Fancy Fencing for Feathered Friends

The 18″ high fencing we’d been using to keep our 4 chickens in their designated 300 square foot area had been falling short for quite some time.  The Silkies had figured out how to squeeze through and Henrietta could just give a little hop and just roam free all through the yard, which is not a good thing.  I decided I’d had enough of chasing chickens around the yard when I came home from the store, so I did a little research and found this blog post from Sunny Simple Life and knew it was just what I had in mind.  Something nice looking, blends well with the garden and is functional.

Before (morning dirt bath under the Double Delight Nectarine):

After:

I purchased it at Lowe’s and it took about 2 hours to install with metal posts that hammer into the ground.  The fencing slides onto the posts and then links together to the panel next to it.  In order to still have access into their space, we left one panel un-linked, sawed off the metal post at the bottom of the panel to prevent drag and then turned around the next panel and continued along.

I love the leaf design.  Now I know the chickens aren’t causing mischief in the rest of the yard, which makes me an even happier chicken owner.

And a couple fun veggies:

White heirloom cuke

My first butternut squash!

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August Harvest

I’m getting over my nematode crisis and I have to say that not everything in the garden is going poorly.  I had myself quite the harvest a few days ago, mainly thanks to my primary edible bed, which is separate from the root knot nematode quarantine.  In this case, two separate beds really pays off.  Plus, one receives more shade in the cooler months than the other, which makes it ideal for lettuces, beets etc., while the other receives full sun veggies year-round.

Brandywine and Cherokee purple heirloom tomatoes, summer squash and various beans. We also enjoyed 6 soft figs, but of course those didn’t make it into the basket.

Summer scallop squash in my Lifetime raised bed from Costco.

I started off the spring with tomatoes in this raised bed, but realized when they began to struggle that it wasn’t quite deep enough for them.  So, I cut my losses and re-seeded it with summer scallop squash, basil, lettuce, golden beets and broccoli.

Another view with basil peeking out.

Purple pole bean flowers.

So there you have it.  These photos capture the reason why I will continue to fight the good fight against garden foes in the name of beautiful summer harvests, simple bean flowers, and the promise of fresh, homegrown food.  Not all is lost in my little edible back yard.  🙂