I'm pretty late getting started on my garden this year. I've been demoralized by the damage the deer have done on my garden this past year. Unfortunately our dog passed away recently, making it even more likely that the deer will become even more brazen. His scent tended to keep the deer at bay for at least the early part of the growing season.
I love deer. I just want them to leave some of my garden alone! Even though I try to garden frugally (start things by seed, transplant as many volunteers as possible, compost, etc.) there is still a decent amount of money that I put into the garden each year to make improvements. When you add up the cost of seed, materials for vertical gardening and all of the gadgets that I buy to try and keep the deer away, it adds up.
So this year, I was reenergized when some free stuff came my way! I have been looking to make raised-ish beds inside the garden. I have the perimeter as a raised border made out of wood, but I have been wanting to contain the inside beds as well. My mom had a neighbor that was getting rid of some plastic containment edges that he used in raised beds. Would I want them? Yes, please. My daughter took a picture of me installing them.
All I had to do was find some skinny rebar to hammer down into the connecting joints. This retaining 'wall' will help keep my beds flat and stop them from sliding down into my walkways.
Another free thing that came my way was some worm tubes. My friend is loaning them to me while she takes a break from gardening. Worm tubes are cylindrical tubes (in this case, PVC pipe) with holes drilled in the bottom third. You put your compost scraps into the tube and the worms eat it and carry the good stuff out to your plants. I intend to continue my regular compost pile, but this will be an interesting experiment to see if the tubes actually work. The upside-down pot tray is to keep pests out.
