wouldn't do it again.

Go to the library and get some books on garden design with raised beds. They'll have some. Or moon around at one of the big chain bookstores where they have shelf after shelf of DIY books.

helpfully,
Bright

[Blue Gardener]

2. Contact your extension service

Here is the link for your state: http://extension.unh.edu/FHGEC/FHGEC.htm

They may have some brochures they can send you, or you can stop in and talk to them. There may be some information on their website as well. Good Luck!

[LWolf]

3. Fencing?

Definitely. Frankly, though, the fence has to be really high to keep the deer out. Does your place have a perimeter fence?

While deer are common here, my place is fenced and cross-fenced for livestock, and the garden is closer to the house. They can get to the garden any time they want, but don't like the smaller fenced areas, and dislike my dog barking insanely at them. The area I'm working with has a 4 ft wire fence.

I said "the garden," but I really meant the "orchard." I've been here 2 years and will just be building raised beds this summer.

Raised beds? Simple to elaborate, depending on what you want.

You can just build the soil up a little higher in your rows; that's a raised bed.

You can build larger beds with actual walled sides.

Wood rots, so be prepared to replace boards as necessary over the years.

Pressure treated wood and railroad ties contain too many chemicals to leach into the garden soil to be appropriate for garden beds.

Stone, blocks, etc. are durable.

I used straw bales at my old place; they work great, if you don't mind them sprouting. If you could get actual straw, that did not include any seedheads anywhere, that would be better. I was careful about the source of straw, getting it from a grower I knew, because I didn't want straw treated with herbicides. The positives for straw bales: They are thick, sturdy, and with one layer create a bed tall enough to sit on while you work. The straw breaks down, which simply adds compost to the bed. After a few years, when the bale is declining, it can be replaced, with the remaining straw used as mulch. The downside: They can be scratchy, and people who like things well-manicured might consider them unsightly. Mine sprouted, and had to be weeded.

This time around I'm building raised beds out of block. That means only 2 beds this year; that's how much block I can afford. I'm hoping that the blocks will help the soil warm up a little faster in spring; my new place has a really short growing season. Anyway, here is how I will build my beds, regardless of what I use for walls:

I will "reuse" some cardboard boxes, laying them directly on the soil surface where the bed will go. This will smother weeds sprouting in that spot for the season. On top of that will go some hardware cloth. This will deter gophers for many seasons. When those layers are down, the walls will go up. When the walls are up, I will fill the beds with well-aged compost/manure; I have enough around this place to fill more garden beds than I will ever possibly use. I will water all of that down, and add about 6" of dirt on top, leaving the soil surface 4-6 inches from the top of the bed.

I could plant then, but I won't. I'll put another layer of cardboard down to smother weeds that inevitably sprout out of the horse manure and soil, and let it sit for a year. It will be ready for early planting next spring. At that time, I'll add a little decorative wire border around the top of the block to keep the hens out of it. They free-range in that area.

[TygrBright]

4. Why keep the hens out?

Doesn't their scratching help loosen the soil, and the bugs they eat help keep the plants healthy? Or did you mean a temporary fence to keep them out just while the young seedlings are coming up?

I thought "chicken tractors" were good for the veg garden?

curiously,
Bright

[LWolf]

7. Good question.

The hens range through the garden; I purposefully took the small "pasture" that used to house goats next to the smaller chicken coop and yard as a garden/orchard, so the chickens could free range. The benefits are many.

I use the manure from my horses to mulch around my fruit trees. I collect it in a big (8 yd) cart, and dump a pile next to a tree. That's it. No raking, no spreading. They do it for me. They scratch through the manure, remove seeds, fly larvae, and whatever they can find. In the process, they spread it and break it down into fine pieces that easily break down into soil. While I clean out the coop each spring and fall, spreading the droppings and straw around the trees, out in the garden/orchard the chicken droppings don't build up. They get scratched into the ground along with everything else. Chicken manure is "hot," but it is widely scattered and well-scratched; it's never burned anything.

In the garden beds, though, they scratch all the mulch away from the plants, and they will eat seedlings. The beds are about 2 feet high, which is low enough for a chicken to hop up on. The wire keeps them out of the bed. They do like to follow me to the bed when I'm working with the plants. I toss weeds, grubs, and, their favorite, tomato worms, to them as I work. The scratching of mulch happened when I didn't have a raised bed, but planted directly into the ground.

When the plants are big enough that scratching won't disturb them, the wire can come down for some beds. I leave a lip around the bed to keep the soil from being scratched/tossed out. They will peck tomatoes, berries, and squash. I let them have the tomatoes they can reach, because the plants are large enough that there are plenty of tomatoes out of reach, and they love tomato worms. Strawberries, squash, and melons are off limits, though.

[TygrBright]

8. I envy you...

I would love to have a few "yard poultry" but alas, I live in a development cheek-by-jowl with "less enlightened" homeowners, as it were. Even a coupla banties would help. There's *just* enough space to build them a little shelter, but I doubt I could get by with it.

Back in Maryland we had a small flock of feral guinea fowl that decided to take up residence in our neighborhood. We loved them. I put out a little grit and some mirrors to try and entice them to spend more time in our yard!

wistfully,
Bright

[Gormy Cuss]

5. You need fencing in NH.

It won't stop a bear but it will slow down the raids by deer, raccoons, and other night critters. Ask at the supply store about building a simple fence and they'll point you to the right supplies. If you have the room build a fenced enclosure that is a few feet wider and longer than your raised bed area. That way as the plants mature they have room to extend beyond the bed without being too tempting to the critters just beyond the fencing.

[NJCher]

6. deck material ideal

Some good suggestions here; I'll just add one. If you can get your hands on some Trex decking, it makes a good, long-lasting raised bed.

I built mine from wood 10 years ago when I moved into this house. This is the first year the beds have started falling apart, so if you don't mind fixing them every 10 years, you can use pine.

I came upon my Trex for free. My neighbor gave it to me. I've been repairing the raised beds with them.

I suggest putting up some flyers and signs saying what you want. Advertise for scrap lumber and put in what in particular you'd like. You might be able to get leftover stuff from a job for free. Also put on the flyer that you want Trex or other vinyl decking.



Cher