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Have fun trying to keep the bunnies out of your salad bar, NRG!!!!
I've had this problem in the past. First attempt was the plastic netting found at the home improvement centers surrounding my patch. Went out that same night to take a look and there was a rabbit enjoying a great meal. The next morning I found they had chewed holes through the plastic so I repaired the holes with gardening tie material. They just chewed right through it the next night! Second attempt was the 2' metal chicken wire. No problem there the entire season.
I think it really depends on your yard. My yard has a wooded area on one side and no one in our neighborhood has fenced back yards so it's pretty open. We do have Red-Tailed Hawks so maybe that will help!
I don't know too much about rose bushes. Mrs. NRG handles them most of the time. We have had those roses in the same pots for three years now without any problems. I don't know when / if they need to be repotted but you could be right. Usually we just prune them back to 4-5 good canes each year, fertilize a few times and leave them alone. They need to be pruned back right now come to think of it. I really need to learn how to better care for them. Sorry I couldn't be more help!
Last night Nightline did a story on the return of the Victory Garden. I thought of this thread, ABC News: Nightline has the video, the title is "Grow Your Own".
It is really sad that HOAs are limiting raised bed gardens
Great post. I've been thinking about doing this myself and the pics and instructions are an invaluable help.
I guess my biggest concern is the critters as well. Although it sounds like CTravis above me has a good solution with the chicken wire. I'm more concerned with snakes (I know they don't eat veggies, but they do eat the critters that eat veggies), as the area I am thinking of using is right up against my house. Is that a bad idea putting it next to your house? It probably attracts bugs too, no?
I know that if you plant marigolds around your plants, you'll keep some of the slugs and other critters out since they don't like the smell/taste. I don't know if that'll help with the snakes though!
I know that if you plant marigolds around your plants, you'll keep some of the slugs and other critters out since they don't like the smell/taste. I don't know if that'll help with the snakes though!
I've always heard this too. I don't know what truth there is to it, but my mom still surrounds her tomato plants with marigolds like a little orange fortress.
For beginners, I suggest starting out more slowly with container gardening. Start by growing herbs, lettuce, and tomatoes. One advantage of conatiner gardening is that you can line them near the house (assuming you get good sunshine) where bunnies and deer are more apprehensive about venturing, especially if you have sliding glass doors or windows. Also, I would think even the most anal retentive HOAs don't ban container gardening.
No. I think the person who mentioned $500 for dirt was talking about a different and much larger raised bed. For my square foot garden I bought four 1 cubic foot bags of compost ($1.58 each) one 3.8 cubic foot of peat moss ($9.98) and two small bags of vermiculite ($3.98 each) I skimpped a little the vermiculite and probably could have gotten a little more but I was on a budget. The total cost of my square foot garden project including the soil, wood, deck screws, and twine cost a little over 50 bucks.
FWIW I would add another $20 to the total cost if you want to make your bed frame out of high quality rot resistant cedar wood and another $15 if you want to use the full amount of vermiculite recommended.
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