Our Raised Bed Garden and How I Outsmarted the Squirrels

Our backyard has come a long way in the last five months! More before pictures coming in a future post but let me just say it was a sad, sad sight. In April I built a raised bed garden and lined the interior edge with marigolds. I then added a starter squash plant, a bell pepper plant, and two Early Girl tomato plants. Then I crossed my fingers and planted squash and marigold seeds. It didn't feel like much for the square footage but I didn't want things to get crowded late in the summer. 

Fast forward to mid-July and the foliage from the squash plants is bursting at the seams and I've had to tie the tomato plants to the trellis to keep them from getting too heavy. The marigolds are still peeking out from the edges despite their current lack of sun and the squash blossoms add a nice touch of color.

I built the trellis as a play structure for the kids last year but it took a bad fall in a windstorm and one of the supports cracked so it was then repurposed as a fence/trellis. It wasn't quite long enough to cover the garden bed so I added some extra poles and then wrapped it in plastic mesh to keep the squirrels out. I haven't had any bug problems so I'm feeling pretty lucky this year!

We're getting a late harvest since I didn't start them from seedlings inside and Colorado has a late frost date but it's been pretty satisfying seeing things grow so much. Ruby helps me check for new tomatoes and Sunday chases away curious squirrels. Now, if I could only get Sebastian to eat a tomato...

We plucked our first tiny carrots from our container garden after it'd been knocked over by a certain black pup. I checked them two weeks ago and saw no color and felt like it really might be mid-August before we got to eat anything. Despite their bite-size appearance, it's pretty fun to see what can come out of the ground from a tiny little seed, don't you think?

-Rachel

Comments

[Fiona]

What a nice raised bed! Those carrots are pretty cute too. Don't worry, I hated tomatoes as a kid, but I eat them now :) Involving kids in growing their own food is the best!

[Laura]

Ah! This is smart AND cute! Our puppy has started to jump about on our raised bed - despite the mesh coverings, this would be just the thing to stop him stomping all over out veggies...and it looks cute! Thanks for sharing this!

[melanie]

those may be the cutest carrots i've ever seen! and the fence is so smart. i tend to have black thumbs, but your gardening adventures make me want to try my hand at it again!

[Cristina]

Nature is amazing! All of that emerging life. I always find it incredible how resilient plants are. Like when they manage to push their way up through concrete. Can't hold them down! Congrats on your garden of deliciousness.

The Rambling Fangirl

[Holly]

We planted a raised garden this year too. Unfortunatly, when we came back from vacation the crows/squirrels/raccoons ravaged it and everything was gone. :(
Next year I should try something like this. You're soo creative!

http://www.thefreckledmask.com/

[madge]

Cute raised bed and I FEEEL for you re 'certain black pup' and garden pots!
I have two dogs - one is about Sunday's size but 'special needs' so can't get too angry at her when she destroys things! She once tried to drag an eight foot long gum tree branch through the doggy door!

[Rachel]

I'm past my first year bliss and I will share my struggles with you this year and talk about what I would change. My first year I used miracle grow potting soil and my garden went crazy. And everything was great. Unfortunately I found out that its all about the soil. By using miracle grow for 2 years I have weakened my soil so this year I used organic soil and compost. Only use compost in the fall so you don't burn up your crops like I did. Also don't use mulch around your plants. You will get squash bugs and they will kill you squash and cucumbers. I used a spray bottle with water and dawn dish soap and that kept them away.
After this year I will be taking a friend up on his knowledge and offer to come out and help me aet my beds up for success because I'm not giving up. Yours looks great so far but I would learn all you can so you can face any challenges you might face. Happy gardening.

Vintagehoneybee.blogspot.com

[Sarah Jane]

Looks awesome! We've been talking about gardening for years, but still haven't taken the plunge. Hopefully next year...now that we have a lot more space to work with! Love the trellis too. Looks lovely!

[Rosie W]

It looks fab Rachel, it's so satisfying to grow your own!

[Colleen]

I just love it when homegrown carrots have cute little legs like that!

[Olivia]

Ahh this is amazing! My mom absolutely hates the squirrels that eat her tomatoes, so this would make her sooo happy.