Container Gardening - Part 1

     I have an area in the back yard that is covered with a thick layer of  1½ inch river rock.  The picnic table that used to sit on this spot was chewed by squirrels and warped by the elements.  One night my neighbor, with my blessing, used the table to fuel an impressive bonfire.
     That left me with an empty spot.  What to do, what to do?  I decided that next spring I will set up a container vegetable garden.
     This project has its challenges.  My stony plot is outside of the fenced section of the back yard.  That means the deer, ground hogs, and rabbits will ruin it. I'll need a fence.   It would be Pinterest perfect to match the garden fence to my black aluminum backyard fence, but that costs $500 - $1000 depending on if I buy used fencing or brand new materials.  This price includes professional installation since I don't have the skill or the tools for properly installing a metal fence.  My barrier has to be cheaper.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to spend beaucoup bucks on an enclosure for the amount of vegetables that I will produce.  Finding cheaper, yet eye pleasing materials, and doing it myself would bring the price down, but the work would have to be easy.  I'm not as fit as I used to be and a pressure treated 4x4x8 is a bit too heavy for me to tote around in my senectitude.

     Here's my solution: Going rustic, using wood and wire, will blend nicely in the back yard.  Landscape timbers are lighter weight and fairly cheap.  They have a reputation for rotting quickly, but I have a workaround for that.  My garden enclosure is going to cost less than $150.00.  If it lasts five years, I'll be thrilled.

My Stony Plot
The backyard fence will serve as one side of my garden fence.

This is a roll of 14 gauge welded wire.  It is 60" tall.  The backyard fence is 54" tall, and a deer has never jumped over it.  I think a 60" fence will deer proof my garden. 

These are the much maligned landscape timbers.  I'll be using ten pieces - eight for the fence and two for the gate.  I bought one extra post in case something goes wrong.  Of course, when you have it, you never need it.

   

Some say that painting posts with roofing tar will preserve the part that is buried below ground.  I'm hoping this low cost treatment will extend the life of my posts.  The tar had settled and had to be stirred a lot.  Wear old clothes because you will have to throw out anything splattered with tar.  You'll also thrown out your paint brush. 

Paint the sides, but not the bottom.  Supposedly, moisture will drain down and out of the wood.  Coating the bottom would make a sealed cup that traps moisture.  I applied a super thick layer of tar.  It was almost dry 24-36 hours later.  It was completely dry within a few days.  I thought the tar was really going to stink, but it was fairly low odor.

OMG.  It took forever to dig the holes.  I raked the stones out of the way and used a post hole digger.  Holes should be three feet deep.  The first foot was a snap.  I encountered roots in the second and third feet of my excavation.  The post tarring tutorial that I viewed advised that the tar should go up the post a few inches above ground level.  I didn't use concrete to set the posts.  They are sitting on a few inches of sand and rock.  The sides of the holes are also filled in with sand and stones.

I used 1-1/4" fencing staples to attach the wire to the posts.  I cut two lengths of wire.  Each piece goes down one side and wraps around the front.  The top of the wire is not perfectly level along the full run.  I was more concerned about having it meet the ground all the way around, to discourage rabbits.  The wire also is not stretched taut.  It's only has good as one old lady can make it.  I made the gate by ripping two landscape timbers in half lengthwise (Thank you, cousin Tom).  The three cross pieces are attached by drilling through the sides with 4.5" flat head structural wood screws.  The fencing is attached to the gate frame with 3/4" poultry staples.  Since the gate is light weight, I used three of the cheapest galvanized hinges that I could find.  One hook and eye is good enough for keeping the gate closed.