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A garden enclosure with an automated irrigation system and aviary wire to keep out garden pests.
The project
We planned to create a garden enclosure along one side of the backyard. The area had already been raised and sectioned off with a brick edging, so it made sense to scale the size of the enclosure to match (7 x 3m). The area is prone to possums with all the large trees, and our little cat loves to use this section as her personal litter tray or dig pen, so it had to be sectioned off.
The best solution was a walk-in enclosure - walls, roof and all. The walls have aviary mesh around the outside, which is big enough to allow bees in, but still protects from snail, slugs, birds and larger animals.
We're really proud of our structure, which took a couple weekends to build. We have a few herbs and vegies growing really well. The watering was killing my time every day and as we go away on holidays, we didn’t want to see that everything we’ve raised is dead on our return. So, we worked out and installed an irrigation system with various sprinklers and drippers, all on a timer. It's working a treat.
We've now got a small produce farm happening, growing all the main things we eat on a daily basis. Everything from tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, chilli, kale, carrots, beetroots, broccoli, spinach and pumpkin. And in herbs - mint, chives, rosemary, thyme, basil and parsley. We also have some sunflowers down one end for a bit of colour. We're open to any handy tips you may have for successful crops.
Here are the series of photos from the empty space to the build and now growing. We're pretty happy for first-time gardeners.
More inspiration for your garden
Workshop member martincopland moved into a new home and soon his Tennis court transformed into a productive kitchen garden.
Bunnings Workshop member rattle used washing machine drums to house vegetables in their cold frame for winter gardening.
For more ideas on how to transform your outdoor areas, check out our Top 10 most popular outdoor garden projects, along with Ideas to revamp your side yard.
