The pigs destroyed it all… And it was my fault. 
I let them in.
I had neatly mounded screened top soil beds, with walkways laid and paths mulched.
One morning I opened the gates, let the pigs in.
They turned my garden into a moonscape.
And I didn’t care at all.
When we first moved to our farm, we fenced about a half acre of sunny yard space and turned it into a garden. It seemed like the perfect location. Full sun, water close by, a few shade trees to rest under…
Turns out, it was not the right spot for us.
Here is the lesson of this post: Don’t let your garden placement be dictated strictly by the needs of the garden. You have needs too.
You see, although it was a great spot for the vegetables, it was far away from our house.
Far away from where the kids play, from where my wife cooks, and I just never felt like walking all the way to the back, crouching down on the ground, and caring for this garden.
And so our yields were awful.
Finally I made a change. I Made three raised beds, 3 ft high, 2 ft wide, 5 ft long. They are tall enough for me to sit in a chair, drink a cold beverage, and weed. NO BACK SORENESS REQUIRED.
And I located them on my front porch, where my wife grills all summer long.
Now I could sit and chat with my wife, while drinking a beer, and weed my garden, prune and water my plants, and all the while improve my yields!
If you have not started a garden yet, you should. It is one of the most basic steps towards a self sufficient life.
Seeds are cheap. Organic Vegetables are expensive. Its kind of a no brainer.
What isn’t a no brainer is the location and setup of your garden.
My first mistake was only thinking about what was good for the plants when I chose my garden location.
Vegetables don’t grow themselves. Think of the gardener too when selecting a location.
Think of ways to make the gardening experience easier and more comfortable.
And if you already have a garden and it’s not producing great yields, maybe the reason is that it’s not a garden that fits your needs and lifestyle.
Gardens in great soil with full sun can still fail if they dont fit the lifestyle of the gardener!
Now I could sit and chat with my wife, while drinking a beer, and weed my garden, prune and water my plants, and all the while improve my yields!
When choosing a garden location, meet these requirements
- Located close to your home (visibility is a good thing)
- Near places you frequent each day (swingset, animal barns, patio)
- Close to water (hauling buckets is for younger men then I)
- Available shade (for taking breaks)
The closer to your home your garden is, the more you will visit it, and see if something is wrong. And if its easy to water and get some shade in, you will enjoy gardening more.
Some other ways to make your garden more enjoyable:
- Use raised beds… they save your back in so many ways
- Mulch beds heavily, you will weed way less
- Keep paths and beds separate. Never walk on beds to avoid over compaction
- Keep the size small at first, so your garden doesn’t get out of hand
If you have not started a garden, use these tips to pick a perfect place and set up the garden you want to work in.
I highly recommend raised beds.
They are back savers, and make gardening a pleasure, not a chore. Plus, if you have kids, it protects your garden from their feet, while making it easier to teach them how to enjoy gardening themselves.
Our Pioneers Only Library has an excellent video showing how you can make your own raised bed in just 3 hours!
Become a Pioneer and gain access to all the in depth education that is in that library!
If you already have a garden, but it is suffering, don’t be afraid to do what I did. Leave it for the pigs, and move on to greener pastures.
What is one thing you have changed about your garden that has increased results?
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Actually my garden’s location fits well into the criteria you share here, but my issue is that I have no idea how to build a good, nutritious soil. I’m working on learning that now, while I’m watching my poor plants drown in nitrogen, ha ha. It’s not THAT bad, I am getting produce from the garden, but with an unbalanced soil, I fear I am leaving my plants susceptible to disease. Add to that, the fact that I’m trying to figure out how to allow the chickens and rabbits to roam between my larger garden plants so they can get some natural nourishment, and that equals a lot to think about. All in all, it’s fine and I know I can work it out, it’ll just take some thinking and study. Have a good one, Austin!
Yea, good soil seems to be the secret to good yield! Im working on a new episode of Homesteady where we talked to an organic seed farm about the importance of compost and mycorrhizal fungi! Complicated stuff…
You know what? I was just at Home Depot yesterday for some stuff and noticed that they had 2 or 3 cu. ft. bags of soil with mycorrhizal fungi for guess how much? $25 a bag! I hope it’s something we can develop in our soils on our own because $25/bag is an amazing (and not in a good way) price! But yeah—this tells me that MF will be a topic for study very soon. I’ll be listening! 🙂
Brilliant post!
I have a huge vege garden – which is hell to weed – and I feed myself almost entirely from the much raised beds on the way to the chicken patch and the hay shed. It’s so easy to swipe out a weed in passing, and the chicken or goats I’m heading for will probably eat it. On the way back, there’s MY greenery!
I love feeding my animals weeds… Seems like a better version of the garbage disposal!
Great point about locating the beds where you hang out. Joining you from Simple Saturdays. Enjoy your bounty!
Hi there Aust!!
Your post is amazing and I enjoyed it very much, apparently so do quite a lot of our blog hoppers this past weekend. Your post was selected as the most viewed!! Congrats, your our featured post this week, hop on by and grab your “featured” buttom to proudly display where you will and PLEASE…join us again this week!!
Great! Sure will! Thanks Kat!