In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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June 15, 2007

Colfax reader gardens along with us

Several readers have written about the raised beds they’ve built along with us here at The Bee. Here’s Barbara Wightman’s story:

"When I returned from three months in Italy on May 6, I thought I was
too late to have much of a garden this year. But when I saw your raised bed article in the Bee with instructions and a list of materials for raised beds, I couldn't resist. Well, I wasn't the one who actually did the construction - that was my partner John's job. And what a job he did, as you can see from this photo.

We live in Colfax and we have more than our share of deer. And while we have a large garden area fenced against the deer, it's not right in our back yard. I wanted something close at hand that I could look at from our big dining room and living room windows. So John had to add corner posts and deer fencing to keep our crops from sure annihilation. It took him two weekends (he's meticulous and does everything perfectly) and he finished the job last weekend. Then he filled the two beds with two yards of mushroom compost from our local bulk supplier. I was right behind him with tomato, arugula, radish, basil, and mesclun seeds I brought back from Italy, plus some basil, pepper, tomato, and marigold plants I had waiting. I also planted carrot and leeks seeds I bought in France four years ago. They're not up yet, but I think they take a while.

Today, when I drove up our road, there were five large deer, some with fuzzy antlers, all standing around the beds. If it had been a cartoon, I would have had them scratching their heads and wondering which way was "in".

Our total cost minus the soil and plants (and a staple gun because we couldn't find ours) was $284. We shopped at Lowes in Roseville for the materials and Hansen Bros in Colfax for the soil. The plants come from Hills Flat Lumber company in Colfax and the new and beautiful Bella Fiore Nursery just south of Colfax off of the Heather Glen exit."

Thanks, Barbara.

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