Warning: This is a picture heavy post about the making of this enclosed vegetable patch. I built it about 2 years ago, when we moved into our current house. The design is similar to the one I had built in our previous house about 10 years ago, but that was about one third in size of this current one.
I also used to plant some of my vegetables in pallets and plastic planters along with this small patch for enough yield. Check this video for more details.
Anyway that was in the past, and this post is about the building of the vegetable patch in our current house. We moved into this house in the month of February, and the backyard was covered in snow at that time. This is how the patch looked in May, after all the snow had melted. You cannot tell from the pictures, but along with the weeds, the patch was also covered with gravel, and some construction waste.
After taking out several bags full of weeds and gravel, it started to look like this:
Some more cleaning:
Much better already!
There was this super heavy concrete sink, which was also left behind by the previous owners. I can understand why they just left it under one of the decks, rather than disposing it off. This beast is heavy, I mean SUPER HEAVY!!! My husband and I together could not lift it up to move from under the deck to it’s current location. We had to roll it out in small increments out of there. I also put it beside the patch to use it as a planter.
For the vegetable patch enclosure, I used cedar and chicken wire. If it was just a flower bed, I could have opted for pressure treated lumber, given the difference in price. But because I was going to grow edible stuff here, I did not want any chemicals seeping through the soil into my vegetables.
To perk up things and give the patch some color, I painted some of the lumber with exterior grade red paint. I used my paint sprayer to get the job done a little quicker.
Because the paint raises the wood grain, I had to sand the painted lumber before giving it its second coat of paint.
After the second coat of paint, I let the lumber dry and cure for about 2 days before putting in the yard.
Now was the time to put everything together and start the build. I started by first taking out the bricks from the sides of the patch.
Then I installed the posts around the perimeter at about 36 inches apart from each other.
Next I attached the base. I used 8-inch wide cedar (practically, it is 7.25 inches wide) and screwed it to the posts with deck screws, using 2-3 screws on each post.
My vegetable patch is starting to take shape!
I don’t have the process pictures of the building of the gates, but the pictures below will give you an idea of how I built them.
To attach the chicken wire, I loosened the base screws, inserted the chicken wire and then again tightened the screws. At the top I also did the same. Although I did not need the posts inside the enclosure, they serve as supports for vines and heavy plants. I also replaced the soil in the parts of the patch that were being used for planting
While the garden bed was being built, I got my vegetable plants started from the seeds in my mini greenhouse.
The patch is now all ready for planting!
Plants in their infancy:
Fully grown plants:
Me tending to my babies:
Weeds need to go:
I’m very pleased with my garden bed. My plants feel safe from the rabbits and raccoons and I’ve been getting good yield for the last two years.
Final crop right before the first frost of the season: 
My beautiful model AKA my younger daughter:
Who doesn’t like to see a good before and after?
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