Rebuilding & Repurposing

Hello!  We hope you'll be able to come to our next delicious Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market at the Village Commons this Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m. There are so many different items to try, and fresh items are so much more flavorful. Our friendly market staff will be looking for you!

Don't forget our convenient online ordering option … when you use this option and pay online, our market pros will select fresh items for your order, pack it all up, and have it ready when you come to the pick-up location in Edmeston or Morris.

Thanks go out to all our regular customers who support Pathfinder Produce … we're rooted in community! Fresh produce at a local market, with great prices, supporting area families... it's a winning combination.

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“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

Following in the footsteps of my practical farmer forbearers, I spent the past few weekends getting my small veggie garden ready. For years, our garden had included three raised beds, surrounded by wire fencing to keep out the critters. However, the beds were too closely spaced so we couldn't mow easily to keep things neat, and the weeds grew with a vengeance around the base of the fencing. Every time we tried to weed-whack around the fence it would waste a lot of line. AARRRGH!

So, this year, I decided it was time to change it up, especially as the wooden beds were in bad repair.  I tore down the fencing, which was not easy as plants had matted around the wire. Things immediately started to look better as I mowed back the offending weeds.

Next came the long task of tearing apart two beds … the third one I think will hold up for one more season as I transition to new beds.  Going this route helped me conserve the soil and also gives me time to think through a “garden master plan.”  As I come up with something more durable, Pinterest will be a great resource.

And thus, with my trusty old tennis racket-turned-sieve, a wheelbarrow, and an old army entrenching tool (found discarded many moons ago), I spent two days sifting dirt, removing grass stems and stones. Bed A, the keeper, got most of the dirt from Bed B (none of the original beds had been completely filled). Realizing I had more dirt than space, I cobbled together another bed with some decorative pavers and metal trim I had sitting around from an old greenhouse I'd picked up years ago but had never rebuilt. (Rebuilding the greenhouse will be Part B of the master plan!).

So the new bed was filled with the cleaned dirt from Bed C, but I still had more soil. So, engaging my “upcycling brain” I went into the top of our barn and found an old wooden toy box, unpainted on the inside. Just the thing … I drilled some drainage holes and soon that was filled too. And yet there was more dirt …

I've seen many online posts on container gardens, so I grabbed every pot in the garden shed. There was still leftover soil from Bed C, but it was the end of the first weekend, and I felt satisfied with my progress. 

Over the week, I was able to run to Watercress Greenhouse, a small family-run business, where I got some starter veggies. Soon, two summer squash plants were popped into the toy box, six tomato plants and two squash were in Bed A, lettuce seeds were in the new bed, and six pepper plants and a bunch of broccoli were in the pots, which were sitting on some other concrete pavers we'd had sitting around.

For a few days, I congratulated myself on my gardening gains. But this past Friday morning, as I looked out past the garden, there they were … insidiously lurking in the shadows … several rabbits and a woodchuck.  I knew I had to rethink the no-fencing idea – I’ve had woodchucks clear-out a garden in one night by deftly striping off leaves from every plant.

So, another trip to the attic for repurposing was in order … I used an old dog crate as the start of a fence for the new bed, paired with some homemade gates (made of unpainted wooden frames and reclaimed fencing; they are attached to supporting fence posts using loops of 12 gauge wire). To keep the critters out of Bed A, I built a tent of reclaimed fencing (tall stakes, some old plumbing elbows, and a piece of pine). I have some old corrugated plastic panels somewhere that I will use to block off the ends.

I also made another smaller bed for six broccoli from patio blocks, bent yard sign stakes, and more reclaimed fencing. The remaining container plants were moved by the house, a woodchuck would have to be very brazen to come that close; time will tell if the hooligan bunnies will make a night raid.

Until next time, upcycle and enjoy the outdoors!    

Lori