At my own house, we are in the process of transitioning from a large 30×40′ vegetable garden that was always out of control by mid summer to a smaller, much more manageable formal vegetable garden. The plan was for four 4×8′ beds and two 4×4′ beds. After going though the process of analyzing all the different material options, we decided on Corten steel. Besides giving us the look we were desiring, Corten Steel was easy to work with, it didn’t need a footing and it should be long lasting. The last characteristic was super important to us. We will be on this property for at least another 15 years so we were looking for a material that would outlast our time on the property. The space was originally created for a playground. Once I started installing the raised beds, it was very obvious from the house. that the pad the playground sat on wasn’t exactly square to the house. Aligning the new beds parallel to the house was a must. The next steps for this project is to replace the timber edging with steel edging following the new layout. Once that is installed, a new, ‘real’ fence will follow. There is some discussion about rotating the adjacent chicken coop 90 degrees so it can be included into the new space. After having chickens for most of my life, we’ve decided we are done with chickens. Ever since a horse farm moved in across the river, we’ve had a never ending supply of rats. With 3 chickens left, planning for the next use of the chicken coop as a garden shed seems makes sense.
