VEGGIE GROWING: TAKE TWO

Not long after we bought this place, John surprised me with two raised beds which he had ordered online. They've been sitting there, abandoned, ever since, much to his dismay. I felt pretty bad about ignoring his kind gift, but I have this thing about not beating my head up against brick walls!

You see, he set them up on just about the only level spot available on this hillside of ours, which just happens to be smack dab in the middle of one of the many deer paths which criss-cross our property. I knew that, until we got a good tall fence around them, or figured out some other way to keep the deer, raccoons, and armadillos out, there was just no point in putting any veggies in. Instead, I tried growing some in the terraced Cantina Garden, once it was completed. But, even with our six foot cedar post fence, and motion-sensitive squirters and noisemakers, we still couldn't keep all the critters out. Eventually, I gave up on most of my annual edibles, and began filling in the empty spaces with more herbs and perennials. Hubby was not happy.

Soooo, guess what showed up in our most recent doorstep delivery? No, wait. That would be the new arbor. Guess what showed up in the delivery before that? This!

Our neighbor across the creek started growing veggies in two long raised beds, with no fence at all, just about the same time I started growing them in the Cantina Garden, and she was way more successful at it. The only difference was that she set up hoops and kept her beds under floating row cover year-round. She claimed that, not only did it keep out the big critters, it also kept out most of the icky leaf rollers and stuff. I just wasn't willing to do that in the Cantina Garden, since that was my decorative garden as well -- my only spot to play with color and design. Here though, behind the pump house? I'm more than ok with it! Within a few days of this zip-sided gizmo's arrival, John had already hauled in dirt, filled up the bed, and set up my compost bins nearby. He wasn't giving me any more excuses!

I guess I've missed out on our spring planting window here (highs up to 97 by Friday) but, come fall, it looks like I'll be back in the veggie-growing business! Just one question, though, for my more experienced compadres -- if you keep your beds under cover all the time, how do things get pollinated?