We began transplanting our veggies, fruits, and herbs into our raised beds this weekend. And I am so freaking excited. We have 5 standing beds in the backyard, meaning the dogs cannot reach them. We have one of these 24″ high beds (pictured) in the back yard.
You can see some our newly planted native plants in the background as well. We got our cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelons, and some herbs in the beds pictured. I’ve been researching companion planting so focusing on that, native plants, and, of course, keeping my crazy dogs from digging up and fertilizing my food.
Then we have this bed in our front yard. Plus some in-grown herbs and berry bushes. And a whole bed of strawberry plants that I just let run wild from year to year. They are delicious, but I have to get to them before the birds do. We’ve tried painting rocks red and dispersing them in the strawberry plants to try to deter the birds. I think it helps some, but not a bunch. Do you have any tricks for protecting your growing strawberries?
I hope to add a couple of fruit trees on the side of the house, but that may not happen til next year. It’s definitely a work in progress. But I’ve got all sorts of ideas and plans in my head. And I am thoroughly enjoying the process and the research.
Next step, figure out how to preserve some of the food I grow. Not only learn how to preserve it, but do it in a way that I will reuse it; otherwise, it’s not worth the effort. (I don’t like spaghetti so tomato sauce is a waste.) I don’t like jams or jellies. Meaning lots and lots more research to do. And I am enjoying it very much.
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