When faced with a property devoid of soil and water, the challenge of creating a garden seemed insurmountable. But with determination and resourcefulness, a couple set out to build a 16 by 32 foot raised bed garden complete with a deer fence. The garden construction was a mostly solo project, with the use of reclaimed materials and creative problem-solving to make it work.
After a year-long pause in the project, the couple resumed work on the garden, adding soil, compost, and sawdust as mulch. They also utilized a weed barrier and tree bark to take up space in the deep beds. With the addition of nursery starts and a deer fence, the garden was finally ready for planting day, which yielded an impressive harvest of various vegetables and herbs.
Key Takeaways
- Building a raised bed garden with reclaimed materials requires creativity and problem-solving skills.
- Utilizing weed barriers and mulch can help with weed control and soil conservation.
- Starting with nursery starts and gradually learning to grow from seed can be a helpful approach for beginner gardeners.
Construction of the Raised Bed Garden
When the owners of the property first moved in, they faced the challenge of having no soil to garden on and no water source. They decided to create a raised bed garden, which they constructed themselves. The garden was 16 by 32 feet and included a deer fence.
The first step in building the garden was to map out exactly where it would be located. Next, the owners dug holes to put posts in the ground. The posts were eight-foot-tall reclaimed peel recorders that they acquired for free. Once the posts were in place, the owners began constructing the raised beds.
The garden was built with reclaimed materials, so no two boards were the same length. This made it challenging to construct the raised beds, but the owners got creative with bed spacing and scabbing boards together to make it all work. Although the project was put on hold for over a year, the owners eventually resumed construction and added soil and homemade compost to the beds.
To prevent weeds from growing, the owners laid down fabric as a weed barrier. They also used tree bark in the bottom of the beds to take up some space so they would need less soil. The owners brought in additional soil to fill up the remainder of the beds and added sawdust as mulch left over from milling or timber cream.
The owners used a wood chipper to turn more waste wood on the property into wood chips, which they used to flood the garden. They also added a deer fence to keep pests out.
Once the framework of the garden was completed, the owners began planting. They started with nursery starts and eventually moved on to starting their own seeds indoors. They hand-watered portions of the garden daily and learned that Sun gold tomatoes were arguably as good as candy.
The garden produced an abundance of food, including 24 poblano peppers off of one plant and a sea of spaghetti squash. The owners had a successful harvest season and continued to improve their garden each year.
Preparing the Soil
When the property owners first moved to their bear property, they faced a challenge of gardening with no soil and no water source. They brought in some soil and used pine needles as mulch, but the deer bunched up and not much grew. They knew that they needed a proper garden and so began construction of something a little more robust. A 16 by 32 foot raised bed garden with a deer fence was underway.
The first step was to map out exactly where they wanted the garden to sit and then they got to work digging holes to put posts in the ground. The posts were eight-foot-tall reclaimed peel recorders that they got for free. Once those were in place, the real work began. It was in the construction of the raised beds where the property owners faced their demons and grew as people.
The garden was built with reclaimed materials, so no two boards were the same length. They had to get really creative with bed spacing and scabbing boards together to make it all work. They laid down some fabric as a weed barrier and added soil and homemade compost to the beds. Sawdust was used as mulch left over from milling or timber.
Because they had little native soil on their property, they had to bring even more in to fill up the remainder of the beds. They used tree bark in the bottom to take up some space so they’d need less soil. With the help of a wood chipper, they turned more waste wood on the property into wood chips to flood the garden.
They added a deer fence to keep those pesky critters out. This fencing has been challenging for no other reason than the weather and the fencing is heavy and awkward.
Overall, preparing the soil for the garden was a challenging but rewarding process. The property owners learned to work with what they had and got creative with their resources. They invested in their future by building a garden that will last for many years to come.
Plant Shopping
After constructing a 16 by 32 foot raised bed garden with a deer fence, the speaker in the video was ready to give the garden some TLC. The garden required a lot of work before any plants could be planted. The first step was to add tree bark in the bottom of the beds to take up some space so that less soil would be needed. Soil and homemade compost were then added to the beds, followed by sawdust as mulch. Since the property had little native soil, more soil had to be brought in to fill up the remainder of the beds. Fabric was laid down as a weed barrier, and wood chips were added to the garden with the help of a wood chipper.
