Apocalypse Garden/Backyard Beautification

Intro: Apocalypse Garden/Backyard Beautification

We wanted to try to become more self sufficient (you know, in case there's an apocalypse!), so we're turning our back yard into a garden, we bought several fruit trees to start with,  built two square planter boxes, three rectangle boxes with a green curtain. We have morning glories, trumpet creeper, and moon flower vines growing up our green curtain. The green curtain will block out some of the sun and heat getting into the windows and reduce our electric bill in the long run. The vines my look pretty thin now, but when the sun is up I can already see they produce quite a bit of shade on the ground already. We also just got our second rolling compost bin built, so we can finally mow the grass down in the back yard and start it composting. The first one is full of half way done compost. Yay! So excuse the way the back yard looks, we are still in the building phase, and we need to mow (Summer is in full swing in Texas, and the rest of the world says its Spring...supposedly.) We built a frame with net for our raspberries and wild blackberries to climb on. And lastly we built an "L" shaped frame, put nails around the inside of the frame then wove jute string to form a net and are letting our climbing plants in the garden planter box be supported by it. To keep out pests, like rabbits and the neighborhood dog that's allowed to roam without a leash and likes to dig up our gardens we stapled chicken wire to the bottom of the fence all along the fence, and staked it to the ground so he and the bunnies can't get in. I know the rabbits can burrow, this makes it much harder for them, also we have no back neighbor, it is all farm land, so I think they will give up and go eat the buffet rather than work to get at our small garden. I think that covers everything pictured. We got all this done in the space of about 3 months, we still have a few things to do, like build a chicken coop for our little chicks we got last week. Thanks for looking!

Comments

[dana-dxb]

u have pretty good ideas

[AngryRedhead]

I'm impressed that you're taking on such a big project, and it looks like you got a clean slate to work with (except grass is a pain in the butt to remove).  I have a recommendation as a fellow Texan:

Consider planting a large tree 15-20' from the back of your house.  To reduce electricity bills, you will want to shade as much of your roof as possible, not just the sides, especially if your backyard is on the south or west side of your house.  Pecan trees might fit the bill perfectly if you'd like trees that produce a crop.  Edible/annual crops can be grown further from the house and take the full sun.  They can't do a whole lot to reduce bills, or at least they're no match for a big ole tree.  Plus once those vines have covered the net supports, they will block your view into your backyard which can be a safety risk - prowlers lurkin' about your backyard, big angry dog causing mischief, etc.

Best of luck to you!  I hope you build some crazy lookin' chicken coop and show it off!

[moxiepurple]

I think I forgot to mention the 5 fruit trees! We have pomegranate, blood orange, an apple tree with three different grafted branches, peach, and plum. I know they won't provide shade, that is what he have so far though. We wanted a garden and such last year when we first bought the house, but we couldn't afford it, we skimmed a little off our tax return for most of this. Mmm, we picked peas this week, they were so sweet!

I don't mind missing out on the back yard view, I figure if someone is back there they would probably catch us unaware anyway. We're armed and have an alarm system, so if they break in and shoot us first at least the authorities will find our bodies sooner rather than later.

[splazem]

Pretty cool, but I wouldn't worry about an apocalypse. :)