Yesterday I was able to complete the planter bed that I started last week.
In order to keep the gophers out, I tacked hardware cloth (really it's a coarse wire mesh) to the tops of the lowest boards with a staple gun.
I notched the corners of the hardware cloth to go around the posts and trimmed the excess but I made sure to staple the tabs to the post so that a gopher wouldn't be able to push through. I may have gone a little overboard with the number of staples but gophers are determined animals and I figured that adding a few extra staples now beats trying make repairs or beef up the defenses once the bed was complete.
I attached the boards with deck screws this time. I alternated the overlap with each new row of boards to create a more attractive corner.
The bed doesn't match the previous bed but that's ok with us. It is about the same size and pretty close to in line with the first bed. The corners aren't perfect but that just adds character in my opinion. Overall I am happy with the way it came out and the construction technique was much easier than with the previous bed. Now I can't wait to fill it with dirt and compost and get some seeds planted.More Planter Bed Related Posts
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quite perfect--is that cedar?
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's just douglas fir. It'll rot over time but it should take a few years.
ReplyDeleteFrom my calculations, it is about 2' deep. Why so deep? I'm planning some raised beds and others I have seen are usually 1' or so.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Brett,
ReplyDeleteGreat question. There are really 3 main reasons why we made our beds so deep.
1. This area of our yard is shaded late in the day on 2 sides by fences and early in the day on another by a large but distant tree. By raising the bed a bit higher, we get about an extra hour of sun each day.
2. We are doing lots of minor terracing around our sloping yard. The deeper beds gives us a place to relocate that dirt rather than sending it to the dump.
3. We are decrepit. The extra hight makes planting, weeding and harvesting easier on our old bones.
One thing you may want to consider with your bed is if you are going to add wire mesh to keep gophers out you'll want to make sure the bed is deep enough so that the mesh won't interfere with the roots.
Eric,
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding to my question. Later that day, I read about double digging and realize to have a good garden, you need loose soil down 18+ inches. Now 2' makes sense. Also, I saw a planter box this size that had built in benches. Another great idea. Mine will actually be on a driveway, so I have a few other items to consider like heat and drainage.
Thanks again, great blog.
No problem,
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your garden. Let us know how it turns out!