Once the majority of the beds were built, the project was put on hold for over a year due to a partial house build and several compost pile turns. When the project resumed, the garden was given an automatic watering system to make the gardening process easier. The speaker also started their own seeds indoors and created a new and improved automatic watering system, which would keep the garden on autopilot.
When it was time to plant, the speaker opted for nursery starts instead of starting from seed since it was their first real garden. The garden produced a lot of food, including Sun Gold tomatoes, which were arguably as good as candy. The garden also produced a lot of spaghetti squash, and the speaker had their first harvest Palooza.
The following year, the speaker hoped to have their best garden ever by building the remainder of the garden beds and maximizing their garden space.
Deer Fence Installation
When the property owners first moved to their land, they faced several challenges in gardening due to a lack of soil and water source. They used pine needles as mulch and tossed some seeds in the ground to see what would happen. However, the deer bunched up and ate most of the plants, leaving them with a tiny beet and a handful of potatoes.
To address this issue, the property owners decided to construct a 16 by 32 foot raised bed garden with a deer fence. They first mapped out the location of the garden and dug holes to put posts in the ground. The posts were eight-foot-tall reclaimed peel recorders that they got for free. Once the posts were in place, they began constructing the raised beds using reclaimed materials.
The construction of the raised beds was a challenging task since no two boards were of the same length. However, the property owners got creative with bed spacing and scabbing boards together to make it all work. They used a handsaw and appreciated the benefit of power tools.
After the majority of the beds were built, the project was put on hold for over a year due to a partial house build and several compost pile turns. When they resumed the build, they moved soil into the garden to make the walking area level and added soil and homemade compost to the beds. They also used sawdust as mulch and laid down fabric as a weed barrier.
To keep the deer out, the property owners installed a deer fence, which was a challenging task due to the weather and the awkward shape of the garden. They also built a gate to keep the deer out, which was a gesture of love from one of the property owners.
Finally, the property owners were ready to plant their garden and opted for nursery starts. Their garden produced an abundance of food, including Sun gold tomatoes, carrots, and poblano peppers. They hand-watered portions of the garden daily and learned that Sun gold tomatoes were as good as candy. They harvested their first harvest Palooza and had a great season.
The property owners aimed to have their best garden ever in the following year and planned to build the remainder of the garden beds. They also started their own seeds indoors and installed a new and improved automatic watering system to keep the garden on autopilot.
Planting Day
The speaker had been working hard to construct a proper garden on their property, and after a long wait, planting day had finally arrived. The garden had been built with reclaimed materials, which made the construction process challenging, but the speaker had persevered and built raised beds that were ready to be filled with soil.
The garden required a lot of soil, and since the property had very little native soil, the speaker had to bring in soil from elsewhere. They also added homemade compost and sawdust as mulch. To keep the weeds at bay, they laid down fabric as a weed barrier.
The speaker and their partner also built a deer fence to keep critters out of the garden. They had learned from past experiences that deer would eat anything they could get their hooves on, so the fence was a necessary addition.
On planting day, the speaker and their partner were excited to finally see their hard work come to fruition. They planted a variety of vegetables including tomatillos, chives, marigolds, tomatoes, chard, basil, sorrel, and peppers. They even tried their hand at growing carrots in black plastic bins since they had run out of bed space.
The speaker and their partner were thrilled with the results of their first harvest. They had grown more food than they had ever imagined, and it was a great season. They hand-watered portions of the garden daily and learned that Sun Gold tomatoes were a favorite. They were excited to see what the future held for their garden and were already making plans for the next season.
Garden Maintenance
Maintaining a garden can be a challenging task, especially when the soil quality is poor and there is no water source nearby. In this case, one has to be creative and resourceful to make the most out of what they have. When faced with these challenges, the owners of a bear property decided to construct a 16 by 32 foot raised bed garden with a deer fence. The garden was built with reclaimed materials, so there were no two boards of the same length, making it a head game for the gardener.
To prepare the garden for planting, they had to move soil into the garden to make the walking area somewhat level. They also added homemade compost to the beds and sawdust as mulch. As they had little native soil on their property, they had to bring in more soil to fill up the remainder of the beds. To minimize weed growth, they laid down some fabric as a weed barrier.
To keep the garden healthy, they watered it with sink water from the RV, as water was a premium. They also used pine needles as mulch to help retain moisture in the soil. When the majority of the beds were built, they turned waste wood on the property into wood chips to flood the garden. They also added tree bark in the bottom of the beds to take up some space, so they would need less soil.
To keep critters out of the garden, they built a deer fence. The fencing was heavy and awkward, making it challenging to install. To make it easier to access the garden, they built a gate to keep the deer out.
Once the garden was ready for planting, they started with nursery starts and some seeds. They planted tomatillos, chives, marigolds, tomatoes, chard, basil, sorrel, and peppers. They also grew potatoes in black plastic bins, as they were out of bed space and weren’t ready to build more.
Throughout the gardening season, they hand-watered portions of the garden daily, especially during dry spells. They learned that Sun gold Tomatoes are arguably as good as candy, and that carrot and tomato plants can produce an abundance of produce.
At the end of the season, they had a harvest Palooza, where they harvested 24 poblano peppers off of one plant, and a lot of spaghetti squash. They were happy with their harvest and looked forward to the next season, where they hoped to build the remainder of the garden beds and start their own seeds indoors.
Harvesting the Produce
The couple faced several challenges when they first started gardening on their bear property. They had no soil and no water source, so they had to make do with what they had. They brought in some soil and used pine needles as mulch. However, they had no deer fence, so the deer bunched up and ate whatever little produce they had managed to grow. Eventually, their harvest consisted of a tiny beet and a measly handful of potatoes. They knew that half-grassed gardening wasn’t going to cut it, so they started constructing a more robust 16 by 32 foot raised bed garden with a deer fence.
The first step was to map out exactly where they wanted the garden to sit. Then, they got to work digging holes to put posts in the ground. The posts were eight-foot-tall reclaimed peel recorders that they got for free. Once those were in place, the real work began. It was in the construction of the raised beds where the couple faced their demons and grew as people. The garden was built with reclaimed materials, so no two boards were the same length. They had to get really creative with bed spacing and scabbing boards together to make it all work.
The couple moved soil into the garden to make the walking area somewhat level. They added soil and homemade compost to the beds, followed by sawdust as mulch left over from milling or timber. They also laid down some fabric as a weed barrier. With the help of a wood chipper, they turned more waste wood on the property into wood chips to flood the garden. They added a deer fence to keep those pesky critters out.
The couple hand-watered portions of the garden daily and learned that Sun gold Tomatoes are arguably as good as candy. They grew a variety of produce, including tomatillos, chives, marigolds, tomatoes, chard, basil, sorrel, peppers, and carrots. They were surprised by the amount of produce their garden yielded and were excited to harvest their first crop. They handpicked their produce and were pleased with their harvest. They had a great season and were looking forward to the next.
Improvements and Automation
The garden on the bear property started as a half-grassed gardening project, but the couple soon realized that it would not yield much produce. To have a proper garden, they constructed a 16 by 32-foot raised bed garden with a deer fence. The garden was built using reclaimed materials, and each raised bed was a head game for the gardener. The challenge was that no two boards were the same length, so the gardener had to get creative with bed spacing and scabbing boards together to make it all work. The garden was completed after a year-long pause, and it was time to give it some TLC.
To take up some space, tree bark was put in the bottom of the beds, and soil and homemade compost were added. Sawdust was used as mulch, and fabric was laid down as a weed barrier. The garden had little native soil, so more soil had to be brought in to fill up the remainder of the beds. The couple turned more waste wood on the property into wood chips using a wood chipper and used them to flood the garden.
To keep pesky critters out, a deer fence was installed. The fencing was heavy and awkward, and the garden was awkward too, which made it challenging to install. Finally, a gate was built to keep the deer out once and for all.
The couple invested in their future by working on the garden for many years to come. To make their life easier, they built an automatic watering system. The system would keep the garden on autopilot, and they would not have to worry about watering it daily.