Our size-able garden on Dogwood Farm first grew out of a meditation I had in 2008, which showed me the importance of growing more than a back door garden patch, something I had always maintained.
Why? Simply to see what it would take to be somewhat more self-sufficient. The answer, of course, as any gardener knows, or farmers who have lived for millennium working the earth know: it takes a lot of labor, determination, dedication, consistency, humility and energy — not to mention financial resources — to create a thriving garden.
We created ten raised beds measuring 4×10 feet each made from felled trees on our 40-acre property. These make it possible to tend from both sides without having to walk into the beds themselves. The garden is actually a shade garden, having only six hours of sun a day, so over the years it has taken experimentation to learn what thrives and what does not.
Split rail fencing topped by colored flags usually seen in used car lots seem to dissuade most deer from jumping in to banquet on our garden. They made it over only once this summer, despite not posting our alien-headed scarecrow in the middle this year.