Greg Bales

OK Fences Make Good Gardens?

Our first run at a real garden got off the ground this weekend with simultaneous planting of onions, carrots, parsley, lettuce, peas, spinach and fence posts. I was focused on the fence and accompanying gate. This involved trips from one hardware store to another because the first would only ever have half of what I needed, and the cutting of boards with a handsaw because I couldn’t get anybody’s attention at Lowe’s to cut boards for me. Fencing still needs to be attached to some posts, but most of the work is complete, and I’m very sore from it. Up next besides planting? Gabriel is eager to make a scarecrow—a project perhaps for next weekend.

View from above. Toward the back you can see fenceposts poking up behind the garden fence. This was the previous owners’ hodgepodge construction of a raspberry patch using very heavy duty posts. I’ll pull them out as soon as I can rent a crane and chain.

The first thing anyone who has seen this gate in person has said is “That’s a large gate.” It sure is! Anyway, if you need somebody to build a thing that isn’t entirely plumb, it would seem I’m your guy. (The post with the hinge on it is perfect, at least.)