At the Del Mar Fair with some friends back in July we spent time perusing the landscapes local businesses enter in competition each year. A good place for ideas and to escape the blazing heat that dominates the otherwise exposed fairgrounds. One display emphasized edibles and grew everything off the ground in containers — a great option for the many people who live dirtless with only cement patios, porches, or balconies, yet want to grow their own food.
As for me, I have lots of dirt and nothing else thanks to the voracious appetite of the local pests this past spring and summer. So, having snatched a simple box-on-stilts idea from the fair and mulled it over for the past few weeks, I threw together a few boards for a trial run. The construction is simple. Cut five pieces off a sheet of 3/8″ plywood (cheap stuff) to build the box: 10″ x 4′ (2), 10″ x 1′ 11 1/4″ (2), and 2′ x 4′ (1). Get two 2″ x 3″ studs and cut them into 3′ 2″ lengths for the legs. I also bought some 1″ x 1″, cut it into 10″ pieces, and fixed it into the interior corners of the box for support. I used a staple gun to assemble the box and screws to attach the legs. I bought cheap wood all around because it’s going to be watered regularly and sun-bleached in no time. And I didn’t seal it or stain it — that’s just more chemicals to seep into the food.
Hopefully I have stumbled upon a $20 solution to much of the pest problem. The height will take care of rabbits and gophers. The netting will keep out the birds. The test will come when the netting comes off as the squash vines mature and require more space. Squirrels can climb. Birds can peck.
I will remain skeptical until I bite into something successfully raised.
[...] of Waltham Butternut, Pink Banana, and Table Queen Acorn Squash dominate the three raised beds I recently built, which have successfully kept the young plants out of reach of most pests. Bull’s Blood [...]