I have built a raised garden bed out of previously utilized pallets. This garden is approximately 46 square feet in surface area and raised approximately 20 inches. Currently started there are beets, radishes, bush beans, carrots, cucumbers and ‘Cascadia’ snap peas. Though my eventual goal is provide a bounty of vegetables for my friends and family, this initial build did take some time. It includes a removable top cage to prevent animals or other critters from enjoying the fruit of my labor before I do.

My experiences with gardening began with keeping orchids when I was in high school. Happily all of those flowers are still thriving and this year I am working on my first crossbreeding experiment (seeds currently developing). Most of the vegetables that will be going into the bed were started in seventy-two cell trays that are sitting (with my orchids) just inside a southern-facing window. The seedlings are currently only 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches and I have been observing the weather to try determine the most ideal time for transplant to minimize transplant shock (something often underestimated).

How did I get the idea to do something like this? I guess I realized that there was space to be utilized and no reason not to. With some searching around the internet I found a few different concepts from Popular Mechanics and blended it with some of the commercially-produced raised beds. The design at this point is a custom build that doesn’t much resemble its inspirations. When dealing with pallets the consistency of size length and quality of the wood can be extremely variable and I have had to use some extra pieces to patch areas. Realizing this as I was building, it was why I started the build way before the grow season had begun, which allowed Mother Nature some time to expose my building flaws for correction prior to me starting seeds and transplanting.

After a successful transplant, the plants were thriving, so I took a total of about 2 lbs. of salad and 15 radishes out. My other plants continued to grow and the snap peas have been bursting almost out of the enclosure. At this point a rabbit got the better of me and has ravaged a great deal of the garden, taking down all of the salad greens, parsley, cucumbers and some of the bush beans. I found his route in and out and have sealed it off but his damage has been done. There are a vast number of rabbits due to the number of gardens in the area. This access to a plentiful food supply causes their numbers to be astronomical, and with no predators outside the occasional cat/dog they can be devestating.

Oh, well, can’t cry over spilled milk or a ravaged garden, I suppose. Just time to start more plants . . . second crops should be put in right around now so maybe this all happened for a reason.