Bush Bliss

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We recently completed the construction of two garden beds on a bush block surrounded by beautiful forest here in northern Tasmania. We have already shown you some photos from the initial stages of this project. However, as you will see below, much has happened since that time!

In this part of the world, if you want to eat what you grow then you need to protect your garden from other forest inhabitants. Possums, quolls, wallabies, pademelons and even feral deer live locally. That is why we built an enclosure to secure the garden beds.

The earlier photos we shared with you showed the excavation required to level this site to make sure we could build the garden beds properly. The photos below show what we did after that work was completed. For a start, all the posts were concreted into the ground. Yes, these beds are not going anywhere soon!

A building site for raised garden beds with wooden planks forming rectangular frames, metal posts, and a red wheelbarrow on bare soil, set against a backdrop of trees and shrubs.

A person operates a small orange drilling machine on a dirt field near a wooden house, with a car and trees in the background. The area appears to be under construction or landscaping.

A metal gate and fencing materials are stacked on the ground at a construction site, with wooden crates, pipes, and mesh rolls nearby, surrounded by soil and vegetation.

A person is working outdoors on a construction project, setting up wooden framework for a foundation. A red wheelbarrow and spade are nearby, and there is string marking the boundaries on the earth. Trees are in the background.

A man stands on the back of a lorry beside wooden crates while a CAT excavator lifts one crate. Trees and a small building are visible in the background under a clear blue sky.

All the sleepers are treated with ACQ (Alkaline Copper Quaternary). ACQ is a water-borne form of timber treatment that was developed as a safer alternative to the widely used CCA (Copper Chrome Arsenate) preservative. ACQ is also designed to be used as an insecticide and fungicide, protecting timber against fungi, borers and termites. This is an arsenic free treatment and can therefore be used safely in playgrounds and food-growing gardens.

Close-up of a metal bracket securing two wooden beams together, with a vertical metal pipe behind them, placed on bare soil.

A close-up of two wooden joists joined at a right angle using a metal bracket, secured on rough, bare soil.

The junction of the sleepers: H steel beam (left) and two C sections welded together (right)

A layer of gravel was added to the bottom of the beds for drainage, then a transition layer of geofabric textile put in to keep the the timber in better condition longer and to avoid weeds to come through. This fabric also helps to stop the soil from moving down into the gravel layer. Finally the beds were filled with a 50:50 mix of top soil and compost.

A raised wooden garden bed filled with gravel, with metal stakes at the corners and tools leaning against the frame, set in a cleared outdoor area surrounded by trees and shrubs.

A person operates a small yellow skid-steer loader, moving soil into a raised garden bed lined with white fabric, outdoors near trees and greenery.

A person operating a small yellow loader pours dark soil into a raised garden bed, preparing the area for planting. Trees and greenery are visible in the background.

We used agricultural polypipes (agipipe) to link the steel posts of the garden enclosure. The small curve of these pipes helped to soften the project in the landscape. 20mm bird netting was fixed to the enclosure to complete the protection, with a layer of mesh along the bottom to stop smaller pests getting in. Two people are required to complete this task. Don’t try to do it alone!

A partially constructed garden enclosure with metal frames, raised wooden garden beds, and black netting draped over the top, set in a dirt clearing surrounded by trees.

A fenced garden area with raised wooden garden beds, some containing young plants. The structure is enclosed with wire mesh and has a metal gate, with trees visible in the background.

A large mesh-enclosed garden structure with raised garden beds inside, surrounded by earth and trees in the background, under a cloudy sky.

A fenced garden enclosure with a metal gate, wire mesh sides, and raised planting beds inside, set on bare soil with a backdrop of tall trees and greenery.

A smaller bed was added at one end of the enclosure. This bed was not as deep as the others (only one 200mm sleeper high) and will be used for growing beans, radish and similar smaller crops.

A fenced garden area with a metal gate, surrounded by trees. There are two raised garden beds filled with soil, and the ground is covered in gravel. The sky is cloudy.

A garden with raised wooden beds filled with soil and mulch, bordered by a gravel path, surrounded by a metal frame structure and mesh fencing, with trees in the background.

Two people stand in a fenced garden with raised beds filled with young plants. One person is nearer to the camera, smiling, while the other tends to the plants. Trees and greenery surround the garden area.

Two raised garden beds with straw mulch are separated by a gravel path, framed by tall metal arches, with trees and greenery in the background.

Raised garden beds under a netted frame, with soil and a few small plants, set in an outdoor area surrounded by trees and open sky.

That’s it! The first phase of the master plan is done. However, this site has loads more potential. See the original drawing below that we presented to the client to help them see what else they can achieve on their block.