Gardening

I've slowed down as I get older, because I can no longer lift and haul big bags of soil improvement material. My vegetable garden is four raised beds, each one 4 feet by 8 feet. Each is surrounded by cinderblocks. I put soil in each block hole and use them to grow garlic, herbs and marigolds.

One thing I liked about L.G. is the idea of making upside-down U-shaped support poles from metal electrical conduit. I have 10-foot-high supports in each vegetable bed. When planting pole beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. I run lengths of cotton clothesline down from the center rail and train the young plants up the ropes. Makes it easier to pick, prune and de-bug.

Our biggest challenge in growing vegetables is keeping the deer and rabbits out. Several years ago I got someone to install 4 by 4 inch, 7 foot high posts set in concrete around the perimeter of my small garden, and stapled netting to it. I also set up a lower metal rabbit fence, partly buried under patio stones to keep the critters from tunneling in.

Please look for alternatives to Roundup. It's a nasty chemical.