Our First & Second Garden

I've always wanted a garden. Living in Queens prevented me from having one. It wasn't until I moved in with David that I was given more sunlight. Hallelujah! I started my little seedling in March of that year  and when we moved into our home I just put them in the ground. Quick. I wanted produce.

This didn't last too long....

We knew there were deer in the area, we just didn't know what else was out here. Each morning I'd pull back the curtains and see deer happily eating our bushes, plants, weeds and grass. The deer weren't the only animals we needed to worry about.

Say hello to

Mr.Vole

These little rodent mofos destroy everything. Forget having a beautifully manicured lawn if you have these guys hanging around. They will eat your garden and all its produce overnight. If you live in an area with Voles then you know what I'm talking about. They dig and travel underground so if you come across any tunnel like holes all over your lawn, you've got Voles. The worst part, you can't get rid of them. You just have to learn to adapt to them.

The following year my husband built us boxes for the garden. He spent a week researching materials to make them durable, weather resistant and Vole proof. He got pieces of non treated cedar wood and built 3' x 5' x 1' beds. He lined the bottom with 1/4" hardware cloth and mesh netting so nothing can dig under and get through but big enough for the roots to get through. Then we did a layered mixture of organic peat moss, sand, slow releasing plant food, and garden soil. I had been saving crushed egg shells for a while so I added them in the mixture as well. We had a garden! 

Then we had a problem...

As you can see in the last picture the tomato plants in the back look a little too big, thank you organic earth. You can't tell from the picture but the plants have grown into trees. Hovering just over 8ft tall, we had to cut them down. Their monstrosity ended up killing the basil, oregano, thyme, sage and peppermint. I ended up potting the herbs but that just made it easier for the rabbits to eat. I can't win.