How we went from forest to food production

When we bought this property at the end of 2022 it did not have a garden space so thats the first project we tackled so we can produce our own fruits and veggies. This is what that looked like.



















My wife and I dug all the holes and raised the fence.

I just planned the bed/crop rotation for 2026 (even though we cant plant until June 1)



In the ground already (and buried under snow) are Garlic



Rhubarb, Strawberries, Asparagus and Horseradish.

We grow a surplus of everything and then store the excess via canning, freeze drying, freezing and dehydrating.

Love your setup! I really need gravel between my beds. It sure would cut down on my weed-whacking chores. Do you have trouble with the deer getting your fruit?

frustratedearthmother said:

Love your setup! I really need gravel between my beds. It sure would cut down on my weed-whacking chores.

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Weeds still bust through but the big flame thrower or Homemade weed killer keeps them back but its a constant battle.

How is the charred wood holding up? I have wondered about that.

Alaskan said:

How is the charred wood holding up? I have wondered about that.

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This will be the 4th year and they are as sound as the day I installed them.

it's a very nice setup.

you may find out after a while that having many smaller raised beds is more work than keeping a bigger space. all those edges hide weeds, critters, etc.

i've been combining smaller gardens into larger gardens and they are much easier to take care of...

i also don't care about having too many pathways because those need work too after a while. if i'm weeding something i want it to be productive space. paths are useful, but i like being able to move a planting arrangement around to more fully use a space and so paths can be turned under or weeded a lot easier if they aren't so formal. i don't want all these gravel pathways i have and they are a lot of work to keep up at times (once they get any dirt in them they will start growing weeds from seeds that blow in or get washed in). crop rotations are an important part of my gardening.

Justanotherguy said:

This will be the 4th year and they are as sound as the day I installed them.

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That's fantastic. What type of wood did you start with?

I originally built my beds out of cedar and they didn't last long enough to suit me. I've been rebuilding with cinder blocks....they're really heavy, lol